The work of Chef Aarón Sánchez and IBM has resulted in the vision of establishing a new form of food chain which stores key information from source to plate thanks to blockchain technology. The development is the latest to come from IBM's ongoing Food Trust project, of which Sánchez is a member, which has been looking into establishing greater assurance of where food has been sourced from and helping to secure ethical supply chains.
By using optical or chemical scanning techniques, producers can scan their produce to create a unique identity, from which those further down the line like suppliers or chefs can then check that the product is 100% correct.
IBM have already demonstrated how its technology can recognise the colours in olive oil to help identify the specific manufacturing source, with one such producer having already chosen to ship its blockchain-tracked oil to Whole Foods stores.
Overall, the ambition is not only the pragmatic drive of a more secure food chain, but also a greater connection between those at each end of the supply chain.