As the food sector changes so quickly, it is now crucial to ensure food safety. In order to properly manage food safety, novel solutions are desperately required given the expanding complexity of supply networks and rising consumer expectations. This study proposes a novel method to monitor, trace, and authenticate food goods using blockchain technology, therefore revolutionizing food safety management.

Food safety affects public health, economic development, and international commerce worldwide. The WHO estimates that 600 million people globally get foodborne diseases each year, resulting in 420 thousand deaths [1]. Food quality and safety are threatened by inadequate transparency and traceability and the complexity of the food distribution supply chain. Traditional food safety management requires tedious and costly manual record-keeping and inspections. These procedures are error-prone. The food sector of today is not without its difficulties. Due to the complexity of supply chains, the wide range of regulations, and the need for real-time information sharing, conventional approaches to guaranteeing food safety are no longer enough. With unmatched transparency, security, and efficiency, the incorporation of blockchain technology appears as a disruptive force in this environment.

The food business is going through an extraordinary period of change worldwide. The dynamics of food production, distribution, and consumption have changed dramatically as supply networks have become more complex and international. In the meantime, food safety continues to be a major worry. The increasing number of contamination events and foodborne disease cases highlights the critical need for creative solutions.

Decentralized, transparent, and secure record-keeping and transaction processing are possible with BCT. Every block of the chain contains a unique cryptographic hash that links it to the previous block, ensuring transaction immutability and integrity [2]. BCT-based food safety pilot programs have proliferated internationally in recent years. BCT may improve food safety by increasing food supply chain transparency, traceability, and authenticity [3]. A shared ledger that keeps food product data up-to-date is accessible to food supply chain stakeholders using BCT. This intervention can help identify and segregate food items that pose a risk to public health, reducing foodborne illness rates [4]. However, there are still challenges to overcome. Interoperability, scalability, and privacy are major issues [5]. Distributed ledger systems need significant infrastructure, human resources, and instructional initiatives. This research compares BCT’s pros and cons in food safety management. This research examines BCT-based food product monitoring, tracking, verification, and smart contract management to assure food safety ^[6][7][6,7]. This study’s results may improve food safety management systems and community health.

In light of the urgency of the issue, it is critical to investigate creative solutions that surpass customer expectations while adhering to regulatory requirements. The decentralized and unchangeable ledger of blockchain technology has made it seem like a game-changer. By giving end-to-end insight into the food supply chain, it tackles the essential challenges of traceability and authenticity, which are at the foundation of food safety management ^[8][9][8,9].

2. Overview of Food Safety Management and BCT

The safety of food products is of great concern to various stakeholders, including consumers, government agencies, and the food industry. The globalization of food production and supply systems has led to heightened complexity and challenges in ensuring food safety. The traditional methods for ensuring food safety, such as manual tracking and paper-based documentation, are deemed insufficient in terms of their precision, efficacy, and ability to maintain a clear record of the process. An imperative requirement for managing food safety is implementing a novel strategy, particularly in light of the escalating occurrences and outbreaks associated with this concern. BCT offers a novel approach to food safety management through its transparent and secure platform designed to monitor, trace, and authenticate food products. Blockchain, a distributed ledger technology, enables the maintenance of an unalterable record of all historical transactions. This innovation can revolutionize the food industry by enhancing transparency, responsibility, and effectiveness in food safety management. The implementation of BCT has the potential to improve food safety management by enabling the monitoring of every stage of the supply chain, from the farm to the table. The authentication of food quality, safety, and sustainability can be achieved through the utilization of BCT. The provision of this data to consumers, regulatory bodies, and other stakeholders has the potential to enhance transparency and credibility within the food industry. Collaboration among producers, processors, distributors, retailers, and regulatory bodies is essential for the successful implementation of BCT in food safety monitoring. The integration of BCT into pre-existing food safety management systems and guidelines is also a prerequisite for its deployment. In order to ensure the interoperability and scalability of food safety management systems based on blockchain technology, it is imperative to establish standards and protocols.

3. BCT and Its Applications

Secure, transparent, and decentralized transactions are made possible by BCT, which is a distributed ledger system. There are nodes in this network whose only purpose is to verify and permanently record transactions. The blockchain is a distributed ledger in which each “block” is a collection of related transactions connected to each other through cryptography. A block on the blockchain cannot be changed or removed after it has been created, protecting the data it contains. Use Cases for Blockchain in Food Safety:

• Tracing and Tracking: With BCT, food items can be traced and tracked from the farm to the table. Information about the food’s production, preparation, and delivery may all be recorded on the distributed ledger system (blockchain). In the event of an epidemic, this will allow relevant parties to quickly pinpoint the origin of the contamination and implement appropriate countermeasures. In addition, it lets buyers know exactly where their food came from, boosting confidence in the item’s legitimacy and quality.
• Food fraud and adulteration may be avoided by using BCT to verify the authenticity of food items. A digital fingerprint may be registered on the blockchain for each individual food item. At any stage in the distribution process, this identity may be used to confirm the legitimacy of the food item. As a bonus, BCT may be used to spot and stop counterfeiting by letting stakeholders monitor the product’s journey and verify that it has not been tampered with along the way.

