French Food Company Looks to IBM’s Blockchain Network for Better Sourcing

IBM Food Trust blockchain platform has onboarded one more French manufacturer seeking to enhance transparency of product provenance and supply chain.

The Avril Group, a vegetable oil, eggs and protein manufacturer, and the owner of brands Matines and Lesieur, has begun using IBM Food Trust network to ensure traceability of its products, according to a Feb. 4 press release.

Improving corporate social responsibility and customer experience

By applying blockchain, the Avril Group expects to make improvements in its corporate social responsibility, especially when it comes to sectors such as quality livestock and the consideration of animal welfare.

Matines is looking to advance customer experience, providing greater transparency through a QR code printed inside the egg box, which directs customers to an application containing a wide range of data related to the eggs they consume —  from the way the hens are fed to the date of dispatch to the warehouses of the distributors.

Food producers actively embrace blockchain

In January, CHO, one of the largest olive oil producers in the southern Mediterranean, announced that it is using IBM’s blockchain technology to provide traceability for its Terra Delyssa extra virgin olive oil. Speaking with Cointelegraph on the development, vice president of IBM Blockchain Supply Chain Solutions, Ramesh Gopinath, said:

“The best part of the IBM Food Trust network is its ability to connect members of the supply chain together, like the end consumer with the farmer. CHO has done just this, as every entity involved can share data, which not only provides traceability and food information, but also shows where food trust is heading in general.”

Food manufacturers have been actively pursuing blockchain adoption, in recent months. Retail giants Carrefour and Nestlé began using IBM’s Food Trust blockchain platform to track the supply chain of milk-based formula for infants, last November. The firms thus aim to advance consumer confidence in product quality.

That same month, Singapore-based blockchain application platform VeChain unveiled a new blockchain tracking system for the food and beverage industry. The company had worked with food certification group DNV GL and supply chain specialist ASI Group on the project, known as Foodgates.