Need for Mandatory Traceability Systems

The United States and India are the only two major beef exporters that do not already have mandatory traceability systems, according to a study assessing the impact of traceability and animal identification programmes on the international market for red meat.

Conducted by researchers at Kansas State University, Colorado State University and Montana State University, the study, released by the US Meat Export Federation, assesses the potential impact on US producers and processors of evolving thinking about animal ID and traceability in leading export markets and traceability systems that have already been put in place by other major beef and pork exporting countries.

The study – Economic Assessment of Evolving Red Meat Export Market Access Requirements for Traceability of Livestock and Meat shows that while the US and INdia do not have mandatory systems, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Uruguay all have animal identification/traceability programmes in place.

The report also provides an analysis of the domestic cattle traceability systems employed by selected major importers of US beef.

Japan and Korea, among the highest value markets for US red meat exports, have adopted mandatory traceability programmes, which could eventually lead to similar requirements being applied to imports.

Finally, the report compares the sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions imposed on the major beef exporters by the top importing countries.

Another report from the US Government Accountability Office has called for government and food industry bodies to track the effectiveness of policies to curb antibiotic resistance, including the FDA's voluntary strategy designed to reduce antibiotic use in food animals.

The GAO has called on the authorities to identify potential approaches for collecting detailed data on antibiotic use in food animals, including the species in which antibiotics are used and the purpose for their use, as well as the costs, time frames, and potential trade-offs associated with each approach.

It also wants to see the authorities collaborate with industry to select the best approach and to seek any resources necessary to implement the approach.

The report also recommends that the data should be used to assess the effectiveness of policies to curb antibiotic resistance.

However, National Pork Producers Council President Doug Wolf said: "Not only is there no scientific study linking antibiotic use in food animals to antibiotic resistance in humans, as the US pork industry has continually pointed out, but there isn’t even adequate data to conduct a study."