Blockchain And Big Data To Be Deployed For Food & Wine Sector In Italy

The operators of the Italian agri-food and winemaking sector found a similarity between the blockchain technology and the procedure for recognizing brands of Protected Designation of Origin cheese (Dop — Denominazione di Origine Protetta) and Denomination of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin wines (Docg — Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita).

Therefore, the use of the blockchain can improve the traceability and quality of certification of the whole food chain. Mauro ROSATI, a leading expert of the Quality of Life Foundation (Fondazione Qualivita), is convinced of this.He has compiled annual reports on Italian Dop and Docg food products under the auspices of the Ministry of Agricultural Policy under the Institute of Services for the Agri-Food Sector (Istituto di Servizi per il Mercato Agricolo Alimentare) for several years.

Italian industry experts are betting on product quality. The system of certification of Dop and food products of controlled and guaranteed origin and organic products labelled "bio" involves 300,000 Italian companies. The use of blockchain technology can give the industry great advantages. However, the expert notes that it’s possible only if the application becomes collective, sectoral, industry-specific, and not individual, at the level of individual firms and enterprises.

According to Mr Rosati, a huge amount of collected data and information (mostly in digital format, but still available on paper) can be combined with data flow from the Internet of Things. The expert gives practical examples: a sensor installed in rooms for soaking and storing raw smoked ham can certify the observance of a constant temperature regime of 18 ° C. Georeferencing tools can guarantee the growth of a certain type of grain or fruit and vegetable products in a specific geographic area.

Mr Rosati believes that in addition to the blockchain, big data will play a great role in the future development of the food & wine sector in Italy. Thanks to the interaction with social networks, it is able to provide a huge amount of information about consumer behaviour and preferences. Thanks to this, it is possible to obtain reliable information about preferences in choosing wines in restaurants in Moscow or Beijing in real time. Big data can reduce the cost of obtaining information, making it available even for small and medium-sized enterprises that form the basis of business activity in Italy.