Method and system for tracking food safety data using hash trees

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11475461-B2
Application number	US-201916981016-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 4, 2019
Priority date	Mar 16, 2018
Publication date	Oct 18, 2022
Grant date	Oct 18, 2022

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for tracking food data transactions in a network data processing system comprising the steps of reading a network storage devices a packaged food production data hash tree, receiving a food data transaction from a hardware data processor in a food packaging machine, appending the food data transaction to the packaged food production data hash tree, and causing decentralised storage of identical instances of the appended packaged food production data hash tree in the plurality of network storage devices. The present invention further provides a network data processing system and a computer program for carrying out the method.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method, performed by a network data processing system for tracking food data transactions, wherein the network data processing system is configured to connect to a hardware data processor of a food packaging machine and to a plurality of separate network storage devices, wherein the food packaging machine comprises a packaging material supply module, a food supply module, a filling module configured to: (a) form a package from packaging material supplied by the packaging material supply module, (b) fill food supplied by the food supply module into the package, (c) seal the filled package, and (d) output the sealed and filled package, wherein the method comprises:
reading from one of the network storage devices a packaged food production data hash tree;
receiving a first food data transaction from the hardware data processor, the first food data transaction being derived from data comprising:
a time stamp indicative of the time at which the filling module filled the supplied food into the formed package and sealed the package,
a machine data record identifying at least one of the filling module or the food packaging machine,
at least a portion of a packaging material data record indicative of the packaging material batch used when the formed package was formed,
at least a portion of a food data record indicative of the food batch filled into the formed package, and
at least a portion of a filling data record, the filling data record being indicative of at least one operational parameter of the filling module during filling of the formed package;

appending the first food data transaction to the packaged food production data hash tree;
causing decentralized storage of identical instances of the appended packaged food production data hash tree in the plurality of network storage devices; and
verifying at least a portion of the first food data transaction received from the hardware data processor with a second food data transaction comprised in the packaged food production data hash tree read from the network storage device.

2. The method for tracking food data transactions in the network data processing system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the packaged food production data hash tree is a distributed ledger.

3. The method for tracking food data transactions in the network data processing system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the packaged food production data hash tree is a blockchain.

4. The method for tracking food data transactions in the network data processing system according to claim 3 , wherein:
the packaged food production data hash tree is a semi-public blockchain.

5. The method for tracking food data transactions in the network data processing system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the network data processing system is further configured to connect to a second hardware data processor in a second food packaging machine, wherein the second food packaging machine comprises a second packaging material supply module, a second food supply module, a second filling module configured to: (a) form a second package from packaging material supplied by the package material supply module, (b) fill food supplied by the second food supply module into the second formed package, (c) seal the second filled package, and (d) output the second sealed and filled package,
wherein the method further comprises:
receiving the second food data transaction from the second hardware data processor in the second food packaging machine, the second food data transaction being derived from data comprising:
a time stamp indicative of the time at which the second filling module filled the supplied food into the second formed package and then sealed the second package,
a machine data record identifying the second filling module or the second food packaging machine,
at least a portion of a second packaging material data record indicative of the packaging material batch used when the second package was formed, and
at least a portion of a food data record indicative of the food batch filled into the second formed package; and

appending the second food data transaction to the packaged food production data hash tree.

6. The method for tracking food data transactions in the network data processing system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
creating a food data transaction block derived from at least a portion of a first food data transaction and from at least a portion of the second food data transaction,
wherein appending the first and the second food data transaction to the packaged food production data hash tree are performed by appending the food data transaction block to the packaged food production data hash tree.

7. The method for tracking food data transactions in the network data processing system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the network data processing system is a first network data processing system;
wherein the first network data processing system is configured to connect to a second network data processing system separate from the first network data processing system;
wherein the second network data processing system is configured to connect to the hardware data processor of the food packaging machine;
wherein the second network data processing system is configured to: (a) read the packaged food production data hash tree from one of the network storage devices, (b) receive the food data transaction from the hardware data processor, (c) append a food data transaction to the packaged food production data hash tree, and (d) cause decentralized storage of identical instances of the packaged food production data hash tree in the network storage devices; and
wherein the method further comprises:
determining, by the first network data processing system, an agreement with the second network data processing system on the food data transaction to be appended to the packaged food production data hash tree; and
after the determining, appending, by the first network data processing system, a food data transaction to the packaged food production data hash tree.

8. The method for tracking food data transactions in a first network data processing system according to claim 7 , wherein:
determining an agreement by the first network data processing system with the second network data processing system on the food data transaction to be appended to the packaged food production data hash tree comprises the first network data processing system and the second network data processing system both operating according to a joint consensus mechanism.

9. The method for tracking food data transactions according to claim 8 ,
wherein the determining an agreement comprises operating according to the joint consensus mechanism, and
wherein the joint consensus mechanism is configured to ensure with a defined level of certainty that the appended hash tree created by each of the first network data processing system and the second data processing system are identical.

10. The method for tracking food data transactions in a first network data processing system according to claim 5 , wherein:
the first network data processing system is configured to connect to a second network data processing system separate from the first a network data processing system;
wherein the second network data processing system is configured to connect to the first hardware data processor in the first food packaging machine and to the second hardware data processor in the second food packaging machine;
wherein the second network data processing system is configured to:
read from one of the network storage devices the packaged food production data hash tree;
receive the first food data transaction from the hard

Assignees

• Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance

Inventors

• Bast Tim

Classifications

• B65B57/00 Primary

  Automatic control, checking, warning, or safety devices (registering wrapping or container-forming material fed from rolls B65B41/18) · CPC title

• G06Q30/018 Primary

  Certifying business or products · CPC title

• G05B2219/45111

  Meal, food assistance · CPC title

• G06Q50/265

  Personal security, identity or safety · CPC title

• G06Q2220/00

  Business processing using cryptography · CPC title