Agriculture is patently one of the most important industries there is. Without it, we would not have food to eat, nor would we have vital ingredients for many of the lifesaving medicines that we require, amongst other things.
It is worrying then, to think that anywhere between 10 and 25 percent of available agricultural products in 2020 alone were counterfeit. This not only means that agricultural businesses are losing out on substantial sales but also that many of the products we consume and assume to be safe could actually pose a real threat to our health, and wellbeing.
Why does agricultural product safety affect all industries?
Having as many as one-quarter of agricultural products being counterfeit is really not a good position to be in for a whole host of reasons that stretch across all sectors, some of the most concerning we will take a look at right now:
Food security
Food security is of the utmost importance for just about everyone wherever they may be in the world. We all need access to food, but more than that we need access to food that is as safe as it can possibly be. If food is contaminated in any way it could lead to severe illness and in some cases even death.
If we are unwittingly consuming foods that are counterfeit in some way, then that is obviously a huge problem because we have no way of knowing if what we are putting into our bodies is actually safe to eat.
It’s also a big problem for agricultural businesses that could be accused of providing unsafe food and harming people’s health when really it is not them, but a third-party counterfeiter who has done so, which could leave their reputations in tatters and see them on the receiving end of a huge lawsuit.
Chemical reactions
If various agricultural products are counterfeit, then anyone who used them, whether it be fertilizer for plants and of manufacturers of charcoal using agricultural byproducts like wood to make their prodocuts, use trained or counterfeit goods then they will be unaware of what they might contain, which means they could end up causing all manner of unexpected chemical reactions that could be very dangerous indeed.
Health risks
Of course, with so many plants and other agricultural products being used in the production of development of drugs, using counterfeit materials could be completely disastrous to health.
If any of these things were to happen, and they are just the tip of the iceberg, then businesses in various sectors could end up in serious trouble and their customers could end up even worse off, so what can be done about it?
More information https://authena.io/agriculture/.
Agriculture traceability software
Agriculture traceability software is a very effective way of tracking product safety. It uses blockchain technology along with NFC to ensure that every step of the ya, any agricultural products that asr made are logged, tracked and very easy to trace using NFC tags and basic software. Date entries into the blockchain are almost impossible to meddle with and just as impossible to hack into, which means you can buy and sell agricultural products with complete confidence when Agriculture traceability software has been used throughout.