Blockchain-Driven SSI for Securing Privacy and Quality Assurance in Agri-Food Supply Chains

Abstract

The agri-food supply chain requires secure and privacy-preserving mechanisms for identity management, traceability, and product quality assurance. Traditional centralized systems face challenges, such as data manipulation risks, single points of failure, limited scalability, and reliance on intermediaries. This work proposes a decentralized system for the agrifood supply chain that allows product traceability and quality assurance. System decentralization and privacy preservation are enabled through the combination of Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI), Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs), and Verifiable Credentials (VCs). DIDs provide stakeholders with complete control, eliminating the need for centralized identity providers. Role-based access control is facilitated through VC-Role, which defines the permissions of actors, and VC-Access, which ensures secure interactions with private blockchain channels. This system promotes traceability and ensures tamper-proof records of product quality. A proof of concept demonstrates the feasibility and potential impact of this approach in improving quality assurance.