AGRICULTURE OFFICIALS AGREE THAT A TRACKING SYSTEM WOULD ENHANCE FOOD SAFETY AND DETER LARCENY OF PRODUCE AND LIVESTOCK
Gregory Bailey, the Director of Agriculture, is calling for a national tracking system to ensure food safety and to protect farmers against praedial larceny.
While some checks and balances are already in place to ensure that safe foods are sold to consumers, Bailey believes more can be done.
For example, he says, if a food item were to be recalled, the process would be very tedious since officials would have to follow a long paper trail.
Bailey admits that goods which make it to the market by means of praedial larceny would be very hard to identify in spite of a tracking system; and this, he notes, can be quite dangerous.
Meanwhile, Dr. Tubal Edwards, the Chief Veterinary Officer, says the introduction of a tracking system would be of “great help” to his department.
He says that officials would be able to determine where a person stole an animal and, thus, identify its owner. However, he concedes that it would be a costly venture to undertake the tracking of livestock.
