The Italian miracle of beef cattle breeding represents an innovative and effective model, unique in the world, which should be promoted at the European level. For the best assurance of food safety and animal welfare, a data warehouse managed by the public veterinary system provides real-time access to any relevant news.
The collection of data on cattle health conditions reaches an unparalleled level of extension in Italy. 6 million animals are registered in a national registry that identifies them, tracks their movements throughout their life cycle, and records all health treatments.
We need to continue in this direction, and bring to value what these data express. The operational proposals are encapsulated in the Padua Charter, which the Italia Zootecnica Consortium presented on May 26, 2017.
The Charter of Padua
The paper moves from the observation of the unfair prejudice that recent international crises-most recently the Brazilian one,
Carne Fraca
– have inflicted on Italian livestock farmers. Casting shadows on food safety, the situation of livestock farms, and the use of antibiotics and veterinary drugs.
Therefore, the Veneto protocol enunciates a number of measures to be implemented without hesitation, to demonstrate through real and documented data the value of a production sector that has devoted substantial resources to safety and quality. With a level of attention not comparable to others.
A medical record for cattle born in Europe.
The Padua Charter calls on Italian institutions to promote EU-wide adoption of a digital storage system for animal health and welfare data. As is already the case in Italy, which in fact stands out for the quality and completeness of information on livestock farms.
The goal is to establish ‘a medical record of cattle born in Europe,’ where all drug treatments, including homeopathic ones, from birth are recorded. Through a special European regulation in the wake of the so-called Animal Health Law (reg. EU 2016/429).
Networking these data will allow them to be consulted in real time by veterinary authorities in each member state, slaughterhouses and meat cutting laboratories. (1) Just as in Italy, where data collection is entrusted to various systems (2) that will soon be inter-operational with the new so-called digital Model 4. And it may be developed, among other things, with the nationwide extension of the ‘electronic prescription’ implemented in Lombardy. For traceability and surveillance of veterinary drugs.
Quality is based on animal welfare
The quality of meat, like that of dairy products, is based on animal welfare. Understanding this inextricable link has led Italian livestock farmers to invest not only in improving the quality of feed and drinking water, but also in air conditioning systems and increasing attention to the health status of animals.
Therefore, the Padua Charter promotes the implementation of specifications aimed at improving animal welfare standards under mandatory regulations. Such as those developed by the National Reference Center for Animal Welfare (CReNBA), IZSLER in Brescia for ‘Animal Welfare Assessment and Biosecurity’.
Last but not least, the proposed decree-law for the indication of origin of meat in mass catering.
Dario Dongo, Marta Strinati
DOWNLOAD THE CHARTER OF PADUA
Notes
(1) A positive experience in this regard is carried out under the European project Bovex, for the sharing of the public veterinary archives of Italy, France, Spain and Greece
(2) BDN and regional databases, SANAN, SINVSA. The Ministry of Health is working on a special App, for filling out and updating the digital Form 4 using tablets and smartphones as well. Also on the part of transporters, so that nothing escapes the system
