BIOTRACK

The BioTrack Project: Development of a protocol for biometric-based animal tracking and tracing.

BACKGROUND:

There is a need at Irish and pan-European levels to develop traceability systems that enable the origin and mode of production of foods to be established. Such systems would enhance the safety and security of the food chain, thereby improving consumer confidence and enabling the regulatory authorities to identify and withdraw inappropriate foodstuffs. Animal food products (beef, poultry, processed comminuted products, etc) present the most significant disease risk to the consumer (e.g. BSE, Avian Flu, etc.). A need exists to implement a tamper proof animal traceability system that would ensure absolute traceability of the animal from birth to slaughter. Animal biometrics enable unique animal characteristics to be measured and recorded on a database, providing each animal with an identity card that remains associated with the animal for life and beyond (through processing to the supermarket shelf). In addition to obtaining the biometric data, a national biodata management system is needed based on e-technology (e.g. barcodes, RFIDs and other electronic tracking systems) routed through a national web portal.

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