April 1, 2009

Betagro is launching an e-traceability system before the end of this year, for local and export customers to be able to track the origins and the production process of the product.

Betagro's Food Safety and Quality Assurance Office director Sahas Ratanasoponchai said the website is aimed to give international suppliers who import Betagro's cooked chicken and pork products the ability to trace them back to origin.

Besides creating a website for the system, the company is planning to set up 14 more "Spy on Me" kiosks at its own shops around the country within the next few years.

Sahas also said that local consumers of the company's fresh chicken and pork retail packs will also be able to trace the products back to origin via the Internet or at "Spy on Me" kiosks, to confirm food safety.

He said Betagro was the first food company in Thailand to launch an e-traceability system via the Internet, and its software tracks the origin of raw materials and follows products through production processes.

The e-traceability system has three parts - raw materials received, production processes, and product shipments.

It also plans to extend its e-traceability system to cover egg and sausage supply chains within several years, and eventually aims to provide e-traceability for all of its product lines.

At present, the company produces 5,600 tonnes of chicken and 400 tonnes of pork per month, and exports 4,000 tonnes of chicken and 280 tonnes of pork in the same period, while 50 percent of its exports go to Europe, 45 percent to Japan and 5 percent to other countries including Canada, Singapore and Korea.