PIONEER blockchain solution provider in the red meat industry BeefLedger has been placed into administration.
David Clout and Associates was appointed liquidator on February 28 and have commenced investigations into the Queensland-based company's affairs.
They have contacted creditors, looking for more information about the company.
BeefLedger, an integrated provenance, blockchain security and payments platform, marketed itself on "strengthening consumer confidence in product credentialing' and providing a 'fairer and more sustainable supply chain'.
It was based on enabling access to the entire history of a meat product electronically by scanning a barcode or QR code.
Since 2018, the company has attracted research and development funds in the millions and partnered projects with organisations like the Queensland University of Technology and the CSIRO.
In particular, it was inspired by what its founders saw as an opportunity to track and protect the authenticity of Australian beef in the rapidly-growing, food safety-conscious Chinese market.
BeefLedger, however, riled many in the beef industry from its early days.
Australian beef has had lifetime traceability for decades from property of birth to slaughter via the industry-run National Livestock Identification System and processors and exporters have extensive additional systems for tracing to individual consignments.
Many exporters felt making claims that more was needed in beef supply chain transparency and traceability negatively affected Australian beef's reputation in valuable overseas markets, particularly China.
They pointed out there have been no food safety or traceability issues with Australian beef.
Further, the rise of branded beef offerings is delivering provenance credentials to global markets.
Experienced beef marketers said BeefLedger's fall could serve as a warning that not every new agtech offering is warranted.
Agtech companies had to undertake enormous supply chain research to ensure what they were developing meets a genuine need, they said.
Simply inventing something and telling farmers and processors they need it would always be unsuccessful, they said.
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