Hi please i need support to write my final report please see the attached files. i have attached Capstone 1 , Capstone 2 , Capstone 3 , Capstone 4 (2 files) to see what you need to write. and the req

14

Higher Colleges of Technology

Course Code: CIS-4906

Assignment Title: Capstone Project Charter

Project Name: Blockchain App in Food Traceability

Faculty Mentor:

Client Organization: Global Food Industries LLC (GFI)

The purpose of this project is to design a mobile app that is based on blockchain technology which customers can use to scan quick response codes of food items from the Al Areesh, Arctic Gold and Healthy Farm brands. These brands are under the Global Food Industries LLC, which deals in frozen food products including meat, poultry, seafood, and vegetables. The goal of the company is to provide safe and healthy foods to its consumers. The company sources halal-certified raw materials from different suppliers in Asia, the Middle East, and India and exports its products all over the world. However, with the growth of food supply chain networks globally, cases of false reporting, fraud, and illegal production are on the rise. Without a thorough system to validate suppliers’ information, consumers are in danger of consuming foods that may cause them harm. Blockchain is currently the only technology that promises a quick verification of valid and invalid information in the food chain. Food companies that are adopting blockchain have reported increased risk mitigation, leading to high food safety, consumer confidence, and higher sales. This project aims to propose the integration of blockchain to Global Food Industries LLC to benefit from the supply chain transparency and increased supplier and consumer satisfaction.

Table of Contents

Abstract 2

Introduction 3

Project Objectives or Justification 6

Project Scope 6

Literature Survey and Technical Background Review 7

Literature 1: Blockchain Overview and Architecture 7

Literature 2: Blockchain applications 8

Literature 3: The food supply chain 8

Literature 4: Blockchain in food supply chain management 9

Literature 5: Digitization of the food supply chain using blockchain technology 9

Literature 6: Blockchain solution to food security 10

Literature 7: Blockchain solution to food safety 10

Literature 8: Blockchain solution to food integrity 11

Literature 9: Blockchain solution to food loss recall 11

Related Projects 11

Success Criteria 12

Discussion 12

References 13

Food is a basic need for all humans. At global and state levels, there are policies to improve food security and safety. Food security means that there should be an adequate amount of healthy and nutritional food for everyone (Andrade, 2016). Food safety emphasizes that the consumed products should meet safety standards and do not harm the consumers (Dybro & Hansen, 2018). Today, consumers around the world are aware of the ill effects of foods that have high levels of harmful ingredients and are demanding healthy and organic foods. Many companies in the food industry are now making efforts to source organic raw materials and process foods without adding harmful substances. Whereas countries and organizations put measures to determine the quality and safety attributes of food, consumers have to take producers at their word. The major problem is that some participants in the supply chain can find a way to assure others that their products meet the certification standards when this is not the case. A case study of a vineyard in the United States by Wells (2015) confirmed the finding that certified organic foods could not be trusted. Also, one party of the supply chain can meet the requirements for safe foods while others do not. For example, a farmer produces crops under organic conditions, but the processor adds harmful preservatives to increase shelf life, or the distributor stores the products in bad conditions that destroy its quality. ­Indeed, the food industry needs to improve its supply chain visibility to restore consumer’s trust in food products. Adopting technology, specific, blockchain can help to improve the supply chain transparency (Spencer, 2019).

Blockchain works by recording information about each step of a transaction in a block and made available in a ledger. Everyone connected to the chain receives the information as it is added. All peers connected to the same chain can add information and see what their peers have added. However, no one can alter the information, therefore, eradicating the possibility of fraud. The decentralized characteristic of blockchain prevents a single authority to control what others can see or share. Food companies can adopt blockchain to trace the conditions through which food was produced from sourcing raw materials to the consumer’s plate (Neo & Koe, 2019).

In this project, we aim to create a consumer blockchain-based app for Global Food Industries LLC (GFI) to help in food traceability. GFI deals in frozen foods, mainly poultry, meat, seafood, and vegetables through its brands Al Areesh, Arctic Gold, and Healthy Farm (Global-food.com, 2020). The company's vision is to be the best-frozen food company in the market. Part of its mission is to bring innovative, quality and trusted products to the consumers aligned with their health and wellness needs and be socially responsible to the communities and environment (Global-food.com, 2020). According to the company’s managing director, GFI sources the finest halal certified raw materials from across the world and processes them in its world-class facilities in Sharjah before distributing to retailers in the UAE and export to other countries. However, the company is not using blockchain technology at the moment, so it is impossible to prove that their raw materials and supply chain processes are meeting the food safety standards that they desire.

