TraceAssured Launches World First from Northern Ireland

UK - In a ground breaking world first, TraceAssured Ltd has tlaunched a new online food chain traceability initiative aimed at providing the global food industry with the ability to trace the source and content of all food product ingredients instantly.
calendar icon 11 January 2008
clock icon 3 minute read


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"Consumers have increased concerns regarding food safety, allergens, ethics and product integrity, and the traceability of food can be the make or break of a food company."
First Minister for Northern Ireland Dr Ian Paisley

At Parliament Buildings, Stormont, Dr Ken Baird, Chairman of TraceAssured Ltd and Lourens Erasmus, Managing Director, launched the first traceability system which can provide an instantly transparent food chain from farm to fork.

Aimed at increasing consumer trust in the global food industry, the event was hosted by the First Minister for Northern Ireland, The Right Honourable Dr Ian Paisley.

The audience included leading industry representatives and Dr Patrick Wall, Chairperson of the European Food Safety Authority.

The TraceAssured initiative has been several years in research, and is set to take the global food industry by storm in a period when consumers expect greater transparency in terms of where their food comes from and the ingredients used.

The system has already been successfully integrated into a number of Moy Park plants, one of Europe's largest poultry processing operations and TraceAssured has recently confirmed a global agreement with IT giant, Hewlett Packard as well as receiving support from Scanvaegt International (part of the Marel Food Systems Group).

Dr Paisley said: "Confidence initiatives such as TraceAssured are vital for Northern Ireland to demonstrate its pedigree in a global economy. In today's sophisticated food market, consumers have increased concerns regarding food safety, allergens, ethics and product integrity, and the traceability of food can be the make or break of a food company. I am therefore delighted to host the launch of TraceAssured, an initiative which can deliver and demonstrate this transparency."

TraceAssured has been pioneered and developed by an expert team led by Dr Ken Baird, one of Northern Ireland's leading food industry experts, and received the backing and support from some of Europe's major food businesses, Invest Northern Ireland, QUBIS, private investors, key retailers and standard certification bodies.

Dr Baird said: "TraceAssured can strengthen traceability claims. It collects, stores and presents information, through its specialist internet based service, on ingredient and packaging movements, transformation and quality from source to shelf, across the globe.

"The TraceAssured solution enables food supply organisations to work together to build and strengthen trust through transparency. It can add competitive edge through brand enhancement. The service minimises risk to consumers, businesses and exceeds traceability standards, legislation and customer demands."

Dr Patrick Wall, Chairperson of the European Food Safety Authority said: "One contamination incident, or food scare, associated with a product can destroy brands and reputations that take years and phenomenal resources to build. In an increasingly competitive global market place Ireland can differentiate itself by producing premium quality products supported by robust policies, procedures and processes. To this end TraceAssured can be part of our armoury.

"When people think of 'Ireland the Food Island' they should think not only of top quality food but of quality processes and the best science. TraceAssured is an excellent example of this and will put Ireland up in lights internationally."

Mick Keyes, Senior Architect BSC CTO Office, Hewlett-Packard Inc, said: "HP sees great market potential in offering services and solutions to bring about traceability in the food chain. This market sector is a major growth area to our company and we are delighted to be working with TraceAssured to bring their "World First" product to the benefit of all."

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