New FDA Rule Could Trigger Blockchain’s Adoption in Food Tracking

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response Frank Yiannas said the in-progress rule changes at the agency are likely to bring blockchain-based food tracking into existence, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Tuesday (Feb. 1).

The FDA expects to complete the rule in November at which time the food industry would have to maintain records that track certain products as they move along the supply chain from growing to receiving to transforming to creating to shipping, Yiannas told WSJ.

The proposed Food Safety Modernization Act Proposed Rule for Food Traceability doesn’t include a requirement for companies to keep electronic records, but most would likely go that route, he said in the report.

In 2018, Walmart, Nestlé and other food industry leaders launched Food Trust, which uses technology from International Business Machines (IBM) Corp. Food Trust now has about 500 members, according to the report.

“I think you’re going to see scaling happen at a much higher pace,” said Yiannas, a co-leader of Food Trust, who was also vice president of Food Safety at Walmart. “The pandemic and the lessons learned, and the final proposed food traceability rule are going to be a lot of wind in the sails” for relying on the blockchain for food tracking.

In December, Oxford, U.K.-based agricultural technology firm Gardin raised $10.8 million in a seed funding round, after raising $1.2 million in pre-seed funding earlier in 2021.

Read more: UK AgTech Firms Use AI, New Technology to Reduce Labor Costs, Improve Food Production

Gardin Founder and CEO Dr. Sumanta Talukdar said technology can make food better, tastier and more secure, and systems can help the planet become healthier if they’re managed properly.

Gardin uses machine learning (ML) and remote optical sensors to provide growers with data to determine plant health, instead of manually assessing or conducting chemical analyses.