(Gary C. Smith, Colorado State University)
“Transparency” is the clear winner in the Innova Market Insights, Top Ten Food Trends For 2021, with brands upping their game to meet evolving ethical, environmental, and clean-label consumer demands.1 55% of US consumers are asking for “the story” behind their food—they want to feel more connected to the products they purchase. The retailer needs to focus on how to deliver the story, carry products with a story, and effectively communicate the story to the consumer.2 Aimpoint Research reported that, with regard to “sustainability of a food product,” transparency is important to two-thirds of consumers and three-fourths support government-mandated transparency labels.3
Consumers want to understand the origins of their food and its journey from farm-to-fork.4 Transparency is truth and trust.5 In 2015, food companies implemented “transparency” initiatives in response to lack of consumer trust. The concept was actually “improved traceability” because many buyers/shoppers wanted more information about what’s in their food and where did it come from. Nestle, Walmart, Dole, McCormick, and Cargill were early-adopters, seeking to strengthen their brand-names so their customers and consumers could make informed decisions at the time of purchase.6 BrandSpark International says, “Being transparent is a way that companies gain trust in brands from consumers”; it’s “Most Trusted Brands In 2018” included: (a) eggs (Eggland’s Best); (b) sausage (Jimmy Dean); (c) fresh packaged meat (Oscar Mayer); (d) butter (Land O’ Lakes); and (e) hot dogs (Oscar Mayer).7
Brand recognition continues to grow among supermarket shoppers and foodservice patrons because of their interest in trust and transparency. FMI’s Power Of Meat 2018 said opportunities exist for food retailers in the use of “Product Transparency.”8 Consumer surveys reveal that: (a) 94% of consumers are likely to be loyal to a brand of meat and poultry that offers complete transparency; and (b) 73% would be willing to pay more for a product that offers complete transparency.9 The brand-name, Niman Ranch, appears on more than 16,500 restaurant menus because of patron’s interest in trust, transparency, and belief that the company’s heritage is vested in its ethical and sustainable practices.10
Peripheral benefits to “improved traceability” would include: (a) safer food, (b) improved trust, (c) enhanced flow, to provide fresher products to end-users, (d) fresher and faster deliveries to reduce food waste, (e) prevention of food fraud, (f) reduction of reaction time in the event of a food recall, and (g) shining a light on food ecosystem participants that will further promote responsible actions and behaviors.6 Global supply-chains can be challenging to track and trace because paper trails can be difficult to follow (because they do not provide transparency) plus there is a chance that a deceitful employee can adjust specific details.11 More and more Americans are interested in how their food is produced, processed, and distributed—and they want “transparency.” 81% of consumers deem transparency “important” or “extremely important”, and 62% of shoppers say a brand is transparent if it provides a complete list of ingredients.12 A recent study in Environmental Research Letters says that with more and more companies and brands seeking to use eco-labeling (i.e., mitigations of food waste and climate change) there is need for full supply-chain traceability.13
There are traceability systems presently in use or in the developmental stage for plant-based foods. Established technology like FoodLogiQ provides software—along with bar codes—to achieve traceability (down to the case level across the supply chains for packaged foods).14 The produce industry uses traditional ERP systems to trace fruits and vegetables back to the farm—including the field and the row in which it was grown plus the time/day it was harvested and processed.15 Safe Tracers was granted a US patent for using a barcode constructed of DNA strands from seaweed which can be safely applied to fruits, grains, vegetables, and other foods.16 The barcodes, called “safetracers” carry complete source data, stay on or in the food throughout the supply-chain, and can be read in minutes to confirm provenance and purity of the product.16 Porcupine is a DNA-based molecular tagging system which offers an alternative to bulky plastic or printed barcodes commonly used at retail; made from strands of synthetic DNA, it can be used for traceability of food products.17 Zest Labs has developed technology using wireless sensors to collect product data to help move perishable food from its point-of-origin to grocery shelves as fast as possible.18 Walmart announced its Eden technology to “track food from farm to table” in 2018; a jury just awarded Zest $115 million to be paid by Walmart for having stolen Zest trade-secrets and using them to develop Eden.18
Blockchain technology is a list of digital records (called “blocks”) that are linked using cryptography which enables retailers to tell the story of a true farm-to-table journey.19 Since 2015, attention has centered on implementing Blockchain as the technology for locking-in shipment details (data points are captured, stored, transferred, and accounted for) at each point in the supply-chain.6 The grain industry uses a Blockchain technology called Agri-Digital.20 DNA Trek uses a liquid solution containing bits of DNA of seaweed that can be sprayed on fruits and vegetables.21 The technology allows for multiple layers of spray; the grower can spray it with one kind of DNA and the processor can spray it with another kind of DNA, etc., allowing the supply-chain path to be verified.21 BlockApps, a Blockchain platform provider, has launched the True Harvest network which allows access to supply-chain information to improve food safety, sustainability, and traceability of fruits and vegetables. HerdX, United Postal Service, and Fogo de Chão have partnered to use Blockchain technology and verified traceability to provide provenance data for restaurant food ordered on-site, for curb pickup, and mail-ordered.
Blockchain technology is a driver of efficiency in a supply-chain because it means time that used to be devoted to tracking down the status of an order, and answering customer or consumer questions, can instead be spent either looking for new opportunities to serve customers and consumers, or finding new ones.24 Prepared Foods predicts that tomorrow’s food consumers will expect a brand’s transparency message to include: (a) pricing (revealing true net costs and unbundled costs); (b) corporate performance (emphasizing Fair Trade, diversity, living wages, and executive compensation); and (c) the planet (publicizing the real environmental impact, conservation initiatives, and progressive stance on animal welfare).25 Sure hope Prepared Foods’ predication never materializes.
REFERENCES:
1 Fusaro, Dave. 2020. Food Processing. October 22 Issue.
2 Gordon, Lynn. 2020. BEEF. May 28 Issue.
3 Karst, Tom. 2020. The Packer. December 16 Issue.
4 Turner, Jeanne. 2019. Processed Foods. June Edition.
5 Clyma, Kimberlie. 2018. Meat + Poultry. April 19 Issue.
6 Smith, Gary. 2018. FSNS Newsletter. March Edition.
7 Gelski, Jeff. 2018. Meat + Poultry. May 28 Issue.
8 Crews, Joel. 2018. Meat + Poultry. October 10 Issue.
9 Capstone Headwaters. 2018. May 19 Issue.
10 Tristano, Darren. 2018. Technomics. May 16 Issue.
11 Spielman, Sharon. 2021. Food Engineering. January Edition.
12 Brooks, Rhonda. 2020. Ag Web. December 23 Issue.
13 The Packer. 2021. June 22 Issue.
14 Demetrakakes, Pan. 2019. Food Processing. November Edition.
15 Fusaro, Dave. 2019. Food Processing. January Edition.
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17 Genetic Engineering News. 2020. November 6 Issue.
18 Demetrakakes, Pan. 2021. Food Processing. April 13 Issue.
19 Saunders, Leann. 2021. Where Food Comes From. Winter Edition.
20 McLean, Asha. 2018. ZDNet.com. June 28 Issue.
21 Andrews, James. 2014. Food Safety News. November Edition.
22 Koger, Chris. 2020. The Packer. November 18 Issue.
23 McCarthy, Ryan. 2020. Meat + Poultry. August 5 Issue.
24 Patton, Mickey. 2021. Manufacturing Business Technology. July 5 Issue.
25 Harvey, Aimee. 2018. Prepared Foods. December Edition.