This blockchain app project will help GFI live up to its vision and mission of providing quality and safe food by tracking all conditions of the supply chain from where they are sourced to processing and distribution in the market. Using this technology will increase the trust of their consumers in their products, enhance brand reputation, and expand their market value.

The goal of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of blockchain technology in enhancing the supply chain visibility of food companies to meet food safety standards.

The following specific objectives will be met to achieve the stated goal:

1. To explain how blockchain technology can be integrated into the supply chain management of food companies.

2. To explore how other food industry players have benefitted from blockchain technology in product traceability and overall supply chain management.

3. To collect primary data about blockchain adaptation in fast food industries.

4. To design and program a blockchain application that can be integrated into GFI’s supply chain for food traceability by consumers.

5. To demonstrate the app to trace food conditions from the sourcing of raw materials to finished products.

6. To demonstrate how blockchain technology can be used to identify problem areas in the supply chain for quick solutions that will lead to cost-saving and stronger brand reputation.

This project focuses on creating a blockchain app that can be integrated into the supply chain of Global Food Industries for food traceability to ensure safety for consumers. The blockchain technology enhances the transparency of the supply chain and can be used to prevent many problems in the food supply chain, including food fraud, food loss, waste management, and environmental hazard. This project is only focusing on the food traceability aspect. This is because the company focuses on health and wants the safest foods for its consumers; hence food traceability is an ideal start in its use of blockchain. blockchain ledger will thus capture the following information:

• Block 1: Ledger of farmer input, for example, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides used to grow vegetables, and ingredients in animal feeds.

• Block 2: Ledger of certifiers in verifying and certifying the condition of production.

• Block 3: Ledger of food processors detailing the manufacturing process and ingredients added to achieve the final product.

• Block 4: Ledger of distributors showing conditions in which the products were stored and transported.

• Block 5: Ledger of retailers showing the condition, quality, and quantity of produce at the time of reception from distributors.

• Block 6: App for consumer verification and the ability to trace each food item from the source.

The purpose of this literature survey is to synthesize information related to the objectives and scope of this project. A consultation of various sources including technology journals, industry publications, news and magazines about blockchain use in food safety was done. The aim was to establish whether other students or researchers have done similar projects and how similar or different it is from ours. The technical background review of blockchain is also given and describes how companies like IBM provide client support, training and implementation of blockchain technologies in organizations’ supply chain.

Blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that stores the history of every transaction in a chain of blocks (Horak, 2008). Unlike conventional ledger such as spreadsheets, Blockchain is unique through the following features:

Decentralized system: Blockchain runs on a decentralized framework meaning that it is not under the authority of a single person or entity. Instead, the network is maintained by a group of nodes that enable the transmission of information from one party to another. People can store and have direct control of their important documents, contracts and other digital assets by using their private key. There is no government or external authority to impose control over individual assets. Agres (2017) found that a decentralized system helps to reduce occurrences in food fraud as the control falls under many people at once rather than a single authority with the power to manipulate the information flow.

Immutability: The information entered in the ledgers cannot be changed, hence immutable. The immutable feature of blockchain makes it difficult impossible for someone to go back and change information. This can help to reduce wrongful reporting in the food certification process, which leads to human error or fraud (Agres, 2017). For example, once quality assurance determines that a food item contains 5% of a harmful substance and cannot be certified for safety, this information is immediately inscribed in a block and cannot be altered unnoticed. Attempts to alter a block of information creates a new or different block rendering the previous block invalid, and the problem is immediately realized by peers in the chain. The immutability feature enhances security and transparency for blockchain users (Nofer et al., 2017).

Transparency: The ledgers in the blockchain provide every information about a transaction as it occurs, and the participants involved. Every node within the system keeps a copy of the transaction. In the context of the food supply chain, consumers within the network can access information about the origin of their food, how it was processed and shipped to them. Food companies can access the methods that farmers used to grow the crops or rear the animals (Lempert, 2018).

