The document summarizes Australia's beef safety program which has strict integrity and traceability systems from farm to processing plant. It outlines the Livestock Production Assurance program which certifies on-farm food safety and quality standards. Cattle are identified and tracked using electronic tags as part of the National Livestock Identification System. Feedlots are accredited under the National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme to control health and ensure traceability. The systems aim to assure trading partners of Australia's high food safety standards for beef from farm to plate.

1. Australian Beef
Safe, Healthy and Delicious

2. Australia’s Beef Safety Program
Integrity and Traceability Systems Summary
INTEGRITY TRACEABILITY
On-Farm On-Farm
Livestock Production Assurance (food safety • The National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) is
and quality assurance) an electronic tag system of cattle and forms part of
• Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) is an on-farm Australia’s beef traceability systems.
food safety and quality assurance certification program, • NLIS has been mandatory in Australia from 2005.
providing standards to assist livestock producers to
• NLIS provides the assurance of livestock trace-back to
declare food safety and quality assurance status of
the property of birth and trace-forward from the property
livestock including chemical use and animal feeding.
of birth.
• The LPA program requires livestock producers to use
National Vendor Declaration (NVD), with details of the • Individual livestock properties are identified by an
vendor, including Property Identification Code (PIC) eight-digit property identification code (PIC) issued by
information pre-printed on the NVD. State Governments and underpin the NLIS system.
• Vendors providing false information face severe penalties. • The PIC is printed on individual NLIS tags which must be
applied to the animal before it leaves the property of birth.
• The LPA food safety standard is audited at random
throughout the year. Farms in the Quality Assurance • The PIC is sent to a central database where the residue
program are audited annually. status is checked.
Feedlot Feedlot
National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme (NFAS) • The movement of cattle, including those from the farm to
the feedlot must be recorded in the NLIS database.
• Grainfed beef for export is produced in independently
audited NFAS accredited feedlots. • Records must be kept to allow the health and feeding
history of each individual animal to be traceable.
• The scheme controls health and production and involves
strict checks for feed and water safety. • Each feedlot has its own PIC.
• Records must be kept to allow the health and feeding Saleyard
history of each individual animal to be traceable.
• When cattle pass though the saleyard, transactions are
Transport and Saleyard recorded using NLIS.
TruckCare Processing plant
• Applied to livestock transportation based on maximising • Underpinned by government legislation and operating in
animal welfare, meat quality and meat safety. all export processing plants.
National Saleyards Quality Assurance • Processing plants must ensure precise trace back
(NSQA) program throughout the processing plant
• Addresses the key quality issues/hazards within the • Beef carcases must be correlated to the PIC numbers,
saleyard sector. which are stored on a database.
Processing Plant Shipping
Australian Standard • The container and seal numbers for all beef exports are
stored in a central database by AQIS.
• Underpinned by the Australian Government legislation. All
exporting plants must comply with the Standard to ensure
meat is processed hygienically.
• Based on world’s best practice, it is consistent with ISO
9002:1994 and HACCP.
• The Australian Government authority-Australian Quarantine
Inspection Service (AQIS) verifies the legislation is being
correctly implemented.
AQIS Health Certificate
• Certifies that the meat produced by the export meat
processor has received an ante-mortem and post-mortem
veterinary inspection and is suitable for human consumption.
Monitoring Programs
• Microbiological Assessment -to comply with the Australian
Standard, exporting processing plants must monitor
E. coli and Salmonella.
• The National Residue Survey is an Australian Government
program that monitors meat for residues of agricultural,
veterinary, environmental and industrial contaminants.
Transport and Shipping
All shipping containers destined for export are inspected and
sea-freighted containers sealed under AQIS supervision.
• The container cannot be opened until it reaches its
final destination.

