Smart Harvest: Enhancing Food Traceability with Blockchain and QR Codes

Ensuring food safety and traceability in modern agricultural supply chains remains a critical challenge. Traditional food production systems lack transparency, making it difficult to track product origins and respond swiftly to food-borne outbreaks. This study introduces Smart Harvest, a blockchain-powered traceability framework that digitizes food production data, enabling seamless tracking and verification using QR codes. By recording data at every stage—from cultivation to distribution—the system establishes an immutable, tamper-proof ledger secured with SHA-256 hashing. Each food item is assigned a unique QR code, allowing consumers to access real-time product information, verify authenticity, and ensure compliance with quality standards. Additionally, Smart Contracts and IoT sensors enhance real-time monitoring, improving transparency and regulatory compliance. The system leverages Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to ensure scalability, robust data storage, and efficient performance for mobile and edge users. Experimental validation highlights the effectiveness of blockchain-based food traceability in improving supply chain accountability, fraud prevention, and consumer trust. The proposed framework modernizes food safety practices, providing a secure, decentralized solution to revolutionize agri-food production.