Blockchain technology provides transparency in dairy production

Dairy manufacturer Arla Finland has made its production chain from farm to dairy open to the public using blockchain technology. The Arla Milkchain is a pilot project that saves data on the dairy farm and during milk collection and processing, and allows the public to see a detailed overview.

Consumers are increasingly demanding transparency and traceability in the production of food and drink, and documenting this production process into a blockchain helps improve consumer trust. Created in collaboration with Truly Agency and Empirica Finland, the Arla Milkchain aims to offer consumers “the most transparent and responsible production chain in the world”, according to Arla Brand and Category Manager Sanna Heikfolk.

To check a product’s origin story, consumers can look up the packaging date on the Arla Milkchain calendar. It provides an overview of the milk’s journey, including how many cows were milked, whether any calves were born on the farm, which employees were working at the time, when the milk was picked up from the farm and when the milk arrived at the dairy.

The company’s Single Estate Organic Milk is the first product to utilise the technology, with the possibility of extending it to other products in the future. Single Estate Organic Milk is produced from raw material from the Tikka farm in Kurikka, and the farm owners and workers are excited to show people how modern milk production works.

“The clients’ trust is built on a combination of factors: the wellbeing of the cows is naturally the starting point, but understanding the origin and journey of the product is also important. It’s also natural for people to want to know who works on the product,” said Tikka farm entrepreneur Tuomo Mäkinen.

For more information, watch this video: https://youtu.be/LYy2HizzvUA.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Aurielaki