French multinational retailer Carrefour is to extend its use of Blockchain technology by offering consumers total traceability.

Already used for free-range Carrefour Quality Line Auvergne chickens, blockchain will be rolled out to eight more animal and vegetable product lines, such as eggs, cheese, milk, oranges, tomatoes, salmon and ground beef steak in France.

The system is designed to guarantee consumers complete product traceability via a secure digital database that cannot be falsified. Blockchain information can be used in the food industry so that each and every party along the length of the supply chain (producers, processors, and distributors) can provide traceability information about their particular role and for each batch (dates, places, farm buildings, distribution channels, potential treatments, etc.).

Blockchain technology will help to improve transparency and guarantee higher levels of food safety for consumers interested in the complete product lifecycle. For breeders, the use of network by Carrefour quantifies the journey, care, and price of each item. 

Beyond the food industry, Blockchain technologies have the opportunity to validate any certification processes (external review, education, assessment, test, audit, etc) to determine if an object, person, or organization is reputable. Bitcoin is one example of how the self-auditing ecosystem verifies transactional digital value but, we can see a plethora of opportunities. Blockchain could solve the problem of manipulation and increase cultural transparency in something as simple as local building permit approcals to guaranteeing masterpieces of art or luxury goods.