Consensus algorithms: At the core of blockchain technology is consensus algorithms. This means that a rigorous process is followed in making network decisions, for example, on what kind of blocks to add to the network. Strategies such as proof of work, solving a mathematical problem, and proof of stake are used to ensure that the information made available to the network is valid and sits well with the majority (Nofer et al., 2017).

Blockchain has many applications in the modern world. Industries that want to increase the transparency of their processes, adopt more decentralized systems, increase their digital security, and provide satisfaction to all their stakeholders are adopting blockchain technology. Although blockchain is mainly a public ledger, some organizations are running private blockchains specific to their businesses to improve their internal processes. According to Nofer et al. (2017), blockchain has come to disrupt several industries. Blockchain applications are widely seen in the financial industry in the making and use of cryptocurrency coins. The coins are transacted on peer-to-peer platforms and reduce the costs and controls imparted by banks on fiat money. Blockchain applications are also seen in the handling and storage of records, online authentication and signature systems, verification processes, tracking ownership of assets, intellectual property rights and patent information, and smart contracts implementation. Some health companies use blockchain technology to track patient health records and reduce human error in treatment. Areas that require greater transparency and corrupt-free processes such as electronic voting, real estate transfers, charity money management do benefit greatly with blockchain technology (Nofer et al., 2017).

A food supply chain of even one company involves many stakeholders with different roles. It can include farmers or producers, manufacturers or processors, packaging companies, shipping companies, marketers and distributors, wholesalers, retailers and consumers. The supply chain can mainly be divided into the production, processing, distribution, retailing, and consumption phases.

The production phase entails all the activities implemented to produce raw materials. For GFI who specializes in frozen meats and vegetables, it includes the rearing of chicken, cows, and vegetable growing at farm level. The farmers from whom GFI sources its meat and vegetables apply agriculture techniques such as the use of farm inputs like fertilizers and animal feeds to grow vegetables and rear animals. These farmers are from all over the world. The yield and quality of their products may also be affected by the climate of their local area, things like diseases, soil, or environmental situation of their agricultural area (Tian, 2017).

The processing phase is where the farm produce is converted into the food product. For example, GFI takes the produce from all over the world to its factory in Sharjah, where processing into frozen food products takes place. Packaging and labelling of the food products can also take place at this phase. Codes are used to identify each production batch and contains information such as raw materials used, quantity and temperature conditions during processing (Tian, 2017).

The distribution phase entails taking the packaged and labelled products to distribution centres. Conditions during shipping and storage need to be considered to maintain the quality and safety of foods — for example, GFI ships the frozen foods in refrigerated containers.

In the retailing phase, the finished products are sold to the consumer. The retailers also have to countercheck information such as shelf-life and store the products in their optimal conditions as they await purchase (Tian, 2017).

The consumption phase is when the consumer, also known as the end-user of the product buys it for use. With increased awareness, consumers want to know what kind of product they are buying, its contents, where it was produced and the conditions during its production. Such information is usually availed but whether it can be trusted or not is another challenge. The integration of blockchain enables quick verification of what is valid or invalid information (Zhao et al., 2019).

According to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) (n.d), the role of supply chain management is two-fold. First, it is to plan, implement, and control the basic activities in procurement, manufacturing, and logistics that create and give value to the customer. Second, it is to integrate and coordinate the corresponding business processes within and among companies. The annual growth rate of blockchain in supply chain management applications is projected at 87%, increasing from USD 45 million in 2018 to USD 3315 million by 2023 (Chang et al., 2019).

The following is a fundamental way in which the food supply chain can be supported by blockchain. A top layer depicts the physical flow of information. The middle layer depicts the digital flow of information. The middle layer can incorporate various technologies including online certification, digital signatures, RFID, QR codes, NFC and sensors. Hence every action performed in any step of the food supply chain using these digital technologies is recorded on the bottom layer of the blockchain. The information captured is immutable and stored in the bottom layer after acceptance by all participants in the chain. This captured information is usually validated by all stakeholders in the supply network, thereby forming a consensus among all participants. The entire blockchain infrastructure is connected to the middle layer by Internet and web servers. Whenever each block of information is validated, it is added to the chain of transactions and becomes a permanent record of the entire process. Various digital technologies are involved in the different information added to the blockchain (Chang et al., 2019).

