Blockchain Technology Poised to Combat $50 Billion Food Fraud Crisis

Food fraud costs the global industry up to $50 billion annually while endangering consumers—from diluted olive oil to toxic milk additives like China's 2008 melamine scandal that hospitalized 300,000 infants. The UN defines this deception as deliberate misrepresentation of food contents, eroding trust across supply chains despite representing just 0.4% of the $12 trillion sector.

Walmart's Hyperledger Fabric trials demonstrate blockchain's transformative potential, slashing pork and mango traceability from days to seconds. Such Immutable ledgers could expose tainted products instantly, though industry-wide adoption requires significant infrastructure investment. The technology's promise lies in converting opaque supply chains into transparent, accountable systems—a paradigm shift for food safety.