ReviewTraceability technologies for farm animals and their products in China

- Key components of a traceability system were discussed.
- Modern identification methods and technologies were evaluated.
- Data acquisition, standardization, storage and distribution were discussed.
- A pilot traceability system in China was introduced.

The history of traceability reveals that nomadic herders as early as 1000 BCE marked livestock with irons and ear incisions in order to protect against thefts. Nowadays, we build traceability systems to document the origin of foods, and in order to ensure safer foods when tracking and recalling products. A holistic traceability system includes, as a minimum, identification elements, databases and an information flow. The animal identification elements refers to body marks, ear tags, Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, retina image recognition, or DNA fingerprinting. The product identification refers to barcodes (EAN UCC, PLU, and GS1), 2D barcodes (QR, VC, and DM) and RFID or Electronic Product Code (EPC). The present review describes existing and upcoming traceability technologies for farm animals and their products, to update the common methods for information collection and data inquiry, with the view to expound traceability policies and regulations between developed and developing countries. The benefits of the new technologies and their practical limitations are also discussed.