Revolutionary traceability system launched

Today 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, 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.

Moy Park pilot
The system has already been successfully
integrated into a number of Moy Park plants, one of Europe’s largest poultry
processing operations.

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.”

Strong
backup
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 (Queens University of Belfast),
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 service minimises risk to consumers,
businesses and exceeds traceability standards, legislation and customer
demands.”

Benefit to Ireland
Dr Patrick Wall, Chairperson of
the European Food Safety Authority said: “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 of 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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