Designing a blockchain-enabled certification framework for food loss and waste reduction: a proof-of-concept in the fresh food supply chain

Blockchain technology, supported by IoT, has proven essential for improving traceability in food supply chains, but its application to auditing and certifying food loss and waste (FLW) reduction remains largely unexplored. This paper addresses this gap by proposing the architectural design, data models, and audit workflow of a permissioned blockchain-enabled tool developed within the EU H2020 FOODRUS project. Focused on the Spanish fresh vegetable supply chain pilot, the proposed framework integrates Hyperledger Fabric to establish a decentralized and immutable ledger for recording audit evidence and verifying compliance indicators. Rather than assessing long-term operational impact, this study demonstrates the baseline technical feasibility of automating FLW certification workflows through a deployed proof-of-concept prototype. The implementation highlights key architectural contributions, such as standardized data schemas and an integrated 7-stage audit lifecycle, while identifying primary deployment hurdles, notably stakeholder reluctance toward ERP data sharing. The findings confirm that while a permissioned blockchain design effectively secures audit record integrity, broader adoption hinges on establishing legally recognized FLW certification schemes and granular data-governance mechanisms.