Ambrosus and NDS to Provide Beef Traceability for Mega Mart

Ambrosus, the company behind it’s crypto blockchain-powered IoT network for food and pharmaceutical enterprises, today announced a significant step in the track and trace element of the beef industry.

Seoul, South Korea — October, 10 2018 — Ambrosus, the globally decentralised blockchain and IoT platform, has recently announced an industrial project with Mega Mart, the South Korean-based food retailer, in an innovative food traceability program. Ambrosus is directly working with NDS(subsidiary of the Korean giant food producer Nongshim) to track and trace Mega Mart’s premium quality beef via the Ambrosus blockchain. For Ambrosus, this initiative is another step in its global expansion into Asia, and signifies increased traction for its fast growing blockchain-based network, AMB-NET. Meanwhile, Mega Mart, will utilize the Ambrosus Network (AMB-NET) to pioneer a revolutionary beef traceability model whereby company-partners and consumers alike will be able to easily access detailed information about the history and transportation conditions surrounding each cut of beef. Together, the two companies will revolutionise the Asian beef industry by providing a new layer of transparency and quality assurance to a historically complex supply chain. Once the beef traceability project is completed, Ambrosus will explore other use cases in Korea and elsewhere in Asia.

Understanding the Ambrosus Solution to the Beef Supply Chain

When it comes to the beef supply chain, numerous risks are involved in safely and efficiently raising, slaughtering, preparing, and transporting a fine cut of beef to the supermarket. More specifically, the cow must be properly fed and kept in good health before it is slaughtered. Once slaughtered however, numerous health checks and proper care must be taken to ensure that the premium cut of beef is kept clean and free of bacteria or other contaminants that may merit a recall. Upon shipment to the producer, the beef must be properly stored at the correct temperature at all times in order to ensure its aptitude for the end-consumer.

For Ambrosus, building a solution for the beef supply chain centered upon two core considerations: the health and quality assurance of the beef being sold to the consumer, as well as the ease by which the consumer can access copious amounts of information about the specific cut of beef they wish to purchase. As a unique blockchain and IoT platform, Ambrosus effectively accommodated both considerations by leveraging IoT devices and connecting with already established IT systems, in order to facilitate trust and maximize customer satisfaction for all of the stakeholders involved.

The supply chain in question begins on the farm: the cow must first be correctly identified and digitally logged onto the Ambrosus network, according to its breed, farm number, meat quality, and any other government specific considerations. Such details are considered ‘events’ in the digital registry of the cow in question. Once the beef is ready to be prepared for the end-consumer, it must be transported to the processing plant, from where it is slaughtered. At this stage of the supply chain, proper health standards are essential for the protection of the quality of the beef: only one cow can be processed at a time in order to ensure that the parts are not mixed together. Beyond the ID of the cow itself, information gathered from metal detectors as well as temperature monitors stationed in the processing room can also be connected to specific Ambrosus Gateways so as to guarantee the security and quality of the entire meat processing procedure.

Next, a certified health professional must inspect the finely cut meat, before it is packaged. Upon signing off on the health check, the most important information is digitally combined with the specific cut of meat in question, and remains with the product for the duration of its journey. After being cut into large pieces of carefully sourced beef, the products are then packaged up and stored for a couple of weeks in temperature sensitive conditions, in order to guarantee it is fully matured. It is at this point of the supply chain that temperature-sensitive quality assurance is essential: Ambrosus, capable of working with custom-designed sensing devices, or client-company provided temperature monitors, is able to efficiently monitor the conditions of the beef as it is transported to and from the warehouse via storage truck, before finally reaching the retailer. Depending on the compliance requirements of the jurisdiction in question, Ambrosus is capable of leveraging bluetooth and 3G network connectivity, in order to transmit accurate and secured temperature and GPS readings from the transportation truck every couple of seconds. While other solutions designed at the Ambrosus Innovation Laboratory can also be utilized for more holistic environmental sensing, the considerations of the client-company must be primarily considered.

Overall, in terms of the general viability of the solution Ambrosus has designed, the original core objectives are successfully attained: through copious inspection and monitoring, using both Ambrosus certified IoT devices and gateways, as well as those sourced by the client company and any other regulatory body, the most sophisticated solution to date surrounding the quality assurance of a beef product can be achieved. The cow, and its subsequent beef cuts, are holistically monitored from farm to aisle upon which the entire journey is visible to the consumer wishing to purchase it.

From the consumers perspective, more information than ever accessed before can be retrieved from the Ambrosus blockchain: from end-to-end traceability, to the health professional certifications, and its transportation and processing conditions, Ambrosus is capable of demonstrating to the consumer the transparency and safety of the entire beef supply chain. Most importantly, a win-win situation for all parties involved is created: the product is safely and digitally transported across its entire supply chain, the enterprise is capable of demonstrating the high quality of the product in question, and the end consumer can fully trust in the information being displayed.

In light of this significant partnership, Ambrosus Global CEO Angel Versettisaid the following:

“This collaboration with NDS, is only the beginning of a much larger East Asian industrial expansion for us. We are pleased that AMB-NET is being used as the premium blockchain and IoT platform that it is designed to be, and we have specifically built the consumer oriented application for beef traceability to feature completely new kinds of information that consumers have hitherto been incapable of accessing. The kind of innovation and concrete solutions that Ambrosus has designed and implemented, makes me proud of the hard work that our team has put into the partnership, and sets a standard for future opportunities we will continue to pursue.”

Mr. Joong-Won Kim, CEO of NDS, said:

“We are pleased to announce this strategic collaboration with Ambrosus, as it allows NDS to remain on the cutting edge of current technological solutions. With the Ambrosus Network, NDS will be able to demonstrate the quality and origin of a variety of premium beef products in order to build consumer trust with much needed transparency. Forthe first time, blockchain technology can be leveraged to practically improve Korean food standards, especially for all customers of Mega Mart. In the future we look forward to developing this relationship further.”

The Ambrosus industrial beef project can be viewed as a first-of-its kind solution that will skillfully ensure the end-to-end quality and traceability of some of the world’s finest beef products. Looking ahead to the future, Ambrosus intends to expand its beef traceability solution to incorporate even more customer friendly information as more solutions become available and more data is required. Among others, additional factors that can be included in future beef traceability projects include: the internal biological composition of the beef in question, a detailed breakdown of the feed provided to the animal, as well as the environmental sustainability of the farm in question. Ultimately, when it comes to the problems in the beef supply chain, the easily configurable nature of AMB-NET allows Ambrosus to creatively engage enterprises with unique solutions built for their specific context.

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