Improve Food Supply Chain Traceability using BlockchainMohan, Tharun food supply chainfood tracebility systemsblockchainIndustrial EngineeringMSThe central problem to be addressed in this thesis is to investigate how blockchain technology can be used to provide greater asset traceability in today’s food supply chains. Blockchain is a shared, distributed ledger that uses cryptography to validate and record transactions and track assets in a business network. The goal is to create a blockchain model that can be implemented across food supply chains and present the benefits and limitations in its implementation. Food provenance is one of the most challenging problems that FSC companies face today. A global supply chain network with multiple operating procedures and asymmetrical food regulations between countries makes end-to-end food tracking incidental to the food industry. A detailed literature review on the current challenges in food tracking, food safety regulations and food supply chain design is also discussed in this research. Analysis of food illness outbreak dataset in the US between 2007-2016 is also presented to focus on two key results. Firstly, to focus the blockchain model development on food products with highest food illness outbreak incidents and secondly, to increase IoT scanning points in certain stages of the supply chain that have recorded more than 50% of the total contamination incidents. Finally, a blockchain model is created using Hyperledger Sawtooth, and its benefits over conventional information technology systems and global food tracking methods are presented. Future research studies can focus on using blockchain enabled models to replace ERP systems, reduce food waste and improve supply management between stages in the food supply chain.Soundar Kumara, Thesis Advisor/Co-AdvisorTerry Harrison, Committee MemberJanis Terpenny, Committee Memberopen_access2018-04-09T08:19:25Zhttps://etda.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/14913txm91