With GLN, the apple literally does not fall far from the tree

GS1 together with Fresh Upstream presented the GLN (Global Location Number) register, this tool should make tracking primary food products a lot easier.

With the GLN register, each farm and even each plot or tree can be assigned a unique number and thus receive a location passport. If a product such as an apple is linked to that tree, by scanning it, a consumer on the other side of the world can verify that the apple did come from that tree on that plot.

With the register, you can go as far as you need to. You can record a pig farm, as well as a specific piggery or part of it. And you can add all kinds of information to that, for example food safety certificates. When was that certificate issued? Who issued it? And is it still valid? By making the GLN register accessible through a unique identifier, a lot of information is made available to the suppliers and buyers of that pig farm.

What is needed to make the GLN register a success?

The register must first gain general acceptance, partly by linking to the many existing registers that allow information via one unique identifier. A Dutch farmer at least has a CoC number, but across Europe there are 27 different CoC registration systems. And in the Netherlands alone, there are another 15 different registration systems for chickens and eggs, among other things. Count your winnings if we start using the GLN register across Europe.

What are the next steps once the GLN register is live?

Links will be made with other registers such as those of certifying bodies. Eventually, an ecosystem of interconnected databases will emerge. 

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