Triscuit Allows Consumers to Track their Crackers from Farms to Their Kitchens

Mondelēz International has announced a food transparency program that allows consumers to follow the journey of their Triscuit crackers from start to finish using their mobile phones.

Consumers can follow their product’s journey from a coop of farmers’ fields to the factory where the crackers are made. This is the first consumer-centric supply chain transparency pilot project that the North American branch of the company is introducing to reinforce its commitments to the environment, society and governance.

“We are committed to understanding and meeting the growing needs and preferences of our consumers, and those needs are evolving to a more holistic sense of well-being and value-oriented purchase decisions. Consumers are demanding more transparency about their food and are keen to have access to information about where their food comes from and how it is grown,” said Jay Cooper, senior VP of growth at NA Mondelēz International, in a press release.

“This project is an important step forward in our journey to continue providing our stakeholders – and importantly our consumers – an accessible window into that process. We’re excited to test these capabilities with the Triscuit brand here in the US and look forward to expanding our transparency efforts,” Cooper continued.

The company had piloted a similar project that uses blockchain technology to allow LU biscuit consumers in France to track the journey of Harmony wheat from the fields to the shelves.

The partnerships were created with Connecting Food, one of Europe’s leading blockchain technology providers. Their supply chain transparency platform provides third-parties with traceability advisement and technology services.

Related: Nestlé Expands Use of Blockchain Technology to Its Coffee Brand

How Does the Technology Work?

The consumer can track where their box of Triscuits originated from by scanning a QR code found on the front of the Original and Family Size boxes.

After accessing the interactive web app and entering the QR code, the user must enter the “best by” date found on the top of the packaging. This will return the locations of more than 127 farmers who are participants in the Unity Gold Farmer Program. This will teach consumers more about the wheat’s journey from the farm to the co-op, mill and bakery.

Consumers have access to additional information about the particular product in the app itself, which includes wheat harvest year and baked-on date.

This idea of using blockchain technology to track a product is not a new one. KnowSeafood is an online seafood market that provides consumers with their seafood story. On their website, consumers can follow the timeline and map of the product by learning more about when, where, by whom and what method was used to catch, freeze and deliver the fish.

Blockchain food traceability, traditionally used to access labeling information, gives supermarkets the means to access a large amount of data that travels in the supply chain. It also provides in-depth tracking to ensure the highest food quality is possible. Nowadays, this method is being used for consumers to access information on their smartphones.

The rollout for these specific Triscuit boxes will begin in the next few weeks in retail stores across the US and they will be available for purchase till fall.