Australia Post, e-commerce company Alibaba and natural health firm Blackmores have teamed up to combat the rise of counterfeit food being sold across China.
The initiative will increase the traceability of food products, reducing the risk of fraud and ensuring Australia remains a trusted exporter of high quality food.
The project will explore new technologies to achieve this including blockchain technology, which is a decentralized and highly available database that could obtain details from suppliers about where and how their food was grown and map its journey across the supply chain.
Bob Black, executive general manager for parcels at Australia Post and CEO of StarTrack, said, “We are delighted Alibaba has invited us to create an innovative platform, which will track food from paddock to plate, strengthening the supply chain.
“The initiative will leverage our secure, reliable and fast service to support the authentication of Australian products bound for the Chinese market. Our food producers have a global reputation as being a clean, green and safe provider of food and we are pleased to help deliver a solution to enhance the integrity of their produce.”
Food fraud is one of the biggest issues facing the global food industry, with potential health risks and a loss of trust from consumers and governments. In recent years, counterfeiters have targeted popular Australian products such as health supplements, beer and wine, honey and cherries.
Professional services firm PwC is an adviser to the project.
March 31, 2017