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Want to know if you're eating chlorinated chicken? This blockchain startup might be able to help

Hotly-tipped blockchain startup Provenance has launched a new partnership with an American farmers’ cooperative that will help consumers track the winding journey their food has taken before it lands on their plate.

The startup has joined forces with Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative in Arkansas, with support from Heifer USA, to introduce blockchain technology that provides each product with its own ‘digital history’, allowing consumers to trace its journey and learn more about the people who contributed to its preparation.

It works by providing diners and shoppers with a QR code for each product which can then be scanned to find out various details about its supply chain journey, including where the meat came from and how the animals were raised.

San Francisco’s Golden Gate Meat Company, which stocks Grass Roots products, are pioneering the tech for its customers this week, which will also act as a strong proof of concept for Provenance’s Ethereum-powered blockchain platform.

The partnership is a timely one, coming after the recent furore over the potential of EU-banned, chlorine-washed chicken being sold in the UK as part of any post-Brexit US-UK trade deal.

While Grass Roots rears only pasture-raised chickens, the controversy highlighted how consumer’s are taking an increasing interest in what’s on their plates and where it has come from.

According to the 2016 Label Insight Study, 83% of US consumers would like more information about what’s in their food. Blockchain technology such that developed by Provenance has the potential to fill that knowledge gap.

The London startup, which raised $800k earlier this summer, has already carried out trials applying the technology to tuna fishing, where it has potential uses in ensuring that the products consumers are buying are from sustainable sources.

Speaking to ETH News, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Jessi Baker, said that the technology has significant potential for smaller businesses, where sustainability and transparency can be a crucial differentiator.

Speaking about the type of businesses adopting the tech, she said: “They tend to be smaller businesses, where transparency really works in their favour.

“Grassroots is one of those businesses. They have been proactive and managed to use the Provenance software platform self-serve to track end-to-end, which is a great proof point for us and also a great example for other small food businesses around the world keen to differentiate with transparent, traceable products.”