Seafood tracking companies unite to simplify data sharing, improve seafood traceability standards

First seafood traceability providers achieve interoperability at scale

Seafood traceability solutions providers Trace Register and Wholechain have connected their two tracking systems based on Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) compatibility standards. It’s anticipated that this collaboration will help the industry meet the compliance requirements of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) and the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Food Traceability Final Rule. Jayson Berryhill, co-founder of Wholechain, explained that the interoperability works similarly to email.

“You do not ask someone which email provider they use, and you are not forced to maintain multiple email accounts so that you can send an email to each of your friends using different providers,” said Berryhill. “You just send an email, and without knowing it, you see interoperability standards at work. In the seafood industry, that common standard is GDST. GDST enables suppliers to seamlessly send data to their buyers using the GDST-enabled traceability system of their choice.”

Working with GDST and other industry stakeholders, Trace Register and Wholechain collaborated to develop the standards. The two competitors then extended GDST standards using GS1’s EPCIS capture interface to make GDST compatibility more practical between suppliers and buyers. The success of this development led GDST to incorporate the EPCIS capture interface method as an official supplement to their comprehensive standards.

GDST recognizes first software products for interoperable digital traceability

The integration facilitates information to flow between Trace Register and Wholechain. For example, if a company that uses Trace Register sends seafood to a company that uses Wholechain, the data exchange is smooth. Similarly, the process is seamless if a Wholechain customer sends seafood to a Trace Register client. The automatic GDST data transmission eliminates the need for manual keying and safeguards against losing critical GDST data points.

“Interoperability greatly reduces or even eliminates portal fatigue,” said Heath England, president of Trace Register. “When systems can seamlessly ‘talk’ to one another, then suppliers, producers, supermarkets and distributors can each use a system that fits them best while having confidence that they can send and receive data regardless of what system their partners are using.”

@GSA_Advocate