EPC Types
The GDST standard employs Electronic Product Codes (EPCs) at various levels to capture traceability data. These identifiers allow GDST to provide flexible, granular tracking tailored to the seafood industry’s needs.
EPC Comparison
| Criteria | Instance-level EPC | Lot-level EPC | SSCC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use Case | Tracking individual, high-value or sensitive items (e.g., premium tuna) | Tracking bulk products sharing common attributes (e.g., batch-processed shrimp) | Tracking logistics units like pallets or containers |
| Granularity | Highest (one-to-one traceability) | Moderate (one-to-many) | Lowest (unit-level shipping) |
| Best For | Regulatory compliance, fraud prevention, premium product traceability | Inventory management, quality control, production batches | Logistics efficiency, shipping & receiving, aggregation events |
| Linked EPCIS Events | ObjectEvents | ObjectEvents | AggregationEvents, DisaggregationEvents |
| Regulatory Relevance | Critical for high-risk, export-certified seafood | Sufficient for routine compliance and audits | Required for customs and freight tracking |
| Operational Efficiency | Low (complex to manage at scale) | High (scalable and batch-friendly) | Very High (enables bulk handling) |
Instance-level EPC
This identifies individual seafood items, such as a single fish or a specific package. Each item has a unique EPC, allowing precise tracking through the supply chain. For example, a high-value tuna might be tracked individually to verify its origin.
Instance level EPCs are created by combining a GTIN with a serial number.
Lot-level EPC
This represents a group of seafood products sharing common characteristics, like fish caught on the same day or processed in the same batch. Often identified by a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) combined with a lot number, lot-level EPCs are essential for managing batches or lots of a product by quantity.
Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC)
This identifies logistics units, such as pallets, cases, or containers holding multiple seafood products. SSCCs track these units’ movements, ensuring accurate logistics management. For example, a pallet of mixed seafood boxes might have an SSCC to monitor its journey from a processing plant to a distributor.
How are these EPC levels integrated into EPCIS events within GDST?
ObjectEvents: These record observations of seafood products, whether at the instance or lot level, at specific supply chain points. For example, when a batch of salmon (lot-level EPC) is received at a processing facility, an ObjectEvent logs its arrival.
AggregationEvents: These occur when multiple seafood products are combined into a logistics unit, like boxes of fish packed onto a pallet. The SSCC of the pallet is linked to the EPCs of the individual items or lots. For instance, an AggregationEvent might record several boxes of crab (each with lot-level EPCs) being loaded onto a pallet with an SSCC.
DisaggregationEvents: These are the reverse, recording when a logistics unit is broken down. For example, when a pallet arrives at a distribution center, a DisaggregationEvent logs the separation of individual boxes from the pallet’s SSCC.
Why is it important to distinguish between these EPC levels in seafood traceability?
Distinguishing between instance-level EPCs, lot-level EPCs, and SSCCs is critical for enabling accurate, efficient, and transparent seafood traceability throughout the supply chain. Each level serves a distinct purpose, and using the appropriate identifier ensures that traceability data remains meaningful and actionable.
1. Precision in Traceability and Risk Management: Instance-level EPCs allow for granular tracking of individual seafood items, which is particularly important for high-value or high-risk products like sashimi-grade tuna or species vulnerable to fraud. In contrast, lot-level EPCs provide an efficient way to manage products that are handled in bulk, such as shrimp processed in the same facility on the same day. Distinguishing between these levels allows stakeholders to scale traceability to the level of detail appropriate for each product type.
2. Operational Efficiency and Supply Chain Coordination: SSCCs help manage the movement of grouped products through logistics processes by tracking pallets, cartons, or containers. These higher-level identifiers reduce the complexity of managing large shipments, enabling faster inventory handling, customs clearance, and shipping validation. Linking SSCCs to the individual or lot-level EPCs they contain allows organizations to trace back from a single shipment unit to the specific seafood items inside, preserving traceability without adding operational overhead.
3. Regulatory and Market Compliance: Seafood traceability regulations and certifications (e.g., EU catch certification, U.S. SIMP) often have different data granularity requirements. Being able to distinguish between EPC levels ensures companies can comply with varying standards without duplicating efforts. For instance, instance-level data may be necessary for chain-of-custody certification, while lot-level or SSCC-based data may suffice for routine audits or customs reporting.
4. Data Integrity Across Events: Different EPC levels are integrated into distinct EPCIS event types, such as ObjectEvents for tracking individual or batch items, AggregationEvents for grouping, and DisaggregationEvents for ungrouping. Clear differentiation ensures that each event type references the correct EPCs, preserving the logical structure of traceability data and allowing automated systems to interpret and act on the data accurately.
