Blockchain-Based Traceability System That Ensures Food Safety Measures to Protect Consumer Safety and COVID-19 Free Supply Chains

Foods. 2021 Jun 4;10(6):1289. doi: 10.3390/foods10061289.

Abstract

The world is facing an unprecedented socio-economic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The virus is also spreading through the import and export food supply chains. The Chinese authorities have discovered the COVID-19 virus in various imported frozen meat packages. Traceability plays a vital role in food quality and food safety. The Internet of Things (IoT) provides solutions to overseeing environmental conditions, product quality, and product traceability. These solutions are traditionally based on a centralized architecture, which does not guarantee tamper-proof data sharing. The blockchain is an emerging technology that provides tamper-proof data sharing in real-time. This article presents a blockchain-enabled supply chain architecture to ensure the availability of a tamper-proof audit trail. This tamper-proof audit trail helps to make sure that all safety measures are undertaken to minimize the risk of COVID-19 and other bacteria, fungi, and parasites being present in the frozen meat supply chain.

Keywords: COVID-19; blockchain; cold supply chain; food safety; hyperledger fabric; meat supply chain.