The Food Standards Agency has just completed a pilot using blockchain technology in a cattle slaughterhouse. It’s the first time blockchain has been used as a regulatory tool to ensure compliance in the food sector.
A blockchain is a type of database that takers a number of records and puts them in a block. Each block is then ‘chained’ to the next block, using an encrypted signature. This allows block chains to be used as a ledger, which can be shared and checked by anyone with the appropriate permission.
In the pilot, both the FSA and the slaughterhouse had permission to access data, giving the benefit of improved transparency across the food supply chain. A further pilot is planned for July which will give permission to farmers to access data about animals from their farm.
Th next action will be for further work to replicate this in other plants and ensure that all those across the chain get the full benefit of the new way data is managed and accessed as ‘permissioned’ data to the FSA, slaughterhouses and farmer.