Agreement Made On Livestock Traceability Principles
CANADA - The Alberta government and representatives of the province’s beef cattle industry have reached an agreement that will provide the foundation for livestock traceability in Alberta and is key to expanding market access and managing animal health and food safety issues.
27 October 2010
1 minute read
The Guiding Principles for Beef Cattle Traceability establish an acceptable common understanding of traceability among government and industry partners as they move towards a national beef traceability system.
“In July 2009, the federal and provincial agriculture ministers agreed to move forward on a comprehensive national traceability system for livestock,” said Jack Hayden, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. “This agreement helps move this system forward.”
Joining Hayden in signing the agreement were representatives from the Alberta Beef Producers, the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency, the Beef Industry Alliance, the Canadian Beef Breeds Council, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency and Livestock Inspection Services.
“All these organisations share a common goal of strengthening Alberta’s world-class animal health and food safety system and recognise the importance of the three pillars of traceability: premises identification, animal identification, and animal movement tracking,” said Mr Hayden.
“A strong traceability system enables producers to enter valuable foreign markets, China being a recent example, and receive the premium prices that their high-quality products deserve.”
With the signing of this agreement, the Government of Alberta and key industry organisations recognize the need to operate under a set of guiding principles for beef cattle traceability. The guiding principles are attached in the backgrounder.
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