America’s multinational retail corporation Walmart Inc. has shown interest in adopting Blockchain technology in its live food business, the announcement has received encomiums from blockchain enthusiasts around the world.
Walmart Vice President of Food Safety and Health, Frank Yiannas, made the announcement Monday at the MIT Technology Review’s Business of Blockchain conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Bloomberg report of April 23 stated.
Adoption of the blockchain technology is due to the speed at which produce could be tracked, plus the fact that it’ll reduce waste, as well as improve contamination management and transparency.
According Yiannas, Blockchain was able to shorten the time it took to track produce from six days to two seconds.
Walmart & IBM Collaboration
Interest of Walmart in blockchain technology came to fore back in 2016 , when it collaborated with another tech giant IBM to identify and remove recalled foods from its products list.
The Blockchain-based system is getting the attention of the American store because its capability to verify any information about products and, ability to guard against hacking attacks and data alterations.
In March, Walmart submitted an application for a patent on its “Smart Package” system. The system is designed to track package contents, environmental conditions, location, and other details.
According to the patent, the device is intended to be used in new technologies like autonomous vehicles and unmanned drones, cointelegraph says.
JD.com too
Walmart isn’t the first store to delve into this, JD.com, the leading Chinese e-commerce site, is also implementing Blockchain technology to assure the quality and origin of meat.
JD said that customers will be able to monitor their meat from the farm in Australia where it was raised, all the way to their doorstep.
Walmart Inc. is one of the biggest American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores.
It’s headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, and was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated on October 31, 1969.
It has grown exponentially since its creation. As of January 31, 2018, Walmart has 11,718 stores and clubs in 28 countries, operating under 59 different names.
Its latest pet project Blockchain has also got the attention of financial institutions across the globe, which is going to make the technology’s potentials incredible in years ahead.