Traceability of pigmeat
The pig meat production is covered by a thorough registration, marking and documentation in order to be able to trace the meat through the production chain.

Traceability is important for food safety and for documentation of the quality of the meat towards the customers. In most cases the meat can be traced from the refrigerated display to the slaughterhouse and from here to a small group of farmers whose pigs were slaughtered at the same time. Processed meat products, such as meat balls, pork sausage and finished dinners, can always be traced back to the production plant and from here to the slaughterhouse that has supplied the raw materials.

The Central Register of Domestic Animals
All Danish pig herds must be registered with a so-called CHR-number in the Central Register of Domestic Animals at thre Ministry of Foods, Agriculture and Fisheries. The register contains information about:

CHR-numbers are used for all contact between the herd and the public system. The register provides a comprehensive view of all animal herds in Denmark. A herd can thus be localised quickly together with information about all other herds in the area. This can be used in connection with serious disease outbreaks, e.g. foot-and-mouth disease, where the CHR-register makes it possible immediately to stop all movements of pigs in a limited area to avoid spread of the infection.

Ear tags for pigs
When pigs are moved from the original herd, i.e. the herd where they are born, the main rule in Denmark is that they must have an ear tag approved by the Veterinary and Food Administration and embossed with: DK, a protected logotype plus CHR-number. Exceptions from the rule are:

The farmer's registrations
The pig herds register for example arrival and departure of animals plus CHR-number of the supplier and the receiver of the pigs. The majority of the Danish pigs stay in the herd where they are born.

A number of piglets are sold after weaning. Approximately 80% of the piglet trade happens according to long term agreements between for example a finishing farm and one or more piglet producers in 'pig rings'. The supply agreement normally contains information about the health conditions in the herd of origin in the form of a health declaration.

As part of the pig ring agreement, each batch of piglets must have a transport document with information about:

By receiving piglets from one or a few (max. five) piglet producers, the finishing herd limits the risk of getting disease into the herd. At the same time the origin of the pigs can always be documented.

Approximately 20% of the piglet trade takes place in pool arrangements, where the buyer receives piglets from different herds that can be identified by ear tags. The piglets are sold before they are dispatched, so the receiver is always known. Here the health condition of the piglets is also known.

In addition to the farmer's note, the haulage contractor always registers the date for transport, the number of animals plus the supplier and receiver of all pigs that are not sent directly to an abattoir.  

Both types of supply agreements are followed by transport documents, to ensure that the supplier of the piglets always is known by the receiver. It is thus not possible to buy piglets of unknown origin in Denmark. It is always possible to document who is the seller and buyer of the pigs.

Drugs
Danish pig meat must be free from drug residues. There are therefore strict rules about the use of antibiotics. Only after a disease has been diagnosed may the veterinary surgeon prescribe antibiotics. This is done with a prescription for the drug plus written information about how the drug is to be used and the withholding period for the pigs, i.e. the minimum time interval before they can be sent for slaughter. The veterinary surgeon registers all herd visits that result in the use of drugs. The farmer must register for example the consumption of drugs in the herd and the animals that have been treated.

Marking of pigs for slaughter
The slaughterhouses receive only pigs directly from the farmers. The transport for slaughter is coordinated by the slaughterhouse, which also has a contract with each haulage contractor for the transport. The haulage contractor must, during each trip, have information about the place of departure, the destination and the owner of the animals.

Before loading at the producer, each pig is marked with a five digit number on each hind leg. This number ('the supplier's number') identifies the supplier to the abattoir.

Registrations at the abattoir
At carcass weighing the gambrel number is read automatically and tied to the supplier's number. Both numbers are stored together in a computer.

All data registered at the abattoir (carcass weight, meat content, occurrence of coloured hair follicles, veterinary comments etc.) are automatically connected to the supplier's number in the computer.

Control, capture and transfer of results from the Salmonella examinations and other bacterial examinations are also controlled by the supplier's number/gambrel number.

These data are used for example for the payment to the farmer. In addition to the direct information about weight and meat content for use for the payment, the producer gets information that is important for his production including remarks from the meat inspection, if any. Other data are used by the slaughterhouse for quality sorting of the carcasses. Carcasses with similar properties are kept together to be used for the purposes for which they are best suited. This also creates a basis for sending uniform products to the customers.

Identification after veterinary meat inspection
When the pigs have been slaughtered and the public meat inspection has approved the carcass for human consumption, all carcasses will be stamped with the authorisation number of the slaughterhouse.

If the carcasses are cut at another plant, the cuts are marked with the cutting plant's authorisation number. If meat products are made at a separate plant, the products are marked with the authorisation number of this plant. If slaughter, cutting and processing are done in the same plant only one number is used.

Prepacked meat must be marked with information about the packaging company.

Traceability
Meat from the retail trade can thus be traced back to the abattoir or cutting plant via the authorisation number, which is stamped on the meat or the cartons it is packaged in.

Retail packaged meat must be marked with the authorisation number of the packaging plant in addition to the batch identification. Via the authorisation number, the meat can be traced back to the last plant that processed the meat.

If the meat is cut at a separate cutting plant or processed at a separate manufacturing plant, it can be traced back to the abattoir via the trade documents that follow the meat. Based on the batch labelling/trade documents, the abattoir can find back to the production date and time. Based on this information, the abattoir can normally trace the meat to a group of carcasses. The slaughter sequence number of the carcass is connected to the supplier's number, and on this basis the meat can be traced back to a group of producers.