WA Company Leads Seafood Traceability Journey
We ask the question – have you as a consumer ever wondered the journey your food experienced to get to your plate? Well with new technology, and a WA company more determined than ever to action traceability on their produce, we are one step closer to seeing the reality of a transparency revolution in Australia’s food industry.
It was reported that WWF-Australia and BCG Digital Ventures launched a revolutionary new digital platform that uses blockchain and other technologies to track food and products earlier this year.
Technology allows you to be confident in what you’re eating is ethical and sustainable. Credit: instagram/ wwf_australia
The global platform, titled OpenSC, works via a QR code where people can simply scan the code with a smartphone camera. A window of information is then presented about where the specific produce came from, where and how it was produced, and how it journeyed along the supply chain.
The technology allows consumers and businesses to avoid illegal, environmentally-damaging or unethical products and inform customers of transparent information on a range of commodities.
Blockchain technology allows for traceability through all stages of production, processing and distribution. Credit: Instagram/ wwf_australia
OpenSC also gives businesses the opportunity to track their products through attaching a digital tag (i.e. RFID tag) at their original point of production and linking these to a blockchain platform. The blockchain, which cannot be tampered with, records the movement of the product and can also store additional information, such as the temperature of food in storage.
To display and launch the technology, Austral’s premium Glacier 51 Toothfish, was selected to feature at celebrity Chef Matt Moran’s award-winning Sydney restaurant, Aria, in January.
The fish was tagged with a unique radio frequency ID, with the data from the tag then transferred to a QR code on the fillet packaging, which travels with the fish before it is printed on the menu.
By scanning the QR code on their menu, diners found out that the fish was caught by Austral Fisheries in sub-Antarctic waters near Heard Island, 4,000 kilometres south west of Perth from an MSC-certified sustainable fishery.
OpenSC is a revolutionary digital platform developed by WWF-Australia and @bcgdv that allows you to track a product along its entire supply chain. Click to watch full video: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bst4ryvFq7Z/
A week later, the blockchain-tracked Patagonian toothfish hit the global stage, when it was also served to leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The finished result! Patrons could scan a QR code and learn more about where their seafood came from. Credit: Instagram/ wwf_australia
Austral Fisheries CEO David Carter is excited about the possibilities that OpenSC offers for responsible operators.
“We see this as an opportunity for those doing the right thing to be able to showcase their products in a way that is transparent and verifiable, and what better product to showcase than Toothfish,” he said.
Austral Fisheries have also committed to implementing OpenSC to the entire 2019 production of Glacier 51 Toothfish fillets. This will take the revolutionary business another step closer in their sustainable seafood journey.
For additional information, please head to Austral Fisheries website:
Click for Media Release (Jan 24, 2019): Traceable Toothfish: Austral’s Premium Product Supports Food Traceability Platform Launch
Click for Media Release (Jan 17, 2019): Austral Partner with WWF, BCGDV to launch OpenSC
Click to watch full video of technology via: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bst4ryvFq7Z/