Saturday, March 30, 2024

Block chain success in meat order

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Not sinking knee-deep into a tennis court’s worth of paperwork is one of several upsides meat company head Tony Egan hopes will result from adopting block chain technology for export orders.
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Greenlea Premier Meats’ first export shipment to Korea completely documented using digital block chain technology was successful, chief executive Egan said.

It is a logical next step for an export economy like New Zealand.

The technology offers secure and transparent online export documentation with all parties able to see relevant documents and transaction details. 

Another upside is the elimination of significant mountains of paperwork.

One ASB executive engaged in the operation estimated Greenlea’s paperwork for meat exports over a year would cover a tennis court knee deep in documents, which had to be kept for seven years.

“I think we have done a good job with our manual, paper-based system thanks to MPI overview and involvement. But there is a lot of documentation that goes into making a set of export documents,” Egan said.

The block chain technology enables all parties involved in a transaction to see relevant documents, eliminating the need to courier physical documents, saving time and maintaining a transparent supply chain.

NZ tech firm VerifyUnion provided the block chain platform for the transaction.

VerifyUnion chief executive A J Smith said documentation processes for exporting take eight days because of the physical movement of documents. That takes valuable time off export shipment windows and lost time is a critical factor for a chilled product that already has limited shelf life once at its destination.

While there has been much coverage of block chain in recent years, Smith said it has only just come into play as a realistic option as technology matured.

“Also, nothing can occur unless you have the willingness of a big corporate to get its hands dirty and be involved with it.” 

But a key factor was also the ASB involvement. 

“Getting the bank’s endorsement to use it is pretty much the toughest test you can pass. It is a big validation having them there.”

The meat industry lends itself well to block chain.

“It is a huge global industry and there are risks not only about falsification but also manipulation of a product’s grading. Everything is open to that happening.”

And as customers also start to seek grass-fed products rather than factory farmed ones block chain offers real guarantees a product’s provenance is genuine, Smith said.

Egan said incorporating full paddock-to-plate provenance data into block chain now appears possible and is a goal of his company as it works with VerifyUnion.

Smith said the company is also working to incorporate internet of things technology into block chain records. 

That could include light sensors in containers to signal if a container is compromised before it arrives at its destination. 

Temperature and humidity sensors can also be incorporated to provide customers with up-to-date data on the condition of their order before arrival.

For perishable products like seafood that require airfreighting within 12 hours the benefits of block chain will be particularly valuable.

Nestle has already started trialling block chain from orchards and farms supplying raw ingredients for its Gerber baby food range. 

Smith said his company is studying the potential to identify animals from the point of conception, tracking them through to final consumption months or years later.

Egan expects a proliferation of development and uptake of the technology for commercial use from here on in.

“It is not our exclusive domain. I suspect all companies will be doing it eventually.”

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