BLOCK-FQ: A blockchain based food quality assurance

• Main Authors: Ambrayil, Mammen Jacob, Kumar, Prejith Prasanna, Sabu, Sandhra Merin, George, Thomas P., G. Gokulnath
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applications programs; Blockchain; Contamination; Cryptography; Food; Food products; Food quality; Hotels; Inventory management; Mobile computing; Quality assurance; Quality control; Shelf life; Supply chains
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/5.0080923

Food qualities refer to the features and characteristics of a food product acceptable to consumers, needed for quality criteria, and are lucrative to the company. These are evaluated to try and minimize potential contamination and issues with widespread illnesses. The factors causing the contamination of the food may threaten the safe consumption of it and thereby make the foods harmful. Our aim is to bring about a systematic measure and thus ensure quality food. Currently, the food quality assurance is done manually by government authorized agencies. Instead of this organizations can digitize physical assets and create a decentralized immutable record of all transactions. By integrating IoT with blockchain, the paper discusses the properties like transparency and immutability. A supply chain mechanism is integrated into our project for quality assurance. Using IoT, mainly RFID, the food products are traced from manufacturing to the product delivery. The details of products reaching the hotel are updated into the blockchain via a web interface; this interface furthermore serves as an inventory management mechanism of the hotel. Product consumption needs to be updated on a daily basis. The shelf life of food products are calculated and alarmed to officials in case of disparities via the web interface itself. The general public is provided with a mobile application which ranks the hotels in a particular locale based on the quality assurance mechanism and user reviews.