April 9, 2007

China aims to assure world on meat safety

Developing high-quality livestock products is key to expanding exports for China's livestock industry and increasing its international competitiveness, Zhang Baowen, vice deputy of China's Department of Agriculture said at a demonstration of "Xuelong Heiniu" (a cattle brand name) livestock products organized by China's Livestock Association.

In order to enhance the competitiveness of China's products, the Department of Agriculture launched a series of projects creating awareness of key rearing technologies and meat safety systems in 2006.

One of the systems introduced under these initiatives was the RFID tracing system aimed at building up the nation's quality control and cattle tracing capabilities. Areas covered by the tracing system includes breeding, rearing, processing and animal movement.

The success of the tracing system would open the way for exports of the "Xuelong Heiniu" for China under a fully traceable system meeting the world's most advanced standards, Zhang remarked.