National Identification and Traceability
The Canadian swine industry is developing response tools that will assist in quickly containing animal health related issues such as a foreign animal disease (FAD) outbreak. This will contribute to maintaining a high standard for quality pork production across Canada.
In July 2002, the Canadian Pork Council (CPC) received a mandate from its members to coordinate the development of a national traceability system for pigs, from birth to slaughter. The CPC and the provincial pork organizations have since been very proactive in the development of an identification (ID) and traceability system for the Canadian hog industry.
The short-term goal in the next few years for industry is to provide information on all Canadian swine premises, and trace back and forward all live hog movements on a real-time basis, boosting our preparedness in the case of an animal disease outbreak.
What is traceability?
Traceability is the ability to trace the history, application, or location of an item or activity by means of recorded identification.
There are three pillars of traceability:
Identification of farms
Identification of animals
Tracking movement of animals
The proposed swine traceability system will allow for tracking the back and forth movements of live hogs.