Picture this.
It's Friday night. You go out with some friends. The plan? You want to drink some beers and chit-chat for an hour or two and spice things up a bit. You don't ask for a regular beer — you ask for a Helt Spårat just because you find the name fascinating.
The bartender hands you the beer, and you see a couple of things on the bottle. First, you notice that it’s a Swedish beer. Nice, right? Your taste is going international.
The second? It says "traceable beer in blockchain."
Wait, what?
That’s right. From Sweden to your table — all made with the support of blockchain technology.
Blockchain for Food Tracking Safety
We know about blockchain’s role in igniting the cryptocurrency revolution. But refresh a beer? How? Well, as it turns out blockchain improves the structure of the food safety traceability chain.
As you may know, every entry on the blockchain is impossible to edit or manipulate. This makes blockchain and decentralized ledger technologies a great alternative to food tracking.
Blockchain allows you to see every step of the journey of the food you are eating. It is one of the most promising technology developments in the fight against food fraud.
Every step of the supply chain is public — every single person can see it in the blockchain. No more intermediaries and no more sketchy things related to the food you consume. This makes the process simpler, but it also makes it safer.
A number of different companies have started using blockchain to make their food traceable. And one of those companies is Ängöl Brewery, a Swedish microbrewery.
The people at Ängöl Brewery are all-in for making a good product. And one of their best products is Helt Spårat, the first blockchain-traceable beer in Sweden.
Helt Spårat has been made and designed to support sustainability. Only locally sourced ingredients are used to make the beer. The farm where the grains are cultivated runs on solar electricity. The farm itself uses sustainable diesel gasoline to power its tractors.
Can we make it even better? You bet. Helt Spårat hops – unlike most Swedish beers – are cultivated in Sweden. And since it is not imported, it reduces transportation-related emissions.
How has Ängöl Brewery made this possible? Well, they couldn't do it all alone — IBM Food Trust came to rescue.
Blockchain technology offers unprecedented levels of trust and transparency. And IBM took a shot at building something amazing.
IBM Food Trust is a blockchain-based solution that increases openness throughout supply chains. It creates a safer, smarter, and more sustainable food environment.
They help companies to live up to their sustainability claims.
But how does a project of this caliber work?
Once the beer production process begins, the data about the ingredients is uploaded to the blockchain. This ledger is then shared among participants and with the end consumers.
In other words, consumers are connected to the entire lifecycle of the beer. They can see with transparency how it was made and the processes it went through to be on the table.
Blockchain technology is not only changing the world through cryptocurrencies but also in other areas. So far, IBM Food Trust has proven that food safety can be improved. And blockchain is a great tool to do so.
Ängöl Brewery is just an example.
Many others will join.
And this is just the beginning of a huge change for the food industry. The more companies start to use blockchain technology, the more transparent they become.
Is this the start of a sustainable world? The hope for many around the world is that it is.
