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Wednesday, March 27, 2024

DHS Awards $193K for Standards Based Technology to Enhance the Visibility of Food Supply Chains

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is committed to using cutting-edge technologies and scientific talent in its quest to make America safer. Through its Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP), the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has awarded $193,612 to Mesur IO, Inc., based in Chapel Hill, NC, to develop a capability to enhance the visibility of food supply chains. The Phase 1 award was made under SVIP’s re-release of its Preventing Forgery & Counterfeiting of Certificates and Licenses solicitation, which identifies five additional use cases supporting DHS mission needs.

Mesur IO’s Phase 1 award project, “Improving Safety and Visibility in the Cross-Border Food and Agriculture Supply,” will adapt Earthstream, its core technology platform, to ensure that DHS Customs and Border Protection has visibility into food supply chains from farm to point of purchase. Its Earthstream platform links geospatial time series data with environmental and agronomic conditions to provide predictions to reduce risks related to agricultural production and food-borne pathogens. The platform’s existing library of pathogen, toxin, weed, and insect characteristics, behavior, and location provides value to the direct end user (i.e., the farmer in the field, or the food supply chain manager), and the ability to identify risk levels for food items that may be contaminated or shipped with packing materials that contain invasive species of concern.

“The ability to have visibility into the international food supply chain is critical to ensuring food safety,” said Anil John, SVIP technical director. “Mesur IO will address this challenge, reduce wastage from spoilage in shipping, and expedite inspection items while ensuring the interoperability of their solution by utilizing emerging W3C global standards.”

Mesur IO will be extending their platform with an open source API layer and engine that meets DHS needs for imports of food and agricultural products, while offering an alternative to the proprietary offerings on the market today. This solution will prevent vendor lock-in, ensure that farmers can own their own data, and decrease risks related to food security.

Read more at DHS S&T

DHS Awards $193K for Standards Based Technology to Enhance the Visibility of Food Supply Chains Homeland Security Today
Homeland Security Today
The Government Technology & Services Coalition's Homeland Security Today (HSToday) is the premier news and information resource for the homeland security community, dedicated to elevating the discussions and insights that can support a safe and secure nation. A non-profit magazine and media platform, HSToday provides readers with the whole story, placing facts and comments in context to inform debate and drive realistic solutions to some of the nation’s most vexing security challenges.
Homeland Security Today
Homeland Security Todayhttp://www.hstoday.us
The Government Technology & Services Coalition's Homeland Security Today (HSToday) is the premier news and information resource for the homeland security community, dedicated to elevating the discussions and insights that can support a safe and secure nation. A non-profit magazine and media platform, HSToday provides readers with the whole story, placing facts and comments in context to inform debate and drive realistic solutions to some of the nation’s most vexing security challenges.

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