About the Attribute Coding System

When we talk about "attributes", we may be referring to the characteristics of a person, place or thing in a broad sense. For example, we could describe someone as "jolly, happy, or cheerful" and all three adjectives would mean the same thing. This is not the case with data attributes.

Data attributes must have a level of specificity that leaves no room for ambiguity. Why?

Because, unlike spoken and written human language that can be subjective and interpretive, data is a language that must be objective, at its core, if information is to be communicated - or transmitted - without loss or degradation of meaning.

This makes data attributes fundamental to the operation of software systems where qualitative (or categorical) data - such as breeds of cattle or names of countries - and quantitative (or numerical) data - like HSCW, dentition or pH - are used to describe objects, products or entities that the software is used to manage.

For the red-meat supply chain, this covers a great many objects, products and entities, across many different software systems - making it critical for the data attributes used within the entire industry to be unambiguously interchangeable for the purposes of product tracking, comparison and feedback, verifying production claims, supporting assurance and animal welfare criteria and a host of other applications.

The Data Attribute Coding System is the repository of the industry's structurally codified attributes that support the transmission of information along the supply chain. It records who is responsible for defining and maintaining the attribute, its type, function, format and specific use.