Nestlé to track palm oil and milk with blockchain technology pilot

Nestlé will launch a new pilot programme to track products such as milk and palm oil by using blockchain technology.

The world’s largest food company is collaborating with OpenSC, a blockchain platform that allows consumers to track their food back to farms.

Founded by WWF Australia and The Boston Consulting Group Digital Ventures, OpenSC has developed a platform that will give anyone, anywhere access to independently verifiable sustainability and supply chain data, Nestlé said.

The initial pilot programme will trace milk from farms and producers in New Zealand to Nestlé factories and warehouses in the Middle East. Later, the technology will be tested using palm oil sourced in the Americas.

These pilots will allow Nestlé to understand how scalable the system is.

Magdi Batato, executive vice president, head of operations, Nestlé, said: “We want our consumers to make an informed decision on their choice of products – to choose products produced responsibly. Open blockchain technology might allow us to share reliable information with consumers in an accessible way.”

Nestlé has piloted blockchain technology since 2017, most prominently with IBM.

In April, it gave consumers access to blockchain data for the first time, through Mousline purée in France.

“This open blockchain technology will allow anyone, anywhere in the world to assess our responsible sourcing facts and figures,” said Benjamin Ware, global head of responsible sourcing, Nestlé.

“We believe it is another important step towards the full disclosure of our supply chains announced by Nestlé in February this year, raising the bar for transparency and responsible production globally.”