The agri-food sector can be described as a system of distributed networks with a large number of actors with heterogeneous interests and from different backgrounds. Analysis of statistical data in previous research work has shown that small and medium sized enterprises are prevalent in certain parts of the food chain, whereas in others large, global companies play a major role. Surveys conducted among farm management system-and tracking and tracing system providers showed that a large set of different technical tools and programming methods is in use leading to a heterogeneous landscape of systems [1]. Within this setting, however, seamless data exchange is of crucial importance for communication purposes between chain actors and control of processes within the sector to ensure efficient and sustainable production as well as food safety and security.

One of the major issues and goals within any multi-stakeholder ICT initiative in the agri-food sector therefore often is achieving interoperability at different levels. According to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard Computer Dictionary [2], interoperability is the ability of two or more systems or components to exchange information and to use the information that has been exchanged. Although it is limited to a tractable set of applications and stakeholders within projects, interoperability can be achieved on a basis of bilateral agreements, the only way to enable uptake and implementation on a broader scale is standardisation of interfaces and data structures.