Blockchain Tech Used to Trace Ethical Eggs Sold at Target

Farmer’s Hen House, an egg grading and distribution company that works with local farmers in Iowa, has partnered with blockchain-based food traceability company, Bytable.

As of April 15, Farmer’s Hen House eggs are sold in cartons featuring QR-codes that allow consumers to trace the origins and supply chain underpinning the produce.

The blockchain-based data repository will include information regarding what day the eggs were picked and from what farm, where they were packed, and information regarding each farmer and their certifications.

Ethical egg company embraces blockchain

The egg company emphasized that they hope to bridge the gap between farmers and customers, stating:

"We believe that the hallmark of ethical food production is transparency. That's why we've provided our customers with the opportunity to see and know exactly where and who their food comes from with our new traceability feature."

Farmer’s Hen House eggs are sold nationally across the United States, and can be purchased from Target and Instacart.

DLT revolutionizes food traceability

An increasing number of small and large companies are looking to distributed ledger technologies (DLT) to offer advanced tracking across the supply chain of food and produce.

This month, Nestle expanded its use of blockchain to trace the origin of coffee beans sold through its premium coffee brand, Zoégas, through its membership in IBM’s Food Trust Blockchain Initiative.

Through Zoégas, Nestle recently launched a limited ‘Summer 2020’ range of certifiably 100% Rainforest Alliance Arabica coffee beans. These beans were sourced from Brazil, Rwanda, and Colombia.

In Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province in China, a blockchain-based agricultural traceability platform was rolled out to monitor produce across its supply chain and reduce the incidences of food safety breaches in March.