animal identification presentation

National Animal IdentificationNational Animal Identification

Allen Livingston IVDepartment of Animal Science

April 21, 2006

Driving ForcesDriving Forces

Recent news stories have focused on – Tracking cattle from birth to finished product to

control the risk of BSE– Tracking food shipments to reduce the risk of

tampering – And on traceability systems to detail country of

origin, animal welfare, and genetic composition


In the US and internationally it has become essential that all sectors of the food product chain and governments assure that livestock and meat are identified

– This includes procedures and record keeping that assure traceability through all or parts of the complete life cycle of an animal


As consumers become more educated, they demand more information about their food supply, including the origin and processing of products

Recent animal health and food borne illness scares in all parts of the globe are creating a demand for source verification, food safety and supply chain identification of food products

Importance of Animal ID (AID)Importance of Animal ID (AID) Traceability is a way to identify livestock and

poultry and their products according to their origin, as far back in the production sequence as necessary to:– Determine ownership– Identify lineage– Improve palatability – Assure food safety– Assure compliance in source, process, and production

practice verification programs

Livestock Origin and Livestock Origin and OwnershipOwnership

For centuries producers have identified livestock by marks, notches, brands, or tags, in order to be able to claim ownership

However, many producers in the U.S. do not identify their animals or keep records of birth, ownership, and movements or sales-transactions

Foreign Animal DiseasesForeign Animal Diseases The US livestock industry has a long history of

identifying and tracking animals to control the spread of animal diseases– 1940 brucellosis eradication

Animal ID has been based, in part, on public need for ongoing surveillance/eradication programs for FADs – BSE and FMD– Avian influenza

National BiosecurityNational Biosecurity

September 11, 2001 brought about the realization of not only terrorism in the US, but the risk of bioterrorism in the nation’s food supply as well

The agriculture sector could be vulnerable to attacks by extremists that would introduce a FAD into a large animal operation– This could have a devastating impact on the economy

and damage consumer confidence

International Market DemandsInternational Market Demands The international political theatre uses traceability systems

as a means of demanding that specific governments either develop systems of traceability or face new requirements in order to trade in each unique market situation

Retail distribution channels are also requiring more information about the products they are receiving and export customers are beginning to demand that their suppliers trace back products to original sources in order to protect the customers’ investment in their own brand equity

C.O.O.L. RequirementsC.O.O.L. Requirements COOL is a marketing program designed to provide

information regarding the country-of-origin of certain foods to consumers

AID is not intended to be apart of COOL, it is only for use in tracking animal diseases

If and when COOL is enacted by the US government, AID could be used to assist in COOL operations

RetailersRetailers

Major retail outlets- as a part of supply chain management- are demanding a more responsive supply chain to better inform their customers and market their products

Traceability is also important for determining compliance in branded-meat programs that require source-verification, production practice-verification and/or process-verification

RetailersRetailers Animal ID could be used for trace back from farm-

to-consumer for all animals, carcasses, cuts, and meat trimmings by using a single identification number

Swift & Company has launched Swift Trace™, which is a traceability program that utilizes scanned images of animal retinas and ear tag information – This allows the company the ability to trace from

individual animal to boxed beef

Value-based MarketingValue-based Marketing

ID programs could assist producers in maximizing profit and identifying animals that exhibit:

Higher growth rates Increased feed efficiency Require less medical treatments Produce the best grading carcasses

Value-based MarketingValue-based Marketing Another benefit of this technology is to show data

to producers that are trying to make improvements in their herd

The packing industry would be better able to reward producers for higher quality carcasses

This would also help facilitate more of a partnership between producers and packers

Value-added MarketingValue-added Marketing

Traceability would allow branded-beef programs the ability to verify where products come from and what practices were performed

This includes the use of:– Implants/ionophores– Antibiotics– Vaccination records– Feeding regimens

Food Safety ProblemsFood Safety Problems Traceability effectively reduces risk exposure by

enabling food producers to identify, isolate and correct the problem quickly and efficiently, so that the public health is protected and the economic fallout from such incidents can be minimized

This includes:– Potential danger of meatborne pathogens to the

restaurant industry– The threat of meatborne pathogen occurrence in the

meat/poultry purveying sector

Crisis ManagementCrisis Management

During fiscal year 2004, there were 47 recalls involving 2.7 million pounds of meat/poultry products in the US

Traceback procedures would, in theory, allow companies to track at least 98% of the selected lot with in a four hour period

Technology Technology

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are currently being used on boxed beef by many large retailers including Wal-Mart and Swift & Co.

Other technological advances include using retinal scanning and GPS recording

Current Status of AID Current Status of AID

European union All 25 countries operate under common animal ID

requirements which call for individual tagging at birth and notification of animal movements throughout its life

Japan Similar to European requirements for tagging and

tracing movements

Current Status of AIDCurrent Status of AID

Australia – First country outside of Europe to adopt a

national program; Became fully mandatory in 2005

New Zealand– Quickly followed Australia in pursuing a

national program; Goal set to have mandatory ID in place by mid 2007

Current Status of AIDCurrent Status of AID

Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina– Traditionally have operated under lot

identification – Each has begun to move toward mandatory

individual identification – Uruguay has set a deadline for mandatory ID

by mid 2006.

Current Status of AIDCurrent Status of AID Canada

– National ID became mandatory in 2002 with requirements for individual ID to occur on all cattle that move beyond their “herd of origin”

World Trade Organization – Stated that the importing country cannot enforce more

rigorous standards for imported meat than those applied to the domestic industry or use these standards as trade barriers

Status of US AIDStatus of US AID

Much of the debate over AID is still unresolved at this time

Premise identification is currently being recorded in all states – Mandatory premise registration in Texas begins

July 1, 2006


http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/animal_id/NAIS--BenchmarksAndTimelines--April2006.pdf


Different industries are currently setting up forms of identification for their respective species– The beef industry is planning on using electronic

tracking devices such as RFID tags

All information concerning premises and animals will be kept in a national database that the USDA will have access to in case of a disease outbreak


Initial start-up costs will be different than the costs of a fully operational system in all 50 states

It is anticipated that the federal government and all industry stakeholders will share in the costs of an identification system

ConclusionsConclusions

Due to the size and scope of the US beef industry, US AID is still a few years from completion

More bureaucracy will continue to shape AID

Questions?Questions?

animal identification presentation

Documents