GS1 application to the meat industry

Numbering structures for identification

The main elements of the numbering system are:

Main elements	Description
Global Trade Item Number (GTIN)	An identification number to identify a trade item, which may be sold at retail Point-of-Sale (POS) and/or which appears in a general distribution (warehouse) environment.
Application Identifiers (AIs)	A method of identifying information about a trade item over and above product identity, such as batch number or production date.
Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC)	For the unique identification of logistic units.

Data Carriers (Barcodes)

The GS1 unique numbers are represented in data carriers that enable automatic capture of the data. The red meat industry has determined that the GS1-128 barcode is to be used for carcase ticketing, carton labels and pallet labels. This allows attribute data as well as product identification to be encoded.

eMessaging

The terms electronic data exchange (EDI) and eMessaging, used within the context of this document, apply to the various syntax-based standards available to transact commercial documents electronically. The types of documents applicable for the meat industry include National Vendor Declarations, Market Vendor Declarations (MSA, NFAS), Meat Transfer Certificates, Health Certificates, as well as consignment and transport information.