A recent study conducted by a researcher from the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK) has highlighted how the integration of IoT and blockchain technology can significantly enhance food safety.
The study, led by Dr Tahseen Arshi, Associate Provost for Research and Community Service at AURAK, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Naples, Italy, advocates for the integration of IoT and blockchain in the food supply chain. Dr Arshi suggests that these technologies can provide companies with greater visibility and transparency across the supply chain.
Food safety is a critical global issue, especially given the rapidly increasing world population, which now stands at 8.11 billion. The World Health Organisation estimates that 600 million people—nearly one in ten globally—fall ill each year due to contaminated food, with 420,000 fatalities annually.
This situation highlights the urgent need for innovative solutions, such as those proposed in this study, to improve food safety. For example, IoT technology can monitor the temperature of food products during transport, helping to prevent spoilage.
Meanwhile, blockchain can offer a transparent record of a food product’s journey from farm to table, enabling quick identification of contamination sources in the event of an outbreak. The presence of microbial pathogens, heavy metals, undeclared allergens, and foreign material contamination are significant hazards that require careful monitoring and proactive management. Consumers are increasingly aware of these risks, with growing concerns about non-permitted additives, avian influenza, and genetically modified foods prompting regulatory and public scrutiny.
“Food safety is a highly complex issue. Given the dangers it poses to public health, it is vital we use new technologies to monitor the supply chain. AURAK is happy to support this research study, which is an earnest effort to highlight how the effective use of IoT and blockchain can prevent contaminated food from reaching consumers by enabling enhanced transparency and traceability in the food supply chain,” said Professor Stephen Wilhite, Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Success and Provost at AURAK.
“With the rising population, food safety will be under greater threat. Coupled with this, changing climatic weather patterns, scarcity of water, and soil degradation caused by industrialisation and urbanisation are adding to the problem. Our study investigates how technologies like the IoT and blockchain can revolutionixe how food is monitored, traced, and managed across the supply chain, enhancing transparency, accountability, and efficiency,” added Dr. Tahseen Arshi.
The study illustrates how these emerging technologies could be transformative for food safety. Blockchain enables comprehensive traceability of food products, with each stage of the supply chain—from production through processing to distribution—being recorded on a blockchain. IoT devices can monitor food products in real time, using sensors to capture and transmit data on their location, storage duration, and conditions.
According to the study, these technologies have a wide range of applications, including real-time monitoring (using sensors and smart tags to monitor environmental conditions during transport), predictive maintenance (using IoT to track equipment wear and tear), automated compliance (ensuring adherence to food safety regulations), immutable records (maintaining a decentralised, tamper-proof ledger of every transaction or change in the supply chain), and enhanced transparency (providing detailed information on the origin and handling of food).
One of the most significant advantages of these technologies is their ability to facilitate streamlined recalls. In the event of a food safety issue, blockchain can quickly identify and isolate the affected products, simplifying the recall process and minimising the impact of such incidents.
This study was published in 2023 as a chapter in IGI Global’s book ‘Impactful Technologies Transforming the Food Industry’.
There’s plenty of other editorial on our sister site, Electronic Specifier! Or you can always join in the conversation by commenting below or visiting our LinkedIn page.
