Today U.S. food tech startup ripe.io announced it will use R3’s Corda Enterprise to create a food traceability blockchain on Microsoft Azure. Before founding ripe.io its CEO Raja Ramachandran worked as a managing director for product at R3.
Ripe.io’s focus is to create sustainable trust and transparency in the food industry using blockchain. Three months ago it announced a pilot with the National Pork Board.
With R3, the start-up will enable the desired privacy because when using Corda, a node will only store the data to which it’s allowed access.
To develop supply chain solutions the food startup may also leverage Microsoft Azure’s cloud AI tools as well as the hosting,
This is the first time Corda Enterprise has been used in the food industry.
“This is another important vote of confidence in R3’s technology to deliver results and build a more efficient food supply chain,” said David E. Rutter, CEO and founder of R3. “ripe.io has been on the forefront of engaging all of the actors in the supply chain to digitize activity from farm to fork.”
The Principal PM Manager at Azure, Craig Hajduk, stated: “As digital transformation sweeps through the food and agriculture supply chain and extends beyond the walls of an individual organization, companies need solutions that enable them to securely optimize and share their business processes and data. We see ripe.io as an agent of innovation and are thrilled to partner with them.”
Today’s announcement highlights the need for more transparency in food industry supply chains. This is a hot issue in many blockchain initiatives, such as tracing fish for sustainability, providing visibility to coffee farmers, and increasing efficiency in grain processing.