At the farm or producer level, the information captured includes soils, fertilizers, pesticides, machinery and other input in the production of crops and rearing of animals. Farming practices used, weather conditions, animal welfare or crop cultivation process can also be documented. Hence, transactions between the farmer and the company are recorded in the blockchain.

At the processing level, the information recorded includes the factory and its equipment, the processing methods used, batch numbers, and packaging information, among others. The financial transaction between the company and the producers and distributors is captured as well.

At the distribution level, the information captured includes shipping, trajectories followed, storage conditions, time in transit and any other information between the distributors and the retailers.

At the retailer level, the block contains information about each food item, its quantity and quality, storage condition, expiry date, and shelf life.

The consumer can then use a mobile or web application to scan a Quick Response (QR) code associated with the food item and read all the information associated with the product from the producer to the retailer’s destination (Zhao et al., 2019).

Blockchain has been identified as an opportunity for the transparent delivery of food aid in disaster-stricken areas. For example, the Blockchain for Zero Hunger (2017) project focuses on the distribution of digital food coupons to refugees in camps via an Ethereum-based blockchain. The coupons can be redeemed via biometric data. The process enables the rapid and efficient delivery of food while keeping records that the food was indeed delivered to the expected beneficiary.

With the increasingly global flow of products, food safety and quality are threatened because of the complexities in monitoring the large involvement in production, processing, managing, and storing of food. The possibilities of food contamination can lead to illnesses and even death to consumers. Blockchain promises an urgent and efficient solution in the traceability of food in terms of safety and transparency. Kroger and Walmart adopted blockchain to trace mangoes and pork from Mexican and Chinese suppliers, respectively. Before blockchain, the process of verification of products took a week. After blockchain, the verification can be done in real-time in a matter of a few seconds. Companies like ZetoChain use blockchain for environmental monitoring for food supply chain dealing with perishable foods that need to be stored in cold storage. Zeto labels are scanned by consumers using mobile apps to access a product’s history.

The supply chain needs to have a reliable exchange of food as each participant should give full details about the origin of the goods and the procedures followed. Utilizing blockchain, food companies can mitigate food fraud by immediately identifying and connecting incidents to their specific sources. Carrefour has adopted blockchain to verify standards and trace food origins in various groups including meat, fish, dairy, vegetables and fruits, and admits that the process has boosted its sales (Thomasson, 2019).

The multinational retail company Walmart was experiencing problems high return rates of their products flagged by consumers for poor quality. The company faced losses because of the refunds they had to make. It is until Walmart partnered with IBM's Food Trust Provenance project, which developed the IBM Blockchain platform and integrated Hyperledger Fabric to the retailer’s supply chain. The company has used the Hyperledger Fabric for food traceability from source to shelf of 25 products from 5 suppliers and planning to roll out the system to the rest of its products (Dimitrov, 2019).

• Increase the number of suppliers agreeing to the blockchain integration from 0 to 100%.

• Increase supplier satisfaction by 70%.

• Identify a blockchain solutions provider to integrate GFI’s supply chain with blockchain.

• Reduce time for each food item verification process time from 6 days to 2 seconds.

• Develop a mobile app for consumers to scan QR codes of frozen food items for traceability.

• Increase brand reputation and customer satisfaction by 80%.

The purpose of this project is to determine how food companies can use blockchain technology to enhance food safety and prevent other problems in the food supply chain. We did a case study of Global Food Industries through its brands Al Areesh, Arctic Gold, and Healthy Farm. The company’s vision and mission are to deliver truly healthy and safe food to all its consumers. Although it sources produce that is organic and halal certified from all over the world, it is impossible to establish the authenticity of all the supply chain stakeholders without a system like a blockchain in place. Blockchain is the only technology to date that can guarantee protection from information falsification due to its immutable nature. The publicly available and decentralized ledger means that all the food supply chain players within the network can access information about their products. GFI can achieve the satisfaction that it has sourced only the best raw materials to process food of the highest quality for its consumers. Consumers can trace the origin and movement of their food from farm to plate using the blockchain-based food traceability app.

