October 22, 2007

 

Malaysia's traceability system for poultry and shrimp to be ready next month

 

 

Malaysia's food traceability initiative, the Food Information and Technology (M-Fit) project, is expected to be completed next month.

 

The project, by Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), is part of efforts to help Malaysia take a step closer towards becoming a net food exporter by 2010, Tech&U reported.

 

The project involved the development and implementation of database systems that improve information flow within the food production industry by ensuring "farm to fork" traceability of food products, the paper reported.

 

Traceability would focus on three sub-sectors: starfruit in agriculture, shrimp from fisheries and poultry from livestock.

 

Plans are afoot to push it further to include a follow-on nationwide project.

 

M-Fit permits full production and supply chain ('farm to fork') traceability of food products, thus improving information flow within the food production industry, MDeC's chief executive officer Datuk Badlisham Ghazali told Tech&U.

 

The system would become an information hub that will link everyone in the supply chain from farms to buyers and consumers, both locally and internationally, when fully operational and activated, Badlisham told Tech&U.

 

The project was awarded to NetWhizz Sdn Bhd through an open tender exercise by MDeC worth RM2.5 million (US$740,000). NetWhizz's technology partner for this project is FoodReg Sdn Bhd; both are MSC Malaysia companies.

 

More than 100 participants, which include farmers, suppliers, exporters and retailers are using and testing the pilot system.

 

Starfruit and prawn are two of the nation's main exports and are thus selected for the programme. Recent traceability issues from the poultry sector such as its halal status and bird flu have also prompted authorities to include poultry in the group, Badlisham said.

 

M-Fit would enhance transparency and traceability to ensure Malaysia can meet international standards for starfruit and prawn while enhancing traceability and security for its poultry products, he added.