Government And Cattle Industry Find Common Ground On Traceability

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Published: November 8, 2010

Government and cattle industry stakeholders have signed off on “The Guiding Principles for Beef Cattle Traceability.” This agreement establishes an acceptable common understanding of traceability among the Alberta government and industry partners for a national beef traceability system.

The agreement is in response to concerns expressed by the cattle industry that the national traceability initiative spearheaded by the federal government may not be able to fully meet its operational date targets. Stakeholders in the livestock marketing sector in particular have stated that technical problems with existing ear tag technology need to be resolved before the system becomes operational. The guidelines suggest that implementation of traceability will occur only when there are identifiable benefits and the available technology results in acceptable incremental costs. They also suggest that costs will be assessed against a measurable value of real benefit.

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Alberta Agriculture Minister Jack Hayden stated that the guidelines recognize industry concerns and how they could be addressed.

“In July 2009, the federal and provincial agriculture ministers agreed to move forward on a comprehensive national traceability system for livestock,” Hayden said in a release. “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 organizations share a common goal of strengthening Alberta’s world-class animal health and food safety system and recognize the importance of the three pillars of traceability: premises identification, animal identification, and animal movement tracking,” Hayden said in a release.

“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 organizations recognize the need to operate under a set of guiding principles for beef cattle traceability.

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Thisagreementhelps movethissystem forward.”

JACK HAYDEN

ALBERTA AG MINISTER

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