Every pig will need ‘a passport’ to leave a farm as officials begin to track all pig movements within the province
Farm-to-farm traceability requirements are coming for Alberta pork producers.
“This whole program was predicated on what we can do in Alberta from a traceability perspective that might help the industry deal with future animal disease outbreaks and food safety-related issues,” said Ron Axelson, a traceability consultant working with Alberta Pork, which is contracted by the province to run the program.
Traceability information started being tracked in Alberta voluntarily in 2010 and has been mandatory since 2011, Axelson and Christina Carley, Alberta Pork’s education program co-ordinator, said at a recent Alberta Pork meeting in Red Deer.
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Over the next two years, the program, which already tracks hogs as they move from farm to fork, will start transitioning towards keeping data on all pig movement, starting with farm to farm.
One of the four official manifests will have to be filled out before the pigs leave a location, said Carley.
“Think about it in a sense as that shipment of pigs has to have that passport, or manifest, with it before it leaves the farm,” she said.
The processor will be responsible for sending the final manifest in for the traceability records.
“We’ve also started the groundwork for starting electronic traceability,” Carley said.
It’s hoped electronic manifests will be available in the next few years. Axelson said 10 or 12 producers might be selected to help pilot the move to electronic manifests to help work out any hiccups.
“We could introduce it as part of the system as early as next year,” Axelson said.
All pork producers will have to comply with the traceability rules, the focus will initially be on education, he said.
“We will know if you’re not using a manifest going farm to farm, and you might get a visit from someone coming out to chat with you about it,” said Axelson. “And if that doesn’t work, quite frankly, the Alberta government takes over from there.”
