Whether it is an outbreak of salmonella at a restaurant chain or severe cases of E. Colli from meat purchased at a Wal-Mart, the trucking industry is to head off such incidents. Trucking is even going so far as to recognize the potential for foodborne diseases before shipments reach their destinations.

Blockchain Tech Catches Foodborne Diseases

For the longest time, foodborne diseases cost companies a lot of time and money. When an outbreak occurred, shipments of food had to be recalled from all around the country to ensure the risk was eliminated. The advances in blockchain technology have helped to reduce costs while simultaneously pinpointing outbreaks of foodborne diseases. In simplest terms, blockchain for the trucking industry offers inventory management and tracking. A single item can be tracked from its point of origin to every place along the way to its destination. This gives businesses and trucking companies the ability to tell if goods have been stolen, damaged, or tampered with, to ensure shipments arrive safely. While blockchain technology cannot observe goods on a microscopic level, it helps greatly if there is an outbreak of foodborne diseases. If an outbreak occurs, the affected area can be isolated, right down to the shipment that delivered the infected food. This means reducing the number of recalls, as well as the number of trucking resources used to reclaim the infected products. In a way, blockchain technology is allowing the trucking industry to keep moving with the current demand for high-capacity trucks.

Foodborne Diseases Are Reduced by Legislation

In an era when legislation and regulations of any industry are hindrances to success and efficiency, current laws have actually helped to prevent the outbreak of foodborne diseases. Current legislation requiring regular cleaning of containers between food shipments, and the regulations on refrigerated and frozen goods, have helped to increase sanitary environments and reduce the number of outbreaks throughout the United States. Conversely, the restriction of operating hours imposed by the ELD mandate threatens to counteract those measures by keeping food in transit longer than necessary.

As the sophistication of blockchain technology increases and motions are filed to modify the restrictions of the ELD mandate, the trucking industry may be able to catch and eliminate disease outbreaks from food shipments.