LLOYDMINSTER, ALBERTA--(Marketwire -
April 8, 2010) - Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz today announced an investment of
over $1 million to the Canadian Cervid Alliance to help the cervid industry
capture new market opportunities and respond to the growing consumer demand for
full traceability in livestock and poultry.
"Canadian
producers can be proud of their safe, high-quality livestock, and a more
complete traceability system will give our customers the information they need
when they make their purchasing decisions," said Agriculture Minister Gerry
Ritz. "This investment is another step towards reaching our goal of national
traceability for livestock and poultry by 2011."
The
Canadian Integrated Food Safety Initiative (CIFSI) is funding two projects that
will help producers provide on-farm traceability
assurance and proactively manage risks. The two funded projects are:
- $673,500 to develop a national traceability system by gathering, storing and analyzing traceability data for farmed cervids, which include deer, elk, caribou, moose and reindeer.
- $361,400 to help build a national food safety system, the Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points-based cervid on-farm food safety system (OFFS).
"Market Access is critical for the farmed deer and elk industry
in Canada," said Randy Wehrkamp, President of the Canadian Cervid Alliance.
"These projects will provide enhanced quality assurances and increased
marketability for our antler and meat products to consumers in Canada and in
international markets."
This
project is being funded by Growing Forward, an initiative created to
help position Canadian farmers for success.
Agriculture is a core economic driver in Canada, and that is why
the Government of Canada is also making investments to the agriculture sector
through Canada's Economic Action Plan. For more information, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.