University works on pilot beef traceability program

A new pilot beef traceability program being conducted at Michigan State University was successful where a quick barcode scan with your smart phone can tell you the exact animal RFID number, grade, age, breed of the animal, certification, etc, and the local farm picture where your steak originated using the ScoringAg.com database and labeling system.

The Food and Drug Administration's new Food Safety Modernization Act rule went into effect on July 3, and all food, feed, ingredients, and beverages have to be labeled and tracked, with data stored for two years if a recall is ever necessary. Researcher Dan Buskirk, Ph.D., MSU animal science associate professor, wanted to continue improving the system by continuing the traceability of information with data exchange beyond just the processor and the retailer for added value to the consumer and restaurants.

Buskirk said that translating RFID ear tags to a barcode-enabled database, then to pieces or retail packages of beef that can be labeled with a smartphone-readable 2D barcode, and tracing it back to the farm and the individual animal became possible with ScoringAg.com. The UNIX web-based database system has had 2D Data Matrix phone/camera technology since 2004.

Buskirk, who has been working with the Michigan RFID tagging program since its inception, was looking for a way to expand its value when fellow animal science assistant professor Jason Rowntree began working on a new project to utilize MSU-raised beef cattle in MSU restaurants and cafeterias. It quickly became clear that MSU Culinary Services, a department of MSU Residential and Hospitality Services, a partner in the project that oversees the food products used throughout campus, was interested in not only locally sourced beef, but also the potential for full traceability of beef from the farm to the plate.

The successful pilot for the local beef project will also serve as the pilot program for Buskirk and his MSU team to begin putting the pieces in place to trace beef all the way to the consumer and for the required FSMA rule from FDA. He is working with William Kanitz, president of ScoringAg, and its team members Donald Tomkinson of ATS for hardware labeling equipment and Robert Brubacher, cattle expert and representative of ScoringAg, to perfect the technology of data collection and identify any other challenges for implementing it for smartphone usage.

The researchers now know that consumers will be able to scan the barcode at a kiosk in the grocery store or restaurant, or by individual package or by using a smartphone app. The information on the package also can be retrieved by entering the SSI-EID traceback code from a home computer using the food search engine at www.traceback.com or a smartphone app, or by taking a photo of the 2D barcode; this links the consumer to information about the farm of origin, product, its management practices and similar types of information. The database used for this application is ScoringAg's UNIX system. The test with harvested animals and barcode labeling equipment at the packing plant was successful.

The consumer can then see exactly where the beef came from, exactly what farming practices were used on the farm, whether they were grass-fed, grain-fed, or hormone free cattle, and see a picture of that animal or farm with certifications that are currently happening there.*

*source AGHAVEN