Aglive, an Australian agritech firm, has announced it has added a consumer mobile app to its blockchain food traceability platform to allow users to see “the source and journey of products” through the scan of a label. The swipe of an Aglive smart label through the app can retrieve information about the product related to its source and other data that might be of interest to consumers, such as ethical certificates and recipes.
The information provided on regular labels and packages is not enough to tell the product’s journey to consumers, including where the product came from, and the ethical practices (or lack thereof) used by the supply-chain stakeholders involved. “Food fraud costs brands billions of dollars each year, and families deserve the right to know what they’re truly putting on their plate.” says Paul Ryan, Executive Director of Aglive. Through blockchain, the Aussie traceability platform has the ambition to “ensure the safety, transparency and provenance of goods”.
The company has recently completed successful domestic and international tracking trials in an array of industries, including beef and dairy. And the app is currently being used by Macka’s Australian Angus Beef and Apothio, an American hemp-based food producer.
Australia has embraced the global trend of increasing consumer and government demand for corporate transparency. Firms are rushing to develop new technologies for consumers, and blockchain food traceability is at the forefront of the battle. Drakes Supermarkets, an Australian independent grocery retailer, and Thomas Foods International, Australia’s largest family-owned meat processor, piloted IBM’s Food Trust blockchain over two years ago. Another example is from authentication services provider Laava ID and blockchain firm Trust Provenance which are working with non-profit Citrus Australia to developing food traceability systems for Australian citrus exports.
