DCANZ Welcomes NAIT Launch

DCANZ Welcomes NAIT Launch

The Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand has welcomed the launch of the National Identification and Traceability (NAIT) system.

“The launch of the NAIT system represents a major step forward in future-proofing our management of biosecurity and food-safety risks” says Tatua Director and DCANZ representative on the NAIT Governance Group, Kevin Old.

DCANZ believes that the NAIT system, which will provide lifetime traceability for all cattle and deer by 2011, will place the dairy industry in a good position to meet evolving market requirements. “We are seeing a growing trend for consumers to want increased information regarding, and verification of, the production processes associated with the food they eat. The NAIT system will support New Zealand dairy exporters in meeting these challenges by recording key animal related information in a highly functional form.”

DCANZ and its member companies have been actively involved in determining future requirements for animal traceability as part of the NAIT design process. It considers that the NAIT system will be world leading in terms of its efficiency and capability.

Mr Old acknowledged that the system will mean a shift over time to electronic ear tagging. But the benefits will outweigh the costs by delivering lower administration costs, for better risk management and market access protection.

“The success of the dairy industry goes hand in hand with our ability to meet the requirements of export markets. One lesson learned from the UK foot and mouth experience is that if we are ever unfortunate enough to have an outbreak, individual animal traceability will assist us in accelerating containment, re-establishing markets, and limiting overall cost”.

The NAIT system has been designed so that farmers currently using animal recording systems will see very little changes to data recording processes or cost. Farmers will have the option to submit data to the national registry via existing service providers such as LIC or Ambreed.

-ENDS-

© Scoop Media