The initiative will help Carrefour customers to gain immediate access to food supply chain data, from farm to store shelf
The initiative is part of Majid Al Futtaim's digital transformation of its Carrefour operations. (Credit: IBM)
Majid Al Futtaim, the operator of the Carrefour franchise in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, has chosen IBM blockchain technology to provide food traceability across the stores.
The company has joined IBM Food Trust, a blockchain-enabled global ecosystem for the food industry run on IBM Cloud.
The initiative is part of Majid Al Futtaim’s digital transformation of its Carrefour operations.
By tapping IBM Food Trust, which uses decentralised ledgers to record transactions in a verifiable way, Carrefour stores are expected to offer improved insight and transparency to its customers about the origin of their food.
The collaborative blockchain network enables the logging of critical information such as product origin, transportation, and ingredients. Permissioned participants across the value chain are allowed quick access to the data.
Majid Al Futtaim will introduce the blockchain technology initially for two product categories that include Carrefour’s own fresh chicken brand and microgreens harvested from select in-store hydroponic farms.
The initiative enables customers to gain immediate access to food supply chain data, from farm to store shelf, by simply scanning a QR code on participating products using their smartphone.
Majid Al Futtaim Retail CEO Hani Weiss said: “Trust in the food supply is becoming increasingly important worldwide, a trend accelerated by changing consumer demands and the subsequent health and wellbeing concerns arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It is therefore imperative for us to invest in ensuring quality throughout the value chain while simultaneously working to build robust customer trust and loyalty.
“In meeting the new market expectations, we are now offering enhanced food traceability for our valued Carrefour customers and improved operational efficiency for our business.”
Majid Al Futtaim said that it is engaging with its supplier partners to provide its Carrefour customers access to traceability details across diverse products throughout the UAE.
A research conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) has found the growing demand for food traceability, with 73% of the survey participants saying that traceability of products is important.