Traceability milestone for Ecuadors SSP shrimp

The Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP) has today announced it has joined the IBM Food Trust ecosystem, which will help provide traceability of SSP shrimp from farm to fork.

The platform will use blockchain technology to deliver greater accountability and transparency to customers and consumers for every element of SSP’s premium Ecuadorian farmed shrimp production and journey to the consumer plate.

“Food fraud is on the rise. With complex supply systems, and a global lack of transparency we are seeing too many examples of mislabeling and poor quality products entering the marketplace,” said Jose Antonio Camposano, executive president of the National Chamber of Aquaculture of Ecuador. “It’s time we change that. Consumers have a right to know where their food is from and how it was produced. By using blockchain technology we can provide complete traceability on our products and our practices – for the first time consumers can have complete trust and assurance on what they are buying.”

As part of IBM’s Food Trust ecosystem, SSP’s members – made up of responsible shrimp producers based in Ecuador – will enter data about how the shrimp is produced onto the blockchain. Ultimately, retailers around the world will be able to see this data and trace it in every stage so that they can ensure the quality of the shrimp. SSP plans to enable consumer access via an app, enabling individuals to view provenance data about the shrimp they buy.

Food Trust enables real-time, end-to-end and immutable traceability data of a food product to verify supply chain history; and can also provide verification of the shrimp’s SSP qualification– including confirmation it is zero antibiotic approved and certified to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Standard. Food Trust provides a secured platform to which data can be uploaded and shared, and can help verify the authenticity of product claims. The technology will be accessible to buyers, retailers and consumers, and allow permissioned parties to have visibility into key product information.

“Our aim is to have SSP premium quality shrimp in supermarkets and on menus where the consumer can scan the QR code and find out which farm it is from, how it was farmed, and key indicators on its food safety and sustainability profile,” added Pamela Nath, SSP Director. “SSP shrimp is farmed to the highest social and environmental standards, and we want to ensure consumers have confidence in these commitments by providing complete accountability. We believe traceability is the future of responsible aquaculture, and we are keen to pave the way for others to follow.”

SSP shrimp is produced to the highest social and environmental standards – ASC certified, use of zero antibiotics, and with neutral impact on local water quality. With the introduction of blockchain technology, SSP's products will be the first shrimp on the IBM Food Trust solution.