Blockchain, which first emerged as the system underpinning
cryptocurrency bitcoin, is a shared record of data maintained by
a network of computers, rather than a trusted third party.
A total of eight companies announced Tuesday that they will
share data and run trials with IBM, including Kroger Co <KR.N>,
Dole Food Company Inc [DFCI.UL], McCormick & Company Inc <MKC.N>
and Golden State Foods Corp [GSFDP.UL].
Wal-Mart Stores Inc <WMT.N> is also participating and has worked
with IBM since October to track the movement of food products.
"It is not just about building the technology, it is about
building the ecosystem," Brigid McDermott, vice president for
blockchain business development at IBM, said.
Wal-Mart said in June that blockchain trials had helped it
narrow the time it took to trace the movement of mangoes to 2.2
seconds from about seven days.
A single recall could cost anything from tens of thousands to
millions of dollars in lost sales, Wal-Mart's head of food
safety, Frank Yiannas, told Reuters last month.
Skeptics have warned that the technology is still in its early
days and it may take years before companies reap benefits.
Retailers are also fiercely competitive and have a poor track
record for collaboration, notably the demise of mobile payment
app CurrentC, another highly anticipated industry venture.
"Yes, the industry is cautious because this could be the next
best thing since sliced bread, but you wouldn't say everything
was fine and dandy after a trial you had with just two
suppliers," Kroger's head of food safety Howard Popoola told
Reuters.
"The key right now is to involve suppliers and retailers and see
how well we can share data to oil the IBM blockchain machine,"
he said. "This is an opportunity for us to speak with one voice
and say to the world that food safety is not going to be a
competitive issue."
IBM also said it was launching a blockchain platform that could
make it easier for large companies to develop applications using
the technology.
As blockchain can quickly trace the hundreds of parties involved
in the mass production and distribution of food, it is expected
to make it easier to identify the source of potential
contamination during food safety scares.
(Reporting by Richa Naidu in Chicago and Anna Irrera in New
York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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