Why did the pig meat tracking system fail so badly?

IN the aftermath of the pigmeat crisis, much has been said about why and how it happened in an effort to understand the meltdown, to prevent another and, as human nature would have it, to find someone to blame.

As a member of the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee I have worked at the European level for full traceability. I have placed great importance on being able to trace meat from animal and herd through processing, export and retail to customer and, in crops, from seed to customer.

Traceability with labelling allows the customer to know basics like where a food comes from and in the case of plant products, if it is free of GMOs, and to be able to find out more exact information if they wish.