Traceability Adoption Barriers in Digital Food Supply Chain to Achieve Food Security and Sustainability

ABSTRACT The modern food supply chain (FSC) faces pressing challenges, including food fraud, safety and security issues, food waste and sustainability concerns. Simultaneously, consumers are becoming increasingly interested in understanding the origins and pathways of their food. To tackle these challenges, digitisation and traceable FSCs are vital. However, numerous obstacles hinder the widespread adoption of traceability in digital FSCs. This study identifies and explores interconnections between barriers to traceability adoption in digital FSCs through an integrated DELPHI and Fuzzy DEMATEL approach. The findings highlight that Education and Training Gaps (B13), Data Integration Challenges (B14), Data Silos (B10), Environmental Sustainability Concerns (B16) and Short‐Term Focus (B17) are among the most influential barriers, impacting several other challenges. To mitigate these barriers, the study proposes a nine‐pillar framework. The insights derived from this research can support government agencies, policymakers and agro‐food industries in advancing traceability adoption across digital FSCs.