Michigan-based Neogen Corporation, a multinational food safety firm that offers test kits and various products to identify dangerous substances in food items, will be working with food industry blockchain firm Ripe Technology to track products on supply chains.
Neogen and Ripe Technology aim to use blockchain as a permanent, immutable way to register the entire production process of livestock and food consumption.
Ripe Technology was established back in 2017 and aims to enhance food safety by leveraging distributed ledger technology (DLT).
John Adent, CEO at Neogen, stated:
“Blockchain technology has a lot to offer both our food safety diagnostic and animal genomic customers, as the technology permanently connects a tremendous amount of potentially critical data, including results from Neogen’s tests, to a food product or animal.”
Raja Ramachandran, CEO at Ripe Technology, said that his firm’s animal diagnostics and DNA expertise can help boost transparency and authenticity on the existing food supply chains. He believes this will transform the current food industry and enhance standard food safety processes for consumption.
In October 2019, Alex Manders, head of blockchain efforts at the Information Services Group (ISG), a Connecticut-headquartered technology research and consulting company, had requested that the FDA carefully explore the potential use cases for blockchain tech or DLT in improving food safety.
While attending an FDA public meeting called “A New Era of Smarter Food Safety,” Manders had noted that the agency should look at the different blockchain vendors, platforms and investment opportunities and offer appropriate recommendations for businesses across the food supply chain on how to leverage DLT to enhance food safety.