Research Indicates NAIS Premises and Animal Registration is Incomplete and Ineffective for Homeland Security
by Wm Kanitz on 07/20/05
Research Indicates
NAIS Premises and Animal Registration is Incomplete and Ineffective for
Homeland Security USDA National Animal ID System (NAIS) premises
registration is too little and too late, and not a true traceback
system
(PRWEB) July 15,
2005 -- The USDA has increased funding for continued registration of
premises for its national animal identification system (NAIS), while
failing to address the real job for the program – animal traceback –
and how the program can actually work without compromising producer's
private data or increasing production costs.
According to the
USDA's Secretary Johanns, more than 80,000 premises have been
registered in the NAIS program, to help trace diseased or potentially
diseased animals to their point of origin more quickly and efficiently.
Currently, 47 states and five tribes have approved premises
registration systems, and APHIS anticipates that all 50 states will be
on board by July, 2005.
At the present
time, animal health officials conduct disease trace outs with local,
resident systems that make use of records related to program diseases,
on-farm recordkeeping, and existing interstate movement certificates
and breed registries. However, these epidemiologic investigations may
take from days to weeks to complete because records are often kept on
paper, or they are not standardized across state lines and
International borders.
When local
paper-based systems, or even local, resident software system and
databases are used, any national system that still relies on these data
sources for verification is bound to be slow and ineffective. Only a
Web-based data management system can provide an efficient, effective
data collection, storage, and report system with true animal traceback
and traceup. A Web-based system makes it possible for records to move
with the individual animal and related byproducts, which cuts the time
required for source verification to just seconds.
Effective traceback
is only possible when each stage of the food processing and supply
system is included. The USDA's NAIS and other similar tracking systems
currently in use or in pilot testing are incomplete and ineffective
since they only are concerned with the animal's early life history.
All products in the
food chain, from the live animal and its origin, to its associated
commodity items, must be identified with a unique number and labeled by
RFID or barcode and included in the traceback system. All activities
and actions performed on the animals must be recorded at each location
– and identified by a unique Premises IDentification Code (PIDC) – in a
rancher's field, on a cattle truck, or even in the middle of a packing
plant, all the way to the retailer and consumer.
Only ScoringAg's
Internet-based recordkeeping system and database can meet the demands
of real traceback in real time; provide real compliance with government
traceback and Homeland Security and APHIS regulations; give producers
and industry stakeholders a real marketing advantage over competitors
with PIDC and point-to-point traceback; add proven value with RFID
source verification throughout the Web-based recordkeeping system; and
guarantee confidentiality with a secure databank that can still deliver
Internet-based records anywhere, anytime, in real time – only to the
owner of the account.
ScoringAg.com and
its traceback and traceup system for agriculture products, featuring
Site-Specific Recordkeeping™ and PIDC location code, is one of the many
divisions of ScoringSystem, Inc., which is located in Sarasota, Florida
USA and specializes in providing solutions with mobile data, via
wireless PDAs, laptops, and Semacode-programmed Nokia, Siemens, and
Sony Ericsson cell phones. Whether using RFID or barcodes for tracking
and traceback of livestock, transport containers or perishable
commodities and other consumer goods, www.ScoringAg.com makes managing
data easier – and does it in an extremely cost effective manner.
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