The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is using technology to protect the brand integrity of Jamaica’s famous Blue Mountain Coffee.
Making the announcement on Thursday, Portfolio Minister Floyd Green said blockchain technology will be leveraged to ensure consumers around the world can verify the authenticity of their coffee purchases.
“Probably what I’m most excited about is how this year we’re going to use technology to not only be able to trace the origin of every ounce of Blue Mountain coffee, but to tell the story behind it.” , he declared. said.
He was speaking at the launch of the Blue Mountain Coffee Festival 2025 at Devon House in St Andrew on Thursday.
Green highlighted the ongoing challenges posed by counterfeit products, noting that “because we have the best coffee in the world, people try to use our product to pass themselves off as having the best coffee in the world.”
To combat this problem, each batch of Blue Mountain Coffee will now feature a unique quick response (QR) code that consumers can scan.
This code will provide detailed information on the journey of coffee from farm to market, including its origin, harvest date and processing details.
“When you buy Blue Mountain coffee anywhere in the world, you will be able to scan this QR code and it will tell you that it is authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee,” Minister Green explained.
“By doing so, we are not only protecting our income, but we are also ensuring that the new European Union (EU) standards (for agriculture) that have been put in place and which talk about deforestation are respected,” he noted.
EU standards focus on environmental sustainability, performance and fairness.
“We will be able to fulfill these requirements to show that the best farmers in the world are using the best practices in the world,” Green added.
The Minister expressed optimism that Jamaica’s coffee sector will grow with this progress.
The Minister noted that this initiative marks a significant step forward in preserving the heritage and reputation of Jamaica’s Blue Mountain Coffee on the global stage.
– JIS News
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