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INTERVIEW

“Food safety concerns put consumers’ health at risk”

Monday, 13 January, 2020, 08 : 00 AM [IST]

SourceTrace is a SaaS (Software As A

Service) company engaged in supporting
the cause of sustainable agriculture and
empowerment of small-holder farmers.
The 12-year-old company is engaged in
providing access to international markets
and helping its customers improve
productivity through efficient use of inputs
and reliable procurement processes, F&B Projects
minimise risk with timely knowledge and
information access. Interview
“Food safety
Any concern with food safety can put the concerns put
health of millions of consumers at risk, and consumers’
also damage the reputation of the food health at risk”
manufacturing company if corrective actions are not taken at the appropriate
Past News...
time.

Mobile applications, artificial intelligence, machine learning (AI/Ml) and FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Blockchain and advanced analytics enables the capture of relevant data related
to food supply chain, Dr Venkat Maroju, chief executive officer, SourceTrace
tells Nandita Vijay. Excerpts:

How is SourceTrace positioned to garner the supply chain market

opportunities in agri and food processing? FNB NEWS SPECIALS
The agri and food processing supply chain markets are poised to be one of our
most promising segments in the coming time. In the recent past, this sector
has shown a good deal of traction and we are set to take it forward.

One of the key factors in our favour is a robust traceability solution which has
been deployed in the past with good results. The horticulture and food
Overview
processing segments are already using our solutions.
Packaged wheat flour
We are working with prestigious global customers like Firmenich, Griffith Foods, market growth 19% CAGR;
Terova, Krishi Pragati Foundation and Fruitmaster Agro Fresh Limited for may reach Rs 7500 cr:
traceability. Ikon
Past News...
We are also working with Grain Market Board, Zimbabwe, for streamlining the
country’s grain supply chain and making faster payments to farmers using
digital financial services.

Could you enlist some of the challenges that prevail in the supply chain
and food safety space in the segments of food processing and
agriculture?
One of the major challenges that the food processing industry faces is the need
to track the origin of the ingredients used. There are two issues here: food

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safety is one and the provenance of the ingredients is the other.

Consumers today are increasingly becoming aware of both these issues. Any
concern with food safety can put the health of millions of consumers at risk and
also damage the reputation of the food manufacturing company if corrective
actions are not taken at the appropriate time.

Corrective action means recalling contaminated or unsafe food from the shelves
at retail stores or removing the items before it enters the supply chain. Not
doing so leads to financial losses, and worse, it can damage the company’s
reputation.
Recipe for Success
However, identifying such items at the right time requires a robust traceability
system to be put in place. Recipe for
Success:
Please provide the details of the technology? MasterChef’s
hat the most
SourceTrace’s solutions are powered through latest technologies such as mobile
rewarding for
applications, AI/Ml and Blockchain and advanced analytics which enables the multiple hat-
capture of relevant data related to food supply chain from just about every wearer
location where the action is taking place. Bhadouria
Past News...
This includes even remote and multiple locations; and this data is stored in a
central repository, enabling near real-time and complete visibility to the
management so that timely corrections can be made where required, reducing
risk and saving costs.

The essence of these technologies is to provide end-to-end visibility and

provenance of the food supply chain from farm-to-fork where end consumers
can attain a detailed view of the farmer, along with the photograph and GPS
location of the farm.

The solution also shows the many different processes that the food product has
gone through before reaching the shelves of the retail store.

Companies deploy traceability because consumers demand it. Here, traceability

is a potent consumer confidence-building tool.

Scanning the QR code on the label of the product would throw up a host of
information of the origin of the produce, the date it was harvested and even
details of the individual farmer who grew the crop.

How long did it take to develop? How large is your team for this
project?
It took us a couple of years to develop the software and test all our digital
solutions. We have a team of 40-plus members for software development.

What is the India game-plan to thwart food safety and supply chain
issues?
Increasing sensitivity to the need for food safety and educating food processing
companies on the benefits of traceability solutions will help create a more
efficient supply chain with near real-time and complete visibility.

What is the acceptance of this technology in Indian food processing and

agriculture?
We have merely begun to scratch the surface. When compared with the total
number of agri and food processing companies, only a few companies have
adopted traceability solutions so far.

What is the kind of investment to be made by companies in this space?

The level of investment depends on a variety of factors such as the number of
farmers and locations from whom data has to be collected and the complexity of
the process.

Implementing traceability solutions historically have been quite complex but

thanks to packaged and readily-available SaaS solutions such as SourceTrace
Datagreen platform, these solutions can be rapidly deployed at a fraction of the
cost than what it used to cost historically.

Globally how have the two segments evinced interest and invested in
the technology?
Investment by the agri and food processing industries in traceability is still at a
nascent stage. Although the benefits that will be realised by deploying it will be
significant, it will take some time for both awareness and investments to
percolate.

Supply chain management is also in a similar situation right now. However, this
market is definitely poised to see growth.

Would the company look at the Union government to get the supply

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chain of public distribution in place?
Theoretically, we are open to working with both the government and private
sector. Deploying a digital supply chain management solution will bring the
much-needed efficiency and transparency needed in the system.

How would you describe the current scene for supply chain and food
safety in India and the emerging markets?
The market for digital solutions in supply chain management and food safety in
India is all set to grow both in India and other developing countries and also for
food retail chains in developed countries.

Globally, research shows that this market is expected to grow due to the rise in
both intra-regional and cross-border trades.

What are the trends you sight?

Both supply chain management and traceability are emerging markets and are
poised to see growth in the next decade. Cloud-based solutions like SaaS
(Software as a Service) in this sector will also rise, due to its cost-effectiveness.

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