Assessment and management of risks related to the digitization of the Food Supply Chain

Abstract

The food supply chain is a very complex concept, involving many stakeholders, making food traceability difficult. Nevertheless, traceability is essential to ensure the safety and quality of food throughout its journey from producer to consumer. Consequently, there is a need to use current and innovative technologies to digitize the traceability of the food chain.

The objective of this master thesis is to explore the various risks related to the food supply chain and its digitization. The studied risk categories are related to health, consumer information, data sovereignty, fraud, and resilience. These risks are assessed in order to prioritize the most critical vulnerabilities. Depending on the results, solutions are proposed to mitigate these risks and vulnerabilities effectively.

One solution explored in this thesis involves cross-referencing through the integration of systems, which adds an extra level of security and trust. By exchanging and synchronizing pertinent data between systems, cross-referencing enhances data consistency and accuracy.

The conclusion encompasses a fresh risk analysis of the digitized food supply chain, shedding light on the advancements it brings while also identifying areas that still require improvement. Certain risks related to consumer information, data sovereignty, and resilience can be significantly reduced. However, the aspect of health is not yet considered and can be the subject of future work.

This research highlights the importance of security measures, including security within the food supply chain and cyber security. Moreover, it emphasizes the importance of considering security at the early stages of any process, integrating it as an inherent aspect rather than addressing it as an afterthought.