Seafood is one of the most globally traded food commodities, but also one of the hardest to trace. With complex supply chains spanning oceans, landing sites, processors, distributors and retailers, data often becomes fragmented, locked away in siloed systems that don’t “speak” to each other. For regulators, NGOs and increasingly discerning consumers, this fragmentation fuels concerns over mislabelling, illegal fishing and sustainability claims.
Now, IFT’s Global Food Traceability Center (GFTC) believes it has a scalable solution. In September this year, it launched Traceability Driver, an open-source tool designed to strengthen interoperability across digital traceability systems. By acting as a “translation layer” between existing databases and global standards, the tool enables companies to share data in a standardised way – without costly, one-off integrations.
“This is not a new traceability solution, far from it, but rather a resource that can be used by traceability solutions and IT departments to support the space between independent systems,” explained Blake Harris, Managing Director of GFTC. “With this tool, we are focused on strengthening the interoperability ecosystem.”
The goal, Harris told WF, is to move away from one-off, custom integrations that slow down adoption, and instead create scalable, standards-based solutions that everyone can use.
Tackling the ‘first mile’
Seafood traceability has long stumbled at the “first mile,” where small-scale fishers and farmers struggle to capture reliable data. Harris acknowledged this barrier, but emphasised that Traceability Driver addresses what happens next: ensuring that once data is captured digitally, it can flow through the supply chain seamlessly.
The tool automates conversion into formats aligned with GS1’s EPCIS standards and the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST). It comes with a pre-built API and can be deployed locally, allowing organisations to maintain control over their data while still meeting global requirements.
“This shift away from one-off custom integrations toward scalable interoperability sharing traceability data along fragmented supply chains much easier and accessible for everyone involved,” Harris said.
The potential was demonstrated by agritech company Koltiva, which used Traceability Driver to pass GDST’s First Mile Aquaculture Capability Test. By installing the tool, Koltiva reduced its development timeline from three to four months down to just one.
Savings were not just in terms of time. Harris also noted that Koltiva avoided the need to hire an additional back-end engineer, a cost reduction that could be especially valuable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in seafood.
This tool is scale-agnostic, Harris said. “It is designed to help digital solution providers regardless of the size of their industry clients.”
The push for standards
The role of governments is also critical, affirmed Harris. While many are introducing traceability requirements – such as the US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA 204) – regulations vary widely in scope and design. he believes that embedding global standards like EPCIS into regulations could accelerate adoption of open-source tools such as the Traceability Driver.
Without common frameworks, digital data risks staying siloed, he warned. “The point of digitising data is to make it easier to share and analyse, and this requires interoperability. Think of achieving interoperability as a pyramid: at the base you have an event-based framework, which specifies what data must be collected at which points in the supply chain. This gives each participant a clear responsibility for the data they must capture. From there, existing data standards – such as GS1’s EPCIS – can be applied, followed by a standardised API to define how that data is exchanged between systems.”
These three elements together are required for global interoperability, Harris said, adding that governments don’t need to mandate specific tools, but by anchoring regulations in these frameworks, they allow scalable, cost-effective solutions to emerge.
Meanwhile, seafood fraud and mislabelling continue to challenge the sector, undermining consumer confidence in sustainability labels and origin claims. Harris sees interoperability as a cornerstone for trust.
“Traceability is the foundation for demonstrating product legality and integrity and for making credible claims,” he said. “The Traceability Driver strengthens this by enabling the flow of information between existing solutions in standardised, interoperable formats, so details related to origin, legality, or sustainability can be shared reliably across the supply chain.”
Catalyst for change
Traceability Driver is just the beginning. Harris revealed that GFTC is already exploring complementary open-source tools to strengthen interoperability further.
Traceability Driver is only one part of the larger picture, as it only supports sending data forward, he said.
“We are exploring concepts for a suite of open-source tools: some to further strengthen interoperability between digital systems, and others to help companies still relying on paper or analogue methods connect with the digital traceability ecosystem.
“Our focus is to support industry and their technology partners through open-source approaches and by encouraging broader adoption across the sector. Our vision at the Global Food Traceability Center is a fully traceable food system enabled by interoperable digital solutions accessible to all, and this is one way we are helping to make that vision a reality.”
