Digitalization in the European agri-food supply chain: a scoping review of traceability, transparency, and sustainability
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Date
2025-11-21
Authors
Bekkouche, SomiaMagistris, Tiziana de
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Publisher
Frontiers Media SA.
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texto , revista , artículo , artículo de revisiónAbstract
Introduction: Maintaining traceability within the food supply chain is key to ensuring food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance. In recent years, digital technologies—especially blockchain – have been adopted to enhance transparency and trust in ‘farm-to-fork’ traceability systems, reducing fraud risk and enhancing recall management and strengthening consumer trust. However, their adoption differs based on variability in technological readiness, economic viability, and regulatory requirements.
Methods: This paper provides a scoping review of the application of such digital tools to enhance traceability throughout the European agri-food supply chain. being applied across the European agri-food supply chain to improve traceability. Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, we searched multiple databases (Web of Science, ProQuest, IEEE Xplore, Alcorze) for relevant literature and included 60 peer-reviewed studies (primarily 2010–2025) that met our criteria (focus on blockchain, IoT, AI, or big data in European food supply chain traceability).
Results and Discussion: Blockchain emerged as the most frequently studied technology for food traceability —appearing in over 40% of the selected studies —often deployed in combination with IoT sensors, RFID tags, or QR codes to create end-to-end transparency. These digital interventions are reported to strengthen traceability and consumer trust, improve supply chain efficiency, and support sustainability initiatives. However, adoption remains uneven. Most studies describe conceptual frameworks or pilot implementations rather than fully realized systems, and real-world deployment is hampered by interoperability challenges, scalability issues, regulatory uncertainties, and high costs. In conclusion, blockchain-based traceability shows great promise for the European food sector, but targeted efforts are needed to overcome it.
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Bibliographic citation
Bekkouche, S., & de-Magistris, T. (2025). Digitalization in the European agri-food supply chain: A scoping review of traceability, transparency, and sustainability. Frontiers in Blockchain, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbloc.2025.1701872
AGROVOC subjects
Tecnología de la informaciónEuropa
Cadena de suministro alimentario
Trazabilidad de los alimentos
Bibliografía
Sponsorship
Los autores declaran que han recibido apoyo financiero para la investigación y/o publicación de este artículo. Esta revisión está financiada por el proyecto de la agencia estatal procedente de la UE (EU/PRTR de próxima generación): desarrollo de un ecosistema basado en blockchain que permite mejorar la posición de los pequeños productores de miel en los mercados locales e internacionales (TECHONEY), financiado por MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 y la UE (EU/PRTR de próxima generación). Referencia de la subvención CITA PCI2022–132917).