What inspired the creation of Agritrack, and what specific issues in the food value chain are you aiming to address?
This era, marked by escalating concerns over Food Security, production inefficiencies with 15% of food lost and with heightened transparency consumer demands, inspired us to build Agritrack towards timely business intelligence leading to a more sustainable and intelligent food value chain. By monitoring food quality, reducing food losses and enhancing consumer trust, Agritrack’s guiding directive is to become a technological catalyst and create a more transparent, trustworthy, and sustainable supply chain record for perishable foods.
How does Agritrack’s solution differentiate itself from other food monitoring solutions available in the market?
Our Unique Value Proposition is that we combine traceability and quality information in real time, so that decision makers can have additional business intelligence. Supported by our predictive microbiology and A.I. engine, our customers have now additional information about their value chain and potentially can decide early on how to process / ship / sell or promote their product, as well as share their product’s provenance and quality to consumers. This information helps our customers reduce food / product returns, downgrades, unnecessary costs and better secure their food / product’s quality. We call this Food Value Chain Intelligence.
Could you explain the role of predictive microbiology, machine learning, NIR and QR codes in your solution?
- Predictive microbiology is integral in providing a dynamic expiration date per lot - we use kinetic parameters, detailed cold chain records, and predictive microbiology to forecast bacterial population growths per destination, hence predict the shelf life)
- We use machine learning to analyze NIR outputs and assess quality characteristics. The end goal is for food quality details to be objectively recorded without the need of expensive lab equipment and help producers make accurate and unbiased decisions
- We use QRcodes as a simplification medium for 3rd parties to access details about the product. It's not a core innovation, however it simplifies access to provenance and quality records for 3rd parties, without the need to
What quantifiable environmental benefits have been observed from the implementation of Agritrack’s solutions in aquaculture and dairy industries?
For the estimation of the environmental benefits of the system we are leveraging data that we have collected over the period of more than 1 year at aquacultures. Having Agritrack’s additional business intelligence has to potential to reduce discounted seafood sales at the store by 20% (food losses) and an additional 20% reduction on downgrading due to the improved handling and monitoring. It is estimated that there is a potential to improve fish durability, directly tied with more accurate shelf life assessment
What key lessons have you learned from your journey so far that would be valuable for other startups in the food tech space?
Always inquire and be open to customer feedback. As a startup, we often need to work with assumptions, that need to be refined. The most efficient way to “tweak” and optimize our value proposition is to listen with an open mindset to customers, and decide how their inputs can be integrated into our value proposition.
What are the next steps for Agritrack in terms of product development and market expansion?
Product Development: Currently working with a large US seafood producer to adjust our SAAS offering for the USA market
Market Expansion: The USA market is currently our first priority. Starting in January of 2026, a new FDA regulation (FSMA) will mandate e-provenance certificates to be available for all seafood sold (retail and restaurants). This is a great opportunity for us. We have a competitive advantage, as Agritrack’s solution is one of eight certified traceability solutions and the only solution that can also predict shelf life.
