This work, originally presented at an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers conference and now published in an IEEE journal (purchase required), provides an example of how a small team of researchers can develop a bespoke digital traceability system for the Agri-Food industry. This provides an alternative approach to buying one of the distributive ledger systems available from large commercial software vendors.
The researchers developed a decentralized system for the agrifood supply chain that allows product traceability and quality assurance. System decentralization and privacy preservation were enabled through the combination of Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI), Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs), and Verifiable Credentials (VCs). DIDs provide stakeholders with complete control, eliminating the need for centralized identity providers. Role-based access control is facilitated through VC-Role, which defines the permissions of actors, and VC-Access, which ensures secure interactions with private blockchain channels.
The publication includes a description of the system architecture, DID and VC integration for access control, and a discussion of the QA requirements of the food industry.
The authors conclude that their system promotes traceability and ensures tamper-proof records of product quality. A proof of concept demonstrates the feasibility and potential impact of this approach in improving quality assurance.
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