The National Service for Agri-Food Health and Quality (Senasa) has incorporated into production a new version of the Citrus Traceability Computer System (SITC), which manages the inspection data for the export of fresh citrus fruit from Argentina to the European Union, the United States, China, Mexico, South Korea and other markets with similar quarantine restrictions.
This is a new version of the system, which includes the use of blockchain technology to provide greater security to the documents generated, ensuring that they have not been modified at any point in the certification process.
«Through the incorporation of this technology, we seek to make commercial operations easier, more efficient and safer for all actors in the commercial chain, since all parties have the same information at all times without the need to duplicate documents», explained the director of Foreign Plant Trade of Senasa, Martín Delucis.
Furthermore, Delucis maintained that “Senasa is developing the incorporation of other documents to Blockchain in order to add more transparency and security to the certification process.".
The development has been carried out following the technical guidelines of Blockchain Federal Argentina (BFA) which for this type of use means a significant technological leap and adds value to the designed product.
About blockchain
The English word means “chain of blocks” and it is basically a digital platform that collects and verifies transactions between its users. All transactions (or blocks) are recorded in a form of ledger entry visible to all participants in the chain. They themselves validate the information.
In this way, the origin of the product, its quality and other aspects can be supported. Transactions are carried out in real time. Each record is unique, encrypted and cannot be deleted. It can only be updated by the consensus of the majority of participants in the system.
An estimated 600 million people around the world – almost 1 in 10 inhabitants – fall ill every year from eating contaminated food, and 420.000 die from this same cause, with the consequent loss of 33 million disability-adjusted life years, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Following this, Blockchain could offer openness and transparency of data from food production to the consumer; it could also detect contaminated products in a matter of seconds. Using a QR code that can be scanned from a cell phone, the entire production, processing and marketing process of the product in question can be accessed.
Fraud and secrecy would be reduced, which would improve the framework for trust and transparency. This can open up business opportunities where counterparty risk was previously a barrier.
However, for its operation Blockchain requires the commitment of all participants to provide accurate information in the system, from the field and at every link in the marketing chain.
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
