The Malaysian Insight

PENANG will adopt blockchain technology in its growing halal industry to ensure better transparency and efficiency in the supply chain.

This makes the state the first to use the technology in the industry, said Confexhub CEO Paul Yeo.

“In the halal industry, you want to know whether the product is truly halal, and whether the halal certificate is genuine,” he said at a press conference on the 10th Penang International Halal Expo and Conference (PIHEC), co-organised by Confexhub.

“Blockchain has features like transparency and efficiency, which are required in the supply chain. It can help us track products in the entire supply chain system – from farm to fork, and even to waste.

“Penang is the first in Malaysia, and the world, to embark on building a blockchain ecosystem for the halal industry.”

In conjunction with PIHEC, which starts today and runs till Sunday, Penang is hosting the inaugural Global Blockchained Halal Industry Forum at the SPICE Convention Centre today.

Blockchain technology can be used to register products, tracking where they are from and where they go before getting to end users. The products can be traced using QR codes.

State Domestic Trade, International Industry, Entrepreneur Development and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Abdul Halim Hussain said Penang’s initiative to adopt blockchain technology is part of the state’s digital transformation plan.

Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Sim Tze Tzin, who was present, said the technology is important in the agri-food industry, and will promote greater consumer awareness about food safety.

“It will allow us to trace every step – where the food we eat comes from, which farm, which processing factory, and which market or hypermarket sells them, or which restaurant or chef made the food.

“The technology will be very useful in the event of a disease. It can tell us where (the disease) originated from, so we’ll know which farm to go to, to cull the affected livestock.” – March 1, 2019.