Applied BioSystems says that complete traceability from farm to supermarket is now a reality, providing a new tool to establish the safety of food products
In the light of recent meat-related food scares, public concern about food safety continues to escalate.
Consumers are more demanding than ever and want to be certain that the food they buy is truly safe.
Establishing the integrity of beef products is, at present, at the mercy of traditional ear-tagging and stock records.
Now food producers, buyers and suppliers are able to implement complete traceability from supermarket shelf to processor and back to the breeder using StockMarks for Cattle, a DNA typing kit from Applied Biosystems.
Scott Higgins, applied markets product manager with Applied Biosystems, describes how the StockMarks for Cattle bovine paternity PCR typing kit can improve production control: "Current systems allow you to identify an animal using it's unique DNA and track it at any point in its life back to the farm of origin.
However, the StockMarks for Cattle kit takes this one step further to a single cut of meat or an individual ready-to-cook meal so that too can be traced to a specific animal, on a particular farm." From a supplier's point of view this can add real value to a product and may help to recover consumer confidence in purchasing beef.
Information will also be readily available should safety issues arise.
The StockMarks for Cattle kit is based on technology already used successfully in forensic science, equine and canine pedigree testing and provides an accurate, cost-efficient method for gathering data.
At present, the kit is only available for cattle, but will soon be available for pigs. With food production becoming increasingly complex, premium food producers will need all available tools if they are to supply what the customer ultimately wants - safe food.
