organicXML – Data standard for traceability and provenance assurance of organic products
organicXML was developed as part of a project under the Bundesprogramm Ökologischer Landbau (German Federal Organic Farming Scheme). Apart from the Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture), producer groups, inspection and certification bodies, and processors and retailers from Austria, Germany and Switzerland are involved in developing the data standard.
With the organicXML there is now a data standard for traceability and provenance assurance of organic products. The data standard allows for the establishment of database supported traceability systems throughout the entire value chain. The standard defines which data in which format will accompany the products from the point of their production through the various steps in the processing and trading process. The data standard has meanwhile been converted into an XML Schema and is available to software developers as a baseline for the implementation of software interfaces.
The following institutions are currently involved in developing the standard:
- ABCert GmbH - German inspection/ certification body
- bio.inspecta - Swiss inspection/ certification body
- Bioland Erzeugerring - German Bioland producer group
- BÖLW - German Federation of the Organic Food Sector
- fab4minds GmbH - Information technology developer
- Geschäftsstelle des Bundesprogramms ökologischer Landbau - German Federal Organic Farming Scheme
- GS1 Germany (formerly CCG) - services center for cross-company business processes
- Helm-Software - Agricultural software developer
- Intact GmbH - Information technology developer
- KTBL - Association for Technology and Structures in Agriculture
- Naturland Marktgesellschaft - Marketing association for Naturland producers
- tegut... gute Lebensmittel - Organic retailer
In order to guarantee compatibility with other relevant data standards, the project is carried out in cooperation with the competent institutions. These are, in particular, EAN/UCC by GS1 Germany (formerly CCG) and agroXML by KTBL and the Bingen University of Applied Sciences.
organicXML is now being used for a number of applications. For example, data from the “Navision” inventory control system of the Naturland marketing company, and from the “Flow Web” traceability system of the Austrian company Intact are now passed on to www.bio-mit-gesicht.de via the organicXML interface.
Furthermore, the bioC database corresponds to the current description of the organicXML data standard. The database related technical preconditions for supporting the organicXML data standard are thus met. The implementation of an XML interface allows for automatic checks on whether a company is listed in the bioC data base and thus whether the company is subject to the control procedures under the EU Organic Regulation.
The XML Schema, as developed, offers the possibility to implement interfaces between market participants within a value chain as a precondition for automatic data exchange. Data can thus be carried along the entire value chain.
There is also the possibility of tying database systems of economic actors to traceability systems and to pass information on to consumer information portals such as www.bio-mit-gesicht.de If the interfaces are developed on the basis of organicXML then compatibility is assured. Furthermore, inspection bodies will also be able to perform automatic data verification as long as they have implemented interfaces to their inspection and certification software on the basis of organicXML. Simple verification requests can also be made through the www.bioC.info central directory of inspected enterprises as soon as www.bioC.info has completed the planned implementation of organicXML.
Coordination with agroXML in the development of organicXML guarantees that in the future documentation systems for agricultural holdings with agroXML interface will also be able to serve the database systems of buyers.
