Boundary conditions for traceability in food supply chains using blockchain technology

TLDR

Traceability of food ingredients has become critical in global, heterogeneous markets where diverse organizations often resist sharing information, and blockchain has been promoted as a trust‑building solution yet remains difficult to implement in practice. This study aims to identify the boundary conditions that must be met to enable effective sharing of assurance information and improve traceability. The authors examined four supply‑chain cases through template analysis of 16 interviews. They identified 18 boundary conditions—business, regulatory, quality, and traceability—some common across chains and others chain‑specific, with standardization, a joint platform, and independent governance emerging as key prerequisites for successful blockchain deployment, implying that systems and organizational measures must be adapted before blockchain can be used.

Abstract

Traceability of ingredients in food supply chains has become paramount in a world in which markets become global, heterogeneous, and complex and in which consumers expect a high level of quality. The food supply chain consists of many organizations having different interests and are often reluctant to share traceability information with each other. Blockchain has been advocated for improving traceability by providing trust. Yet, practice proved to be more stubborn. The goal of this paper is to identify boundary conditions for sharing assurance information to improve traceability. Four cases in the food supply chain have been investigated using a template analysis of 16 interviews. Eighteen boundary conditions categorized in business, regulation, quality and traceability categories have been identified. Some boundary conditions were found in all supply chains, whereas others were found to be supply chain specific. Standardization of traceability processes and interfaces, having a joint platform and independent governance were found to be key boundary conditions before blockchain can be used. Our findings imply that supply chain systems have first to be modified and organizational measures need to be taken to fulfill the boundary conditions, before blockchain can be used successfully.