News

Albertsons jumps on IBM Food Trust Network for blockchain tracking

April 22, 2019

Albertsons Companies, a food and drug retailer, is joining the IBM Food Trust network to trace food from farm to shelf using blockchain technology. The IBM solution tracks the packaging date of food, its temperature during shipping and its time of arrival on the grocery shelf, according to a press release.

Albertsons aims to make its food ecosystem more transparent and enable faster response to food recalls, according to the release. The company said it will pilot test the Food Trust network with bulk romaine lettuce from one of its distribution centers.

"Blockchain technology has the potential to be transformational for us as we further build differentiation on our fresh brand," Anuj Dhanda, Albertsons chief information officer, said in the release. "Food safety is a very significant step. In addition, the provenance of the products enabled by blockchain — the ability to track every move from the farm to the customer's basket — can be very empowering for our customers."