Abstract:

The food supply chain incorporates all stages and stakeholders, through which food travels from its initial production point to its final consumption. Within this complex network of activities, the need of transparency increases and blockchain technology has been recognized as a potential game-changer for food supply chain management and improved traceability and transparency. More specifically, blockchain-based traceability systems employ a consensus process among food supply chain stakeholders to record transaction data. This allows customers to access all relevant information and verify the authenticity of products.

Implementing blockchain in the food supply chain is a demanding task that requires knowledge and collaboration among various stakeholders. However, many stakeholders of the food supply chain, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), still lack the knowledge, and skills needed to apply this technology. This knowledge and skills gap is a significant barrier to the widespread adoption of blockchain in food supply chain management. The course “Blockchain Applications for Food Quality Assurance and Certification” that has been developed in the framework of the EU project TrustFood, provides to interested participants, with a focus on SMEs in the food supply chain, the knowledge and practical skills required to design, develop, test, assess, adapt, deploy and adopt blockchain-based solutions that improve transparency, traceability, and trust in the food supply chain of their interest. It is offered for free at the https://trust-food.ubitech.eu/ and it is part of a total of twenty courses.

The purpose of this study is to present a detailed analysis of course statistics based on the platform data and log files analysis. This analysis encompasses various metrics, such as the number of participants who subscribed, started and completed the course, certifications issued, total time spent on the course, and average time per visit, performance on quizzes. Moreover, a structured questionnaire is used to assess the quality of the content of the course. Such an analysis will provide insights into the engagement and success rates of the course attendees, thereby highlighting areas of effectiveness and opportunities for improvement.

Acknowledgements:
This publication was developed as part of the TRUSTFOOD project, co-funded by the Digital Europe under Grant Agreement No. 101100804. Its contents express only the views of the authors and are the sole responsibility of the authors.

Keywords:

Blockchain, training course, food supply chain, transparency, traceability, food quality assurance, certification, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).