Traceability and reliable information sharing in local dairy production

Greece – led by Synelixis

Current situation requiring improvements 

  • Consumers are increasingly demanding in terms of transparent information on food quality, integrity, and origin.

 

  • Proving the usage of traditional processing of locally produced raw material, preservation of nutritional value and compliance with high hygienic standards can be challenging.

Main activities in FAIRCHAIN

 Retrieve key operational information from Stymfalia cheese and yogurt production value chain and breeders and associate it with product characteristics.

 

  • Design and implement the mechanisms and applications to allow access for interested parties through the usage of blockchain infrastructure.

Progress to date

The pilot has analysed, modelled and implemented two key cases: the production of  the PDO Feta cheese and a sheep yoghurt developed in the context of FAIRCHAIN.

Feta cheese is the most widely consumed cheese in Greece. It is based on local milk coming from specific territories (including Peloponnese which is the basis of Stymphalia dairy). Its production is based on a series of rules (including the maturation duration, the milk origin, the intermediate steps) which have been modelled as Blockchain smart contracts.

Similarly, for the sheep product the process has been modelled and the steps are monitored verified using the Blockchain. Synelixis has designed the ICT system and used a private Blockchain (Quorum) to achieve high performance and minimum overhead and public Blockchain (Ethereum) to ensure public access and maximum access on behalf of the consumers.

The platform is currently under evaluation by the dairy for functional / non-functional aspects, while a consumer survey has offered useful input. Life-cycle assessment and business – related aspects are alo under careful consideration and evaluation at this phase of the project.

Practice abstracts
Publications
  • Tran, D., De Steur, H., Gellynck, X., Papadakis, A. and Schouteten, J.J. (2024), “Consumers’ valuation of blockchain-based food traceability: role of consumer ethnocentrism and communication via QR codes“, British Food Journal, Vol. 126 No. 13, pp. 72-93. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-09-2023-0812V
  • Melissari, Filisia, Andreas Papadakis, Dimitris Chatzitheodorou, Duc Tran, Joachim Schouteten, Georgia Athanasiou, and Theodore Zahariadis. 2024. “Experiences Using Ethereum and Quorum Blockchain Smart Contracts in Dairy Production” Journal of Sensor and Actuator Networks 13, no. 1: 6. https://www.mdpi.com/2224-2708/13/1/6
  • Samuel Le Féon, Andreas Papadakis, Gwenola Yannou-Le Bris, Julie Auberger, Dimitrios Chatzitheodorou, Joël Aubin, Caroline Pénicaud, Life cycle inventory and life cycle impact assessment datasets of PDO Feta production in Stymfalia region, Greece, Data in Brief, Volume 48, 2023, 109207, ISSN 2352-3409, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2023.109207
    Podcast

    The podcast is in Greek. Automatic translation is available via YouTube.

    FAIRCHAIN presented at Agrotica 2022

    FAIRCHAIN presented at Agrotica 2022

    FAIRCHAIN results were presented by Synelixis at Agrotica - the leading exhibition event in Greece in the agro-economic sector and the largest trade fair in the Balkans and the Southeastern Mediterranean for agricultural machinery, equipment, and supplies. The event...