A national PigTrace program will debut in Canada on July 1, 2014, following an agreement from hog producers and the federal government.

The launch date of the mandatory nationwide traceability system for hogs “sets a reasonable timeframe to allow the (Canadian Pork Council) and its provincial member organizations to continue to grow the program,” according to the newsletter for the Manitoba Pork Council in a report from the American Association of Swine Veterinarians.

The national PigTrace program, which is to apply to “everyone who produces, assembles, slaughters and/or transports pigs,” was previously expected to take effect in January 2014.

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Federal regulation of PigTrace Canada will be “an important step toward building an effective program that responds to disease outbreaks and food safety emergencies,” the provincial council said.

PigTrace “aims to provide animal health and food safety officials with the best possible information regarding pig identification and movement between locations,” the council said. “For that to happen, the program needs the entire Canadian pork industry to participate.”

Read the rest of the report at http://www.aasv.org/news/story.php?id=6707.

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