Open Source Summit + ELC North America 2019

Global logistics systems are reliant on centralized institutions of authority to promulgate uniform standards to foster efficient exchange of information in B2B interactions. These institutionally driven initiatives have drawbacks in the food traceability space that may prevent pertinent upstream supply chain actors (e.g. fishers, farmers) from contributing traceability data to enable end-to-end capabilities. To better accommodate those upstream food supply chain actors, standards setting processes should explore utilization of globally-unique identifiers which are not dependent on centralized institutions and necessitate open source mechanisms. The talk will describe food traceability standards efforts, their organization and relation to global logistics, challenges they face engaging small stakeholders especially in developing countries; and current progress and experimentation with interoperable standards in the seafood industry, namely the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability.