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creditation system for better trace- ability. In mid-2021, the Northern Australia Aboriginal Kakadu Plum Alliance won a $455,100 grant from the Federal Government to under- take the work. The grants aim to curb food and ingredient fraud in overseas markets. The plum also has promise for use in cosmetics and nutraceuticals. Meanwhile, another bush food with medicinal potential is the native quandong, a type of fruit, currently selling for $25 a kilo- gram. Being rich in antioxidants, it has many health benefits. But, too often, say Rayleen, “bush foods like the quandong are relegated to chutneys, sauces and teas.” “Bush foods are more than that - Indigenous people have used it over the years to give us energy and endurance.” She likens protocols for pro- tecting Indigenous IP about bush foods as “like a mining licence”. “It’s like a technology where the IP stays within the [Indigen- ous] language group, but if others wanted to use and further test the bush foods to develop into prod- ucts, we’d have the ability to do a benefit-share agreement.” Rayleen is looking to QR codes to be the “biggest gamechanger” and that blockchain will help the Indigenous food industries estab- lish their brand and provenance. “The technology is there. It’s about linking with the right people and understanding our values.”
social matters. The application has since been withdrawn. Another project, focusing on the native superfood, the Kakadu plum, will create a blockchain-based Indigenous certification and ac-
were 168 applicants for the total funding pool of $4 million. The In- digenous project aimed to trans- fer, apply and trial FBK FoodTrakR Digital Farming Platform for food authentication, provenance and
With special thanks to TAF Founding alliance partner AWiA
28/10/2023
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