4. Previous Studies on Blockchain-Based Food Safety Management

In order to establish a distributed ledger that is available to all supply chain participants, the authors present the Harvest Network, a hypothetical end-to-end application [9]. The objective is to deal with problems including information asymmetry, inconsistent data formats, and antiquated information systems. The article offers a basic framework that may be used to create a simulation or prototype using current protocols and technology. According to the authors, the next stage is for academics and practitioners in the industry to use AGILE techniques to develop cutting-edge projects and functional prototypes that promote transparency [9]. In order to create a visible and impenetrable food supply chain, the authors of [10] suggest a traceable food safety solution using blockchain technology and smart contracts. The goal of this solution is to build enduring trust with stakeholders and customers by guaranteeing dependability and traceability from the fields to the kitchen. A food traceability system based on blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT) technology is proposed in the study in [11]. With the help of this system, which is built for a smart agricultural ecosystem, food safety concerns should be addressed by tracking and monitoring food production throughout its whole lifecycle. All participants in the ecosystem are involved in an open, self-organizing, and ecological system. This study advances the technological side of food safety. Issues with the conventional food supervision system include data fragmentation and a lack of industry chain, which result in incoherent field regulations and a slow reaction time [12]. As a solution, the authors suggest a secondary-check method and a hierarchical multi-domain blockchain (HMDBC) network topology [12]. This system may facilitate arbitration of superior regions, auxiliary verification of supervision nodes, and prompt rectification and replacement of malicious supervision nodes by regional nodes co-governance. In order to fairly and objectively assess each node’s overall reputation in that area, the authors additionally suggest a fuzzy comprehensive assessment model of credibility that takes into account a variety of node performance indicator-influencing aspects. When smart contracts are used in conjunction with food industry norms, the system may automatically identify food quality and alert users to subpar food along the whole industrial chain. The authors’ goal is to determine how blockchain technology could enhance the coffee supply chain’s ecological embeddedness [13]. They use a qualitative case study approach to examine the first blockchain-enabled coffee company in the United States. The results show that the scenario under study does not have an environmentally integrated blockchain implementation. The authors come to the conclusion that a coffee supply chain with an incorporated circular economy would benefit from the extension of blockchain technology to take into account the production byproducts and vaporizable trash as assets [13]. In order to ascertain the effects of blockchain technology on the tourist industry and its sustainability, the writers examine research patterns pertaining to this application of technology [14]. The findings point to an increasing pattern of scholarly inquiry on supply chain efficiency and sustainable management. Marketing, logistics, and intelligent business models are the tourist industry operations that are using this technology more than others. Solutions that anticipate and encourage visitor behavior based on sustainable consumption patterns and behavior are already made possible by this technology, benefiting a variety of stakeholders [14]. In order to account for possible self-selection biases and confounding variables, the authors used propensity score matching (PSM), ordered logit model (Ologit), and ordinary least square (OLS) techniques using online survey data of 1058 fresh fruit customers [15]. The findings indicate that customers’ information-seeking behavior about fresh fruits is considerably impacted by their risk attitude. The likelihood of customers seeking information decreases with increasing risk preference. In addition to offering several recommendations for policy and practice to achieve a wider trajectory in agri-food information disclosure, the research gives fresh insights into the relationship between the food control risk mindset and traceability of agri-food information [15]. The integration of Internet of Things (IoT) devices that generate and consume digital data throughout the chain is covered in the [16] study. The authors created and implemented a use-case for the from-farm-to-fork vertical domain, defining a use-case inside it. They achieved traceability by using Ethereum and Hyperledger Sawtooth, two distinct blockchain implementations. The authors examine the state-of-the-art blockchain technology, its applicability in the agri-food value chain, and related difficulties using a comprehensive literature network analysis [17]. The results indicate that four key areas of agri-food value chain management—manufacturing, information security, traceability, and sustainable water management—have benefited from the adoption of blockchain technology, advanced information and communication technology, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Six obstacles are listed in the reseach: scalability and storage capacity; privacy leakage; high cost and regulatory issues; throughput and latency issues; and insufficient skills. By emphasizing how blockchain technology might enhance agri-food value chain performance in areas like food safety, food quality, and food traceability, the research adds to the body of knowledge. A food safety traceability system using blockchain technology and the EPC Information Services (EPCIS) is proposed in the study [18]. The system’s objective is to effectively identify and avert food safety issues by precisely documenting, exchanging, and tracking information throughout the whole logistics chain. This covers the procedures involved in manufacturing, processing, warehousing, shipping, and retail. Additionally, the authors create a working prototype system and suggest an on-chain and off-chain data management architecture to address the blockchain’s data explosion problem for the Internet of Things. Ethereum was used to create the prototype system. The authors create a multimode storage mechanism that integrates chain storage and suggest a novel system architecture based on blockchain technology [19]. Real-world instances and application scenarios were used in the testing and verification of this prototype system. The suggested system differs from conventional ones in that it offers real-time sharing of information about hazardous materials, data security and dependability, information connectivity and intercommunication, and dynamic and reliable whole-process tracking [19]. This method is very important and serves as a benchmark for ensuring food safety and quality via process traceability. The research in [20] examines blockchain usage in the food supply chain using a content analysis-based literature review. According to the authors, blockchain has four advantages: it may improve food traceability, increase information transparency, improve recall efficiency, and work better when paired with the Internet of Things (IoT) [20]. They also list five possible obstacles, including a lack of a thorough grasp of blockchain, problems with technology, the manipulation of raw data, the difficulty of gaining the support of all parties, and the absence of legislation. According to the research, blockchain technology may improve the efficiency of managing food recalls and alleviate food poverty. Because of its distribution and tamper-resistance properties, the information storage infrastructure the authors have built using Hyperledger ensures the legitimacy and authenticity of data [21]. The study provides a strategy for assessing the risk to food safety and tracks unqualified goods using visual aids including force-directed graphs, heat maps, and migration maps. Using a case study that used aquatic goods as an example, the approach was evaluated using food sample data from 2016. The outcomes provided a foundation for developing a regulatory plan for risky locations by demonstrating the risks in an understandable and effective manner and analyzing the causes and traceability procedures. Table 1 shows the summary of previous studies for blockchain-based food safety management.