Canadian Traceability

National Livestock and Poultry Traceability Performance Targets

August 2011

Performance targets:
Communicating high level traceability outcomes

National Livestock and Poultry Traceability Performance Targets have been developed by industry and governments to communicate the high-level goals of a National Agriculture and Food Traceability System (NAFTS). These outcomes represent what is required to rapidly and efficiently manage an animal disease outbreak, food safety issue, or natural disaster affecting the Canadian herd. Achieving these targets would decrease the potential magnitude of an event and shorten the time to full economic recovery after an event.

Traceability performance targets identify the outcomes necessary to rapidly and efficiently manage an animal disease outbreak, food safety issue, or natural disaster

Background
In 2006, in response to federal, provincial, and territorial (FPT) agriculture ministers' commitment to phasing-in NAFTS, national technical advisors and industry experts began work on developing performance targets for a national birth-to-slaughter traceability system. As a result, a comprehensive supporting document was formed, entitled, "Federal/Provincial/ Territorial Governments' Information Needs, Associated Performance Objectives and Data Standards to Enhance its Ability to Manage Sanitary Issues as it Related to Livestock and Poultry. In June 2011, this document was summarized into seven key performance targets.

The targets are designed to work with traceability systems whether mandatory or voluntary. The implementation of systems required to attain the targets will take into consideration the differences in industry structure and capacity of the various species groups. Discussion will occur with each industry sector to develop realistic and practical implementation plans to meet these performance targets. These targets reflect the work of the Industry-Government Advisory Committee for traceability, and will set a benchmark for the performance of Canada's traceability system.

Questions:

Q. What are performance targets?
A. Performance targets are used to evaluate and assess performance achieved compared to desired performance.

Q. What is the purpose of the performance targets?
A. These National Livestock and Poultry Traceability Performance Targets will provide those stakeholders developing traceability systems with a guideline. The targets will be used not only as a benchmark for implementation plans, but also as a benchmark against which regulations will be developed.

Q. Who needs to be aware of these performance targets?
A. Private and public sectors involved in the development of traceability systems for either livestock or poultry.

Performance Targets

The Federal, Provincial and Territorial Governments identified national performance targets for livestock and poultry traceability systems in order to rapidly and efficiently manage a sanitary issue or natural disaster affecting and/or originating from the Canadian herd. These national performance targets will be used to measure the effectiveness of traceability systems whether mandatory or voluntary. The implementation of traceability systems and regulations to attain these performance targets will be phased in over time to allow for capacity building

The target audience for these national performance targets is the private and public sector involved in the traceability file and/or subject to traceability requirements.

Applicable to all livestock or poultry species subject to traceability requirements
Within 48 hours of the relevant CVOi or Competent Authorityii being notifiediii of a sanitary issue or natural disaster or in the prevention or preparedness of such issue, it must be possible to...
1 Establish the location(s)iv where a specified animalv has been kept during its lifevi.
2 Establish the location(s) from where animals at a given site were received.
3 Establish a listing of all animals that have been kept on the same location as the specified animal at any stage during those animals' lives.
4 Determine the current location of all animals that have been kept on the same site as the specified animal at any time during those animals' lives.
5 Determine the identification number and movement history of all conveyances used to transport animals to and from a given location.
6 Establish the location of a specified animal immediately prior to importation into Canada or the location of a specified animal immediately subsequent to exportation from Canada.
7 Establish the location and date at which deceased animals were sent, transported, received and disposed of (both on- and off-site), and a listing of those animals if identified individually.

  1. The 'relevant CVO' means the Federal, Provincial or Territory Chief Veterinary Officer in the jurisdiction where the specified animal is located or has been traced to.
  2. For the purposes of these Targets, the 'Competent Authority' means the Federal, Provincial or Territory Designated Authority.
  3. For the purposes of these Targets, 'notified' means the relevant CVO or Competent Authority is aware of an incident that required tracing.
  4. For the purposes of these Targets, 'Location' means the legal description and/or geographical coordinates; contact; species/product kept, assembled or disposed of; and business type information of any definable parcel of land (premises), building or parts of a building located in Canada (except for Standard no. 6).
  5. For the purposes of these Targets, "animal" could refer to either an individual animal or a group of animals, depending upon the identification requirements for that species.
  6. For the purposes of these Targets, the life of an animal in Canada refers to the events from its birth at a Canadian location or import into Canada, up until its death (on-farm or at slaughter) or export from Canada.