UAE’s Majid Al Futtaim unites with blockchain-based IBM food trust for food traceability

UAE-based retail conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) has joined the IBM Food Trust, a blockchain-enabled global ecosystem for the food industry run on IBM Cloud, to offer food traceability across Carrefour stores.

Through the association Carrefour, launched by Majid Al Futtaim, will become the first retailer in the region to offer new levels of insight and transparency to its customers about the provenance of their food through end-to-end visibility on products throughout its supply chain, promoting increased quality, credibility, and safety for its shoppers.

According to the company, the retail company will utilize the IBM Food Trust in two initial product categories, comprising Carrefour’s fresh chicken brand and microgreens harvested from select in-store hydroponic farms.

All participants in this initiative across the supply chain will benefit from a smarter, and more sustainable food ecosystem. The digitalization of transactions and data offers a more productive way of operating through the supply chain for producers, manufacturers, shippers, retailers, regulators, and customers.

“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.”

“Thanks to the availability of advanced cloud-based, blockchain technology and the commitment of Majid Al Futtaim to deliver the highest quality to its customers, we are proud to be using this supply chain solution to provide the very best in quality, safety, and trust to our customers in the markets we operate in,” said Nalla Karunanithy, Chief Digital Officer at Majid Al Futtaim Retail.

Customers will be able to get immediate access to actionable food supply chain data, from farm to store shelf, by simply using their smartphone, to scan a QR code on participating products such as Carrefour’s fresh chicken. The history of the product, including production process, halal and hygiene certifications, date of birth, nutrition information, and temperature data, will be readily available once uploaded onto the blockchain.

Furthermore, Majid Al Futtaim is engaging with its supplier partners to allow wider participation in this initiative, providing Carrefour consumers access to traceability details across a variety of products throughout the UAE, before introducing it to other Carrefour markets operated by the company in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

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