A Blockchain Framework forMonitoring Honey Production

Authors : Khaled Almiani , Shaher Bano Mirza , Camille Zufferey , Khawla M. Alyammahi and Fouad Lamghari .

Abstract Honey is globally recognized for its substantial nutritional and therapeutic properties. However, its high market value makes it susceptible to counterfeiting, negatively impacting consumers and beekeepers. This paper presents a blockchain-based framework to monitor the honey trade supply chain, ensuring authenticity. The framework employs an oracle component to verify honey quality and origin using IoT data. Additionally, it integrates fungible and non-fungible tokens to track honey batches. The study evaluates the economic feasibility of this approach, demonstrating that the cost of performing a trade is less than USD 1, with the oracle component achieving an average accuracy rate of 90% in detecting falsified sensor data. Keywords: honey supply chain; blockchain oracle problem; smart contracts; counterfeit detection; Ethereum; decentralized applications.

The Fujairah Honey Chain (FHC) project introduces a blockchain-based framework that ensures the authenticity, traceability, and transparency of honey production and trade. Developed through collaboration among the Fujairah Research Centre, Higher Colleges of Technology, and Finswiss Research, it leverages IoT, AI (machine learning), and smart contracts to address the widespread issue of honey adulteration—estimated to affect up to 10% of global trade.

Background

Global honey fraud undermines consumer trust and harms beekeepers, with up to 46% of imported honey samples in Europe suspected of adulteration. In the UAE, around 20.8% of honey imports were found non-compliant with quality standards, emphasizing the need for a traceable system “from hive to table.” The FHC focuses on Fujairah’s specialty honeydew honey, addressing authenticity challenges within an arid-region market reliant on importsHoney Block Chaininformation-16….

Framework Design

The proposed system integrates three main components:

1. Trade Component – Registers beekeepers, IoT devices, and handles honey trade and tokenization.

2. Monitoring Component – Captures and enforces Quality of Service (QoS) constraints across the supply chain.

3. Oracle Component – Validates sensor and image data authenticity before storing on the blockchain.

Each honey batch is represented by a non-fungible token (NFT) that holds production details, linked to multiple fungible tokens (FTs) representing individual honey jars. Ownership of these tokens mirrors physical honey movements. Consumers can verify authenticity using a QR code that cross-references NFT and FT records.

The oracle uses machine learning (YOLOv8) to verify nectar source images and environmental sensor data, rejecting falsified entries. The Fujairah Research Centre developed a local nectar plant dataset to train the model, ensuring regional relevance.

Implementation & Evaluation

The framework was implemented in Solidity (v0.8.17) and tested on Ethereum-compatible networks (notably Avalanche). Experimental findings include:

• Average trade cost: < USD 1 per transaction (on Avalanche).

• Oracle accuracy: ~90% in detecting falsified sensor data.

• Scalability: Linear cost increase with additional trade transitions, maintaining economic feasibility.

• Smart contracts: Trade, DID (decentralized identity), Minting Management, and Oracle contracts.

Impact and Novelty

This research marks the first blockchain traceability initiative tailored to the UAE’s honey sector, combining blockchain, IoT, and AI in one operational system. It introduces a dual-token mechanism for product traceability and counterfeit detection, a geographically aware oracle, and machine-learning validation of nectar authenticity.

The system enhances consumer trust, reduces fraud, and supports regulatory transparency while remaining cost-efficient and scalable. Its design can be adapted to other agri-food sectors and biodiversity monitoring initiatives.

Conclusion

The FHC framework demonstrates that blockchain and AI technologies can deliver secure, low-cost, and tamper-resistant traceability for agricultural products. Its deployment in Fujairah positions the UAE as a regional leader in food authenticity and smart agriculture innovation, promoting transparency and sustainability in the global honey industry.

Reference:Almiani, K.; Mirza, S.B.; Zufferey, C.; Alyammahi, K.M.; Lamghari, F. Fujairah Honey Chain (FHC): A Blockchain Framework for Monitoring Honey Production. Information 2025, 16, 626. https://doi.org/10.3390/info16080626z