Walmart Will Use Blockchain To Track Food Supply Chain

Source: REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

Walmart and Sam's Club (owned by Walmart) announced this week that their lettuce suppliers will be required to use blockchain technology to implement farm to store tracking in real time. Walmart will use blockchain technology to address food-safety issues, and joins other giant retail companies such as Tyson Foods Inc and Nestle who are trying to leverage blockchain technology to track food supply. Blockchain technology will allow Walmart to determine the source of the leafy green vegetable in a Walmart store in a matter of seconds instead of the days it could take currently. Blockchain technology uses a shared record of data on a distributed computer network to provide faster and more secure record keeping. 

This year, an outbreak of E.coli in the United States that was linked to lettuce led to the deaths of at least five people according the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Walmart has previously worked with the IBM to utilize blockchain technology to track food products. 

Click here to read the full article.