Blockchain-Based Traceability for Agricultural Products: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

In recent years, with the frequent crises of trust in the food industry, food safety issues have become an issue of particular concern to consumers. The traditional agricultural food logistics and transportation model can no longer guarantee the traceability of food safety information, and it is particularly important to establish an effective traceability system. Therefore, a traceability system is applied as a tool to assist in the assurance of food safety and quality, as well as to achieve consumer confidence. Blockchain is a new decentralized infrastructure and distributed computing paradigm that has gradually emerged. Blockchain has the characteristics of decentralization, immutable information and trustworthiness. When blockchain is applied to the traceability system of agricultural products, the quality of agricultural products will be well guaranteed. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review of the recent research efforts on traceability in agricultural products based on blockchain technology. First, the method of content analysis used in this article to sort out the papers is introduced. Second, the background concepts of blockchain and the key technologies are presented. Thirdly, the traceability applications based on blockchain technology for agricultural products are described in detail. Finally, we expand on the current trends and provide new perspectives pertaining to this exciting application of this field.