Shoppers in the Netherlands can now check the day that eggs in a pack were laid, as well as the exact location of the farm they came from.
Albert Heijn, an upmarket retailer in the country, says its top tier 1 Star Beter Leven Keurmerk eggs will also give shoppers information on the poultry farm, barn and birds they came from, as well as the packing station and distribution centre the eggs travelled through.
The supermarket uses blockchain technology, which when employed correctly is an incorruptible way to trace foodstuffs through a supply chain.
Albert Heijn said it had forty Dutch poultry farmers it worked with on “quality, sustainability, animal welfare and innovation”.
It adds the development marks the first time eggs have been sold in a ‘fully transparent’ fashion.
Consumers have two codes on egg packs that they can use to check on a website the provenance of their produce.
Anita Scholte at Reimer, quality & sustainability director at Albert Heijn said: “We want to know exactly where fresh products come from. Only then will we know for sure that it has been produced with respect for people, animals and the environment.
“We are happy to show this to our customers. It is not for nothing that it is our ambition to make all our fresh [supply] chains fully transparent by 2025.”
