Poultry industry grapples with traceability
NEW ZEALAND - The poultry industry says it is working to make poultry and eggs able to be traced back to their origin, but says it is not an easy job given the high number of eggs and birds that are produced and processed.Most poultry meat produced in New Zealand is eaten here, so the poultry industry is not being driven by export markets to the same extent as as other food industries, such as lamb.
Poultry meat is predominantly chicken but includes turkey, duck, pheasant, guinea fowl, quail and goose meat.
Poultry Industry Association of New Zealand (PIANZ) spokeswoman Natalie Gerber says although there isn't the overseas pressure to be able to trace poultry meat and eggs, the safety of consumers in New Zealand is just as important as that of overseas customers.
Tracking and traceability have become hot topics for all livestock businesses around the world, as both consumer concerns about food safety and the improved ability of food regulators to respond to disease outbreaks have grown.
Beef, lamb and deer producers and processing industries have been grappling with practical ways to implement traceability from a New Zealand farm to overseas plate.
"The practicalities of tracing mammalian livestock and large birds such as emus and ostriches are well understood," Ms Gerber says.
Source: Stuff.co.nz
25 January 2006
1 minute read
