Application of ontologies to traceability in the dairy supply chain

L. Magliulo, L. Genovese, V. Peretti, N. Murru

Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy.
Penelope SpA, Naples, Italy.

DOI: 10.4236/as.2013.45B008                

Abstract

Systems for tracking products through supply chains range from paper-based records maintained by producers, processors, and suppliers to sophisticated ICT-based solutions. In addition to supporting product traceability, ICTs may also support data capture, recording, storage, and sharing of traceability attributes on processing, genetics, inputs, disease/pest tracking and measurement of environmental variables. A key success factor for a traceability system is the capability to integrate and share information along the supply chain. ICT represents a tool to overcome integration problems, data fusion and information dissemination. In this paper we illustrate the application of ontology as a tool to model business processes and rules within an agri- food chain. The business case is represented by the Bovlac project: a scientific and technologic platform to trace fresh cheese production.

Keywords

Information Integration; Business Process; Ontology; Agri-food Supply Chain; Dairy Chain, Value Chain

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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