Good game: Blockchain technology to track meat supply in Japan

07-Nov-2017 - Last updated on 07-Nov-2017 at 06:53 GMT

Blockchain technology will be used to track game meat in Japan.

State-of the-art blockchain technology is to be used by the Japanese government to increase traceability, food safety and distribution for wild game.

The Japan Gibier Promotion Association, part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, has agreed a deal to use a system developed by Tech Bureau Corp.

The association promotes the standards for wildlife hunting and needs a secure supply chain to comply with Japanese distribution standards for wild game meat.

Once meat data from the processing factory is recorded on the blockchain, it cannot be tampered with. It will be used as benchmark to match data in the traditional supply chain.

In case the two types of entries don’t match, the new system automatically sends out alerts. This creates a transparent and traceable supply chain to monitor the game meat.

“Some rural communities suffer from wildlife overpopulation, amounting to over $178m per year. The power of blockchain technology is that it can transform one of the oldest food supplies into an asset for local communities,” said Takao Asayama, CEO, Tech Bureau Corp.

The association will be able to determine that the data (the date, transit point, manager, item name, amount, price, etc.) from the game meat processing factory is properly recorded in a visible and verifiable way.

The association is set to start official deployment of the blockchain soon and will eventually roll out the new system across Japan. A beta version has already been tested.