Traceability must become a priority in SA - Vervoort

Traceability may still be a new buzzword in South Africa, but it is standard practice in many other countries, where it is seen as a vital requirement for the right to trade, according to the chairperson of the National Animal Health Forum (NAHF), Dr Pieter Vervoort.

Speaking at a recent event hosted by the Gauteng NAHF in Pretoria, Vervoort said that implementing proper animal identification and traceability needed to become a priority for the local livestock industry and would ensure its long-term survival. This was especially important as South Africa was exporting more meat products and these markets needed to be kept open.

“Those involved in exports must mobilise feedlots and factories [to implement these systems]. They need to be sensitised to the consequences of a disease outbreak. In future [when legislation makes traceability compulsory], if a feedlot or exporter has no system in place it will make it difficult for vets to sign off health documents. An independent inspectorate may be needed,” Vervoort said.

The use of technologies such as RFID tags (an ID system that uses small radio frequency identification devices for identification and tracking purposes) was slowly gaining traction in South Africa, but was already outdated in many countries that now used face identification technologies or muzzle recognition, he said.

He added that a recent outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in the Northern Cape illustrated the need for traceability. The outbreak of ASF had fallen outside the control area and to date the origin of the disease had not been identified. It was suspected that pigs infected with ASF had been bought at an auction and then taken to an ASFfree farm. Incidents such as these often led to countries closing their borders to meat exports.

According to Vervoort, enacting legislation to govern traceability practices in the country could take between seven and 15 years.

“We don’t have that much time. Branding is [a legal requirement], yet only 40% of cattle in South Africa are branded. We need to implement traceability [while] laws are being written.”

According to Vervoort, it would cost the government less than R500 000 to acquire computer software to ensure traceability.

“If we only implement 50% of our aims, we are already miles ahead of where we are now. We need pathogen-free herds and should realise that we must not test single animals but know the disease status of entire herds. Vets need to understand the herd and region where an animal with a disease comes from,” he said.

Vervoort said open communication was needed between vets so that everyone in a particular area could become aware of the health status of that area. Phone apps, which are already available, could easily be used to report diseases. – Gerhard Uys

Gerhard uys ABOVE:The traceability of animal products through the value chain is a crucial requirement on the global export market.