Table of Content

• » Background & Recent (R)Evolution in EU Food / Meat Legislation:
  • - BSE; Dioxins; Scandals.
• » Legislative Process in the EU:
  • - COMM; Council; EP.
• »Legislative Instruments:
  • - Directive / Regulation (+/- Decisions ?)
  • - Recitals; Articles; Annexes:
  • - Access to EUR-lex; SANCO websites.
• » General Food Law – Reg. 178/2002:
  • - No sale of unsafe food; Traceability (one step forward one step back); Product Recall; FBO responsibility; EFSA.
• » “The Hygiene Package”:
  • - Reg. 852/2004 - FBO Responsibility; HACCP-based Procedures; Guides to GHP & GMP;
  • - Reg. 853/2004 - Food Chain Information; Hygiene & Other Requirement;
  • - Reg. 854/2004 - Official Controls – Inspection; Audit; Enforcement, Fees;
  • - Reg. 882/2004 – Control Systems; Sampling & Analysis; Multi-Annual Plans:
  • - Reg. 2073/2005 - Micro Criteria (I) Food Safety; (II) Process Hygiene.
• » Just mention: (to place in context):
  • - Reg. 1774/2002 ABPs & 999/2000 TSEs (Hazel Sheridan).
  • - Reg. 1760/2000 Beef Labelling (Guy Nolet).
  • - Animal Health & Welfare Strategy(Bill Vandaele).

1. Recommendations as outcome of the Evaluation of the CAHP-1995/2004 by FCEC*, a   Consortium of 4 partners  including Arcadia International: general
2. Evaluation of EU control programmes and Border controls and imports concerning food from animal origin and feed
3. New AH Strategy 2007-2013 “Prevention is better than cure”: general 
4. Specific strategies for import of meat products and traceability
5. Community Influence on International Standards: link with OIE
6. Status today

*FCEC: Food Chain Evaluation Consortium

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) is recognized by the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the relevant standard-setting organization for animal health and zoonoses. In addition to existing relevant OIE standards, OIE Delegates adopted a new text: Design and Implementation of Identification Systems to Achieve Animal Traceability in May 2008. The OIE International Conference (17-19 March 2009 in Buenos Aires) will help all countries to progressively implement effective traceability systems compatible with their resources while respecting the standards of both the OIE and the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

Third Countries willing to export animal products to EU have to formally apply,be subjected to a desk evaluation of their control systems,and if need be receive on the spot inspections of the Commission Services.Once approved their imports have to undergo controls as well at the EU borders as when entering food establisments within EU.
Traceability is a key issue in animal production and more specifically in relation to animal products coming from Third Countries as the rules to be implemented in one given Third Country are mostly not the same as the ones in force for animal products being placed on the national market.Traceability has to cover all steps of production from "farm to fork",from "stable to table".It has to be build as a continued chain to be put in place bearing in mind that the value of such a chain is the one of its weakest part. The presentation details different steps of the meat production identifying the key issues to be covered at each step.

1. From farm to table: interactions between feed and food chain
2. Traceability: a tool for good governance for a company
   1. Traceability objectives (control of process, management of complaints, products recall, identification of responsibilities)
   2. Traceability of what (products, producers)
3. The concept of traceability as enshrined in international and EU feed related rules
   1. Traceability in CODEX Code for Animal Feeding
   2. Traceability in EU Feed Hygiene legislation
   3. Ruptures of traceability
4. Traceability=transfer of information
   1. Labels (EU legislation)
   2. Internet
5. Codes of Practice: tools to assist in implementing traceability requirements
6. Traceability as a key tool for crisis management: Case study with MPA contamination in 2002

Traceability has many faces, although there is only one target. The presentation will deal about the basics of traceability, the limits and possibilities.

In this context,  traceability is a universal concept independent from the nature of the industry.  

A lot of software is available on the market, but have a limited value  without a well understanding of the basic system, preferably operational in the concerned industry. Company traceability is only one link of the chain,  as such  limited in importance,  but  determinative for the strength of it.

1. Definitions in application of the regulation 1760/2000 & 1828/2000
2. Why trace?
3. How to trace?
4. Four stages of tracing
   1. Live cattle identification and tracing
   2. Information gathering in the slaughterhouse
   3. Transmission of the data through the processing chain
   4. Information delivery at the final consumer
5. Beef meat labelling
6. Minced meat tracing and labelling
7. Traceability of  imported beef meat

• » Brief introduction of European poultry meat sector and its European associations
• » Identification from pedigree breeding to slaughterhouse
• » Identification at slaughter and in further processing
• » Legal requirements on tracking and tracing
• » Traceability and private (quality) schemes

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