From Milk to the Chain: Design and Implementation of a Blockchain-based Cheese Tracking System

Blockchain offers many benefits in different areas. One such area is Supply Chain tracking, in which a blockchain allows untrusted parties to share data in an immutable manner containing information on (1) how the product left the producer (e.g., to meet regulatory standards), (2) how was its conditions during transport (e.g., temperature collected by sensors), and (3) how it arrived in the final destination. Further, such integrity is helpful for consumers and governmental bodies to verify the origin of the product they acquired and that it was not tampered with during any step in the supply chain. In the context of the cheese, governmental entities (e.g., Federal Office for Agriculture) might also include information regarding tests being conducted on the cheese. For example, the test results (e.g., positive or negative) if the cheese was made with the correct culture sent to the cheesemakers. Hence, this thesis has the main goal of developing a system that can track the cheese production steps, retrieve information from existing systems and send them to a blockchain network shared with the stakeholders.

One particular advantge of this thesis is that the student will have the opportunity to work within the CheeseChain project [2], being able to gain knowledge on the supply chain system of the production of cheese, from the milk delivery its commercialization to the testing of the cheese's provenance. CheeseChain is a project in conjuction with the Swiss Confederation's centre of excellence for agricultural research (Agroscope) [3]. It targets the development and implementation of a platform to improve transparency and trust along the Tête-de-Moine [4] value chain. This significant advance for proof of origin, immutability, and transparency is achieved by combining biological data with storage in a Blockchain, combined with partner-specific databases, e.g., from Fromarte [5].

References:

[1] Eder J. Scheid, Bruno Rodrigues, Christian Killer, Muriel Franco, Sina Rafati, and Burkhard Stiller. Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers Uncovered: Clarifications, Achievements, and Open Issues. In Advancing Research in Information and Communication Technology, IFIP AICT Festschrifts, pages 1–29. Springer, Cham, Switzerland, August 2021.

[2] https://www.csg.uzh.ch/csg/en/research/CheeseChain.html

[3] https://www.agroscope.admin.ch/agroscope/en/home.html

[4] https://www.tetedemoine.ch/en/

[5] https://www.fromarte.ch/de/