• The Vechain platform will guarantee the freshness of Norwegian exports to China
• Supply chain management is especially big in China, which has historically struggled with contaminated products and forgeries

A collaboration between Vechain and three leading Norwegian firms is set to guarantee the freshness and traceability of foods exported to China and Northern Europe. The Trust Platform will ensure consumers will enjoy the highest quality Norwegian food products.

According to an announcement by VeChain today, Norwegian seafood will become the first beneficiary of the proposed shopping platform. The Trust Platform is meant to address the challenge of guaranteeing the safety of Norwegian products including seafood, supplements, water, and furnishings entering the Chinese Market.  VeChain will combine its knowledge in blockchain with DNV GL Norway in a Box to ensure Chinese consumers enjoy the highest quality of Norwegian produce.  

Contaminated food a big problem

Apart from being the world’s biggest nation and being called the world’s food factory, China is also a leading consumer market. However, following a spate of contaminated foodstuff exports from 2005 to 2007, China’s food processing industry and regulatory system faced intense international scrutiny.  Chinese leaders have responded with high-profile efforts to improve oversight. Likewise, major importers of Chinese food products and ingredients have met with new safety regimes to monitor the rapidly growing volume of imported products from China.

However, China lacks many of the critical components that contribute to safe, quality-centric manufacturing environments in Western economies, including an independent legal system and a robust civil society that represents the interests of consumers and manufacturers.  China is further challenged by decentralized manufacturing and distribution systems and weak government capacity at local levels. Despite these challenges, high-level political attention in both China and importing countries indicates that mutually agreeable safety regimes are possible and the trend towards expanded international trade in foodstuffs is probable.

Assured product freshness

Because of this initiative, VeChainThor will enable Chinese consumers to scan a QR Code attached to a product so they can experience the product’s story. The  post states:   

“With the VeChainThor Blockchain, each product has its unique ID. Top Italian wine producers were the first to implement and use this new and unique innovation […] with a simple scan, buyers and consumers will be assured of the product’s freshness by Norway in a Box, validated by DNV GL. This collaboration in product transparency is a new approach to battling food safety issues in China.”

The three companies will start by importing Norwegian salmon among other seafood and products shipped from Norway to China will be directly available through restaurants or the online shipping platform built by Norway In a Box. VeChain has found itself involved in several partnerships over the years such as those with Actiware and BMW, and now this new one, another solid step for blockchain adoption.