Walmart Requires Blockchain Adoption by Leafy Greens Suppliers to Ensure Food Safety

Walmart and its subsidiary Sam’s Club have told their leafy greens suppliers to put food data on blockchain within a year. By moving data on a distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform, the US retail giant aims to prevent E. coli outbreaks like the one which started in Arizona this year and has affected over 200 people.

According to a letter dispatched to suppliers on Monday, using blockchain would help quickly determine which farms are contaminated and immediately discontinue supply to grocery stores and restaurants.

All leafy green suppliers are required to adopt a blockchain tracking platform developed by Walmart in collaboration with IBM. By September 2019, all companies dealing with Walmart and Sam’s Club should cooperate with the IBM Food Trust network to develop a two-phase traceability process.

“Walmart believes the current one-step up and one-step back model of food traceability is outdated for the 21st Century and that by, working together, we can do better. There is no question that there is a strong public-health and business-case for enhanced food traceability,” the retailer said in its letter.

Walmart has tested the technology for over 18 months in collaboration with IBM and several suppliers. The pilots have led the company to conclude that blockchain allows a significant improvement in food traceability – food can be tracked from a Walmart Store back to suppliers within seconds rather than days or even weeks.

Walmart’s initiative will be implemented in two phases:

In June this year, Walmart, IBM, Nestle, and seven other companies formed the Food Trust with the aim of implementing DLT in the food supply chain.