Carrefour applies blockchain traceability system to milk product

French retail giant Carrefour has announced that it has applied its blockchain-based food traceability system for a new product.

A founding member of the IBM Food Trust platform, Carrefour has implemented blockchain technology to improve the traceability of a number of its food products including Auvergne chicken and farmhouse fattened chicken, tomatoes, eggs, and Carrefour Quality Line oranges.

The firm is now continuing with the roll-out of blockchain technology and has applied it to Carrefour Quality Line fresh micro-filtered full-fat milk.

“Starting in March 2019, Carrefour is going to gradually start selling Carrefour Quality Line fresh micro-filtered full-fat milk that takes advantage of blockchain technology,” Carrefour said in its press release.

To get information about the product – right from the farm to the date it was placed on the store shelves – consumers just need to scan a QR code on the label with their smartphones. This would enable them to unlock details such as the GPS coordinates of farmers whose animals’ milk was collected, cows' feeds depending on the season, when the milk was collected, where it was packaged, etc.

In addition, consumers would also be able to “identify the various stakeholders involved in the whole product line (names and photographs) and find out about what they do – their livestock rearing practices, using microfiltration to store the milk, conducting quality checks throughout the production process, for example,” Carrefour added.