BRESLAU, Ontario – The Government of Canada has invested an additional $3.7 million to developing a national traceability system for its pork industry. The most recent investment was made to strengthen the Canadian Pork Council's national swine traceability system, bringing the total investment for this initiative up to $7 million, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced.

"Our government is dedicated to helping the Ontario pork industry compete, capture new markets and continue to drive our economy to recovery," said MP Harold Albrecht (Kitchener-Conestoga). "Today's investment in hog traceability will pay dividends to the entire value chain here in Ontario and across Canada for generations to come."


PigTrace Canada, the Canadian Pork Council's traceability system, is designed to track the movement of hogs across the country. Phase one of this initiative focused on the creation of a tag distribution system for hogs, while phase two will focus on combining swine movement information into a national centralized database.

During a potential animal disease outbreak, a national database would allow the Canadian Pork Council to quickly identify what farm the hog came from and what other animals it may have come in contact with, in an effort to limit the economic and trade impacts of such emergencies.

This investment will be delivered through Growing Forward through the Canadian Integrated Food Safety Initiative (CIFSI), a program that supports national organizations in the development and implementation of traceability processes and systems. This investment is subject to the signing of a contribution agreement.

To find out more about this initiative, visitwww.agr.gc.ca/cifsi.