Our contribution was to research and design a blockchain app for food traceability in GFI’s supply chain. By urging GFI to adopt blockchain technology, the company will increase the trust of consumers in its products leading to stronger brand reputation, customer retention, market expansion, and higher revenue. The challenges anticipated in doing this project includes learning how to generate the program that can be integrated with GFI processes in the real-world scenario and also in bringing together all GFI’s stakeholders to accept to share information for coding in the blockchain. To overcome these challenges, we have established a project plan and set milestones to guide us in achieving small steps that will combine to achieving the overarching goal.

Agres, T. (2017, September 24). Blockchain to the Rescue: Eliminating Global Food Fraud. Food Quality and Safety ISSN 2399-1399.

Andrade, M. (2016). The Role of Technology in Achieving Global Food Security. The World Food Prize, Retrieved from https://www.worldfoodprize.org/index.cfm/88533/18104/the_role_of_technology_in_ achieving_global_food_security.

Blockchain for Zero Hunger. (2017). Retrieved from https://innovation.wfp.org/project/building-blocks.

Chang, Y., Eleftherios, I., & Weidong, S. (2019). Blockchain in Global Supply Chains and Cross Border Trade: A Critical Synthesis of the State-of-the-Art, Challenges and Opportunities. arXiv:1901.02715, preprint.

CSCMP. (n.d). Supply Chain Management Terms and Glossary. Retrieved from http://cscmp.org/CSCMP/Educate/SCMDefinitionsandGlossaryofTerms/CSCMP/Edu cate/SCMDefinitionsandGlossaryofTerms.aspx.

Dimitrov, B. (2019, December 5). How Walmart And Others Are Riding A Blockchain Wave To Supply Chain Paradise. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/biserdimitrov/2019/12/05/how-walmart-and-others-are- riding-a-blockchain-wave-to-supply-chain-paradise/#4ca7dad07791.

Dybro, N., & Hansen, A. (2018). Sustainable Intensification of Global Agronomic Output. Journal of Agricultural Science 10(3) 30-32. DOI: 10.5539/jas.v10n3p30

Global Food Industries LLC. http://global-food.com/

Horak, R. (2008). Webster’s New World Telecom Dictionary: A Comprehensive Reference for Telecommunications Terminology. New Jersey: Wiley Technology Pub.

Lempert, P. (2018, November 12). Why Blockchain is so Important to the Food Industry. Winsight Grocery Business. Retrieved from https://www.winsightgrocerybusiness.com/technology/why-blockchain-so-important- food-industry.

Neo, P. & Koe, T. (2019, March 21). Trace What Matters: Is Blockchain The Solution to Food Safety, Quality and Brand Reputation? FoodNavigator.com. Retrieved from https://www.foodnavigator-asia.com/Article/2019/03/20/Trace-what-matters-Is- Blockchain-the-solution-to-food-safety-quality-and-brand-reputation.

Nofer, M., Gomber, P., Hinz, O., et al. (2017) Blockchain: A disruptive technology. Business & Information Systems Engineering 59(3): 183–187. DOI: 10.1007/s12599-017-0467- 3.

Spencer, N. (2019, September 24). What’s Next for Blockchain in the Food Industry? FoodNavigator.com https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2019/09/24/Blockchain- technology-is-improving-food-traceability.

Tian, F. (2017). A supply chain traceability system for food safety based on HACCP, Blockchain & Internet of things. International Conference on Service Systems and Service Management (ICSSSM). IEEE.

Thomasson, E. (2019, June 3). Carrefour says blockchain tracking boosting sales of some products. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-carrefour- blockchain/carrefour-says-blockchain-tracking-boosting-sales-of-some-products- idUSKCN1T42A5.

Wells, J. (2015, Nov 4). Is Organic Really Organic? A Deep Dive into the Dirt. CNBC. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/04/is-organic-really-organic-a-deep- dive-into-the-dirt.html.

Zhao, G., Liu, S., Lopez, C., Lu, H., Elgueta, S., Chen, H., & Boshkoska, B. (2019). Blockchain technology in agri-food value chain management: A synthesis of applications, challenges and future research directions. Computers in Industry 109(1), 83-99.