Summary

Food safety, food quality and food traceability, are all in growing demand from consumers and retailers, which is putting growing pressure on farmers.

To address this, the supply chain needs technologies that allows data collection and analysis to be automated and simple. Food quality has largely been a subjective and humanised measurement in the past, and the technologies at the core of this project, allow for objective measurement, and objective and secure data collection along the supply chain to give consumers higher quality assurance, and create further demand for Northern Australia produce.

The project has three core research components:

1. Quality assessment sensor: Sensor technology is applied across the supply chain including on farm, in packing shed, during logistics movements and at retailer warehouse and retail outlet level to create insights and awareness around eating quality, shelf life, durability, and ripening time of mangoes. The research involves taking measurements of the mangoes using the sensors, and creating proprietary algorithms and modelling.
2. SmartCrate produce tracker: Determining if a smart chip that measures temperature, humidity, positioning (GPS), accelerometry and gyrometry can be economically developed and integrated onto the existing crate and logistics system for the mango grower. Investigating if the information gathered can provide objective insights and correlations to the quality of fruit at the end of the transport journey, (ie help to reduce/remove rejection rates).
3. Blockchain trust provenance system: Utilising blockchain technology and data collected across the supply chain from “paddock to plate”, including sensor data as listed above and other key data points, to maintain integrity and transparency in the track-and-traceability and provenance authentication.

Expected outcomes

• Upon adoption an additional 10% to the value of farm gate production, which equates to $14M per annum, just in the mango industry. There will also be benefits further down the supply chain.
• The technology will be able to be replicated into other fruit, and other food industries.
• Value creation can be captured by leveraging the Smart Supply Chain technology to underpin the value proposition of premium fruit in the export markets where mangos can fetch $15 to $20 in some Asian countries (versus $3 to $4 in Australia).
• Point of sale transparency of relevant transactions and information regarding the fruit.