Blockchain Application in Food Supply Chains: A Critical Review and Agenda for Future Studies

Blockchain technology (BCT) has emerged as a transformative tool in food supply chain management (FSCM), offering enhanced transparency, traceability, and trust. This paper critically reviews the application of blockchain in FSCM, synthesizing findings from theoretical and empirical studies to assess its effectiveness in addressing food safety, fraud prevention, and regulatory compliance. The review highlights blockchain's potential to improve transparency and traceability through immutable, decentralized ledgers, enabling real-time tracking of products from farmers to consumers. Case studies, such as IBM Food Trust's collaboration with Walmart, demonstrate significant reductions in traceability time and improved consumer trust. Additionally, blockchain's integration with IoT and big data analytics enhances food safety by enabling real-time monitoring of environmental conditions and automating recall processes, thereby reducing public health risks and economic losses. Despite its potential, the adoption of blockchain in FSCM faces several challenges, including technical complexity, scalability issues, regulatory ambiguities, and the need for industry-wide collaboration. The review identifies gaps in the current literature, such as the lack of comprehensive, empirically validated frameworks and longitudinal studies assessing the long-term impacts of blockchain integration. Furthermore, the paper discusses blockchain's economic and sustainability implications, emphasizing its role in reducing administrative costs, minimizing fraud, and optimizing inventory management. The review concludes with a future research agenda, recommending empirical validation of blockchain's impact, developing hybrid systems integrating blockchain with AI and IoT, and establishing standardized regulatory frameworks. Collaborative efforts among industry stakeholders, governments, and technology providers are essential to overcoming adoption barriers and ensuring equitable benefits across the supply chain. This paper underscores the necessity for interdisciplinary research and cross-sector collaboration to realize blockchain's transformative potential in FSCM, ultimately enhancing food safety, quality control, and sustainability.