10/08/09. Winnipeg (Canada). Aware of the need to develop a national traceability system in the sphere of Agriculture and Food, Canada's Ministry of Agriculture organised the TRACE Research & Development 2009 Conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in June. The Conference set out to learn about the latest research and technologies applied to traceability, to foster joint reflection, and to identify and prioritise research and technological development projects that will help to implement traceability systems in the Canadian agricultural and food sectors.

AZTI-Tecnalia was invited to participate in TRACE R & D 2009 as an expert in applying traceability in the food sector, and as a developer of tools for validating it. So the validation procedures developed within a European Project for fish processing companies were presented. Within the framework of this Project a guide that brings together the most relevant results on monitoring parameters has been drawn up, including a map of indicators on food safety and quality, fraud prevention and information management. This guide can be consulted online at: www.azti.es/valid/

The Canadian Ministry of Agriculture promoted this meeting on traceability aimed at agriculture and food so that they will be in a position to respond in the event of emergencies with respect to food safety issues, in addition to contributing towards the competitiveness of the country's industry and its capacity for taking advantage of fresh opportunities in the food and agriculture market.

Once the conference was over, an exercise to specify and prioritise the major strategic R + D lines in food traceability was organised. It had the active participation of over 200 delegates representing the public and private food sectors that are important for Canada in each of its provinces, in addition to technology companies and research centres, including AZTI-Tecnalia, from seven countries.

In Europe, despite the fact that legislation in this respect is in place, there is no consensus on how a system of traceability should be carried out, yet companies are required to be able to demonstrate that their systems are effective. Efficient management of traceability is achieved by implementing validated systems that include standards for analysing the most important parameters, and inspection procedures in each link in the food chain. The tools developed constitute a model to be followed in the various food sectors. 

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