Supply chain fraud is a prevalent issue in the food and beverage industry which has a knock-on effect on retailers and consumers. From the fever dream of the 2013 horse meat scandal to recent reports of overseas pork being labelled as British in major supermarkets, fraud in the supply chain costs the food industry around USD $40 billion per year, while negatively impacting the consumer experience, and even leading to dangerous health hazards.
As supply chains grow more and more complex and difficult to manage, many manufacturers, distributors and retailers are turning to blockchain - which has the powerful potential to offer product verification and traceability.
Product verification
Unisot, the auditing and supply chain specialist, has launched a blockchain solution which promotes traceability and product verification in supply chains - the ticket to fighting fraud.
Stephen Nilsson, the co-founder of Unisot, commented: "We felt the time was right to offer a blockchain solution to the food industry to help them verify products entering the consumer market. Food suppliers need to demonstrate transparency across the global supply chain, via a standardised system to track and authenticate products."
Digital product passports
Unisot uses digital product passports (DPP) as part of its product verification process. DPPs are a powerful tool which collates data about a product across all stages of the supply chain and shares it with all actors — suppliers, retailers and consumers — through a simple QR code.
"Manufacturers and consumers have been demanding this for years, with the DPP facilitating the ability to simply scan a label and view data via the application," added Mr Nilsson.
Blockchain has the potential to prevent fraudulent products from reaching the shelves — saving money, retailers’ reputations and integrity, and improving consumer transparency.