diff --git a/crates/aleph-types/src/message/store.rs b/crates/aleph-types/src/message/store.rs
index 53303ee..2d2e095 100644
--- a/crates/aleph-types/src/message/store.rs
+++ b/crates/aleph-types/src/message/store.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 use crate::cid::Cid;
-use crate::item_hash::ItemHash;
+use crate::item_hash::{AlephItemHash, ItemHash};
 use crate::storage_size::Bytes;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use std::collections::HashMap;
@@ -8,13 +8,15 @@ use std::collections::HashMap;
 #[serde(tag = "item_type", rename_all = "lowercase")]
 pub enum StorageBackend {
     Ipfs { item_hash: Cid },
-    Storage { item_hash: ItemHash },
+    Storage { item_hash: AlephItemHash },
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub struct StoreContent {
     #[serde(flatten)]
-    pub item_type: StorageBackend,
+    /// A combination of the `item_hash` and `item_type` fields, deserialized together to detect
+    /// inconsistencies. Use the `file_hash()` method to access the file hash.
+    file_hash: StorageBackend,
     #[serde(default)]
     /// Size of the file. Generated by CCNs upon processing.
     pub size: Option<Bytes>,
@@ -26,11 +28,21 @@ pub struct StoreContent {
     pub metadata: Option<HashMap<String, serde_json::Value>>,
 }
 
+impl StoreContent {
+    pub fn file_hash(&self) -> ItemHash {
+        match &self.file_hash {
+            StorageBackend::Ipfs { item_hash: cid } => ItemHash::Ipfs(cid.clone()),
+            StorageBackend::Storage { item_hash } => ItemHash::Native(*item_hash),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
     use crate::chain::{Address, Chain, Signature};
     use crate::channel::Channel;
+    use crate::item_hash;
     use crate::message::base_message::{Message, MessageContentEnum};
     use crate::message::{ContentSource, MessageType};
     use crate::timestamp::Timestamp;
@@ -79,12 +91,16 @@ mod tests {
         match message.content() {
             MessageContentEnum::Store(store) => {
                 assert_eq!(
-                    store.item_type,
+                    store.file_hash,
                     StorageBackend::Ipfs {
                         item_hash: Cid::try_from("QmYULJoNGPDmoRq4WNWTDTUvJGJv1hosox8H6vVd1kCsY8")
                             .unwrap()
                     }
                 );
+                assert_eq!(
+                    store.file_hash(),
+                    item_hash!("QmYULJoNGPDmoRq4WNWTDTUvJGJv1hosox8H6vVd1kCsY8")
+                );
 
                 assert!(store.size.is_none());
                 assert!(store.content_type.is_none());