Eartags make “traceback” a reality

New technology means every pound of Canadian beef can be traced to its beginning. That’s timely news for quality and consumer confidence.

Canada’s 15-million beef cattle hardly notice the change. Most consumers aren’t aware of it, either. Yet for Alberta’s beef cattle industry, having their cattle wearing identifying eartags is headline news.

The eartags are part of a nationwide initiative nicknamed “traceback.” And its goal is as laudable as it is ironic: While the vast majority of beef consumers will never know the system even exists, traceback is specifically designed to safeguard human health, says Julie Stitt, general manager of the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA).

As of January 1, 2001, law requires every beef animal in Canada to carry an approved eartag when it leaves its herd of origin. That tag, paid for by individual beef producers and equipped with a barcode or electronic chip, stays with the animal until carcass inspection. Should any animal health concern arise at the carcass stage, the information will be traced back to the original herd.

“The new ID system is an extension of solid animal health tracking practices,” explains Stitt. “Now it will be even easier for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to quickly track and resolve any potentially serious animal health concerns.”

Beef producers pay the bill

And, given today’s headlines about mad cow and footand- mouth disease, the ID program couldn’t be more timely. A beef producer from Innisfail and chairman of the Alberta Cattle Commission (ACC), Conn started using the new ID tags last year. “As beef producers, we understand that we don’t just produce cattle, we produce food. The consumer is demanding that we take more accountability for the safety of that food product and I think that’s fair,” adds Conn.

Alberta’s adoption of the new ID tags is also economically wise since this province’s beef industry produces 69 percent of the nation’s beef cattle.“We are trying to be very proactive in doing things to keep our herds healthy,” notes Stitt.