3. Australia’s Beef safety systems
AUSTRALIA’S ANIMAL
DISEASE FREEDOM
Australia has a widely accepted disease free status and is
recognised as having the highest attainable level of BSE and
FMD freedom.
BSE, a Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) that
affects cattle, is an incurable central nervous system illness.
Australia has strict quarantine measures and surveillance
programs in place to meet international standards for the
detection of TSEs.
Supplying over 100 markets globally, Australia is one of
the world’s largest beef exporters and we are proud of this
achievement. The Australian livestock and meat industry • 1966 – a ban was placed on the importation of meat
is committed to food safety, integrity, traceability and our and bone meal from all countries with the exception of
product quality complements our focus on responsibility in New Zealand.
meeting the demands of our international customers. • 1988 – a ban was implemented on importation of cattle
from BSE affected countries, including the UK.
Australia has an internationally recognised status of being • 1990 – commenced targeted testing for BSE in
free of all major epidemic diseases of cattle, including Bovine Australian cattle.
Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and Foot and Mouth • 1991 – a ban was applied on the importation of cattle
Disease (FMD). from France and Switzerland.
• 1996 – implemented a voluntary ban on feeding of
ruminant material to ruminants following a World Health
To maintain Australia’s high product standards, the Australian
Organization recommendation.
beef industry and all levels of government have worked
together to develop stringent standards and systems, • 1997 – a compulsory ban on feeding of ruminant
designed to ensure the integrity and traceability of the product. material to ruminants was adopted in all states and
These standards and systems are based on an assessment territories of Australia through legislation.
of risk and sound science to meet the requirements of our • 1998 – adopted OIE guidelines for surveillance for
international customers. BSE – the surveillance program applies to both cattle
and sheep.
• 1999 – the compulsory feeding ban was extended
The Australian Government and industry have established to include feeding specific mammalian material
SAFEMEAT, a committee consisting of representatives from to ruminants.
government and industry. SAFEMEAT’s role is to ensure that
• 2000 – Australia was recognised by the European
all beef products achieve the highest safety and hygiene
Union Scientific Steering Committee to have the lowest
standards from the farm to the consumer.
possible risk of BSE detection (Level 1).
• 2001 – Australia’s Agricultural Ministers agreed to
When customers purchase beef products from Australia legislate a ban on the feeding of all vertebrate materials
they are receiving product from one of the most stringently to ruminants – a world first.
controlled meat industries in the world, with independently • 2004 – Australia was recognised by the European Food
audited systems for animal production throughout the chain, Safety Authority to have the lowest possible risk of BSE
including the transport, processing and export sectors. detection (Level 1).
• 2006 – Australia was recognised by the World
Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) as a country
free of BSE.

4. In 1997, Australia enacted legislation prohibiting the use INTEGRITY AND
of meat and bone meal (MBM) as a ruminant feed. These TRACEABILITY SYSTEMS
regulations were further enhanced in 2001 with a ban on the
feeding of any mammalian material to ruminants. Feeding All sectors of Australia’s beef industry from the farm, through
MBM to animals has been linked to the transmission of TSEs to feedlots, transport, saleyards, and processing plants are
in animals. able to implement integrity and traceability systems that
operate under independently audited Quality Assurance (QA)
programs developed in partnership by the Australian industry,
Australia’s TSE status is further enhanced by the government and other relevant organisations.
implementation of the National Transmissible Spongiform
Encephalopathy Surveillance Program (NTSESP) in 1998.
ON-FARM AND FEEDLOT – INTEGRITY
This program was developed to meet the Office International
des Epizooties (OIE) International Animal Health Code for the Livestock Production Assurance – On-Farm
surveillance of BSE in cattle and Scrapie in sheep. NTSESP Food Safety & Quality Assurance
is an integrated national program, funded by industry and The Australian cattle industry has developed integrity systems
government, which involves identifying and testing cattle and to verify and assure the food safety status and other quality
sheep with clinical symptoms that could be mistaken for TSE. attributes of livestock. Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) is
an on-farm food safety and quality assurance (QA) certification
The Australian red meat industry recognises that it is vital to program. These standards are designed to strengthen systems
undertake monitoring and surveillance measures in order to currently in place for the grass-fed production sector.
protect Australia’s TSE status. These measures are designed
to ensure that Australia’s trading partners continue to be The LPA program was developed in accordance with ISO
confident about Australia’s TSE-free status. 9002:1994 and HACCP principles as the production based
food safety and quality assurance program for grass-fed
As a result of these programs and strict quarantine measures, beef. Independent audits, both random and targeted, are
Australia is recognised by the World Organisation for Animal conducted to ensure the program’s integrity is maintained.
Health (OIE) as a country free of BSE. Australia is one of only a
few countries to have this status in the world. The LPA on-farm food safety standard consists of a module,
Food Safety Management. This module is made up of five
elements, which are:
1. Property risk assessment.
2. Safe and responsible animal treatments.
3. Fodder crop, grain and pasture treatments and
stock foods.
4. Preparation for dispatch of livestock.
5. Livestock transactions and movements.

5. The LPA on-farm quality assurance (QA) National Vendor Declaration (NVD) for Cattle
standard, incorporating the CATTLECARE Underpinning the LPA and NFAS integrity programs is the
program, consists of the module Food National Vendor Declaration (NVD) for cattle; this links
Safety Management, plus an extra two the traceability of the livestock from the farm, through to
modules, Systems Management and feedlots, saleyards, transport and processing. The NVD
Livestock Management. Both of these contains information about the location of the property,
modules are each made of five elements, contact details of the vendor, the property identification
which are: code (PIC), exposure of the livestock to agricultural and
veterinary chemicals, grazing history and supplementary
SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT feeding. The NVD declares that the vendor has met
1. Training 1. Livestock Husbandry and the requirements of LPA Food Safety, LPA QA or NFAS
preparation depending on what program they are involved.
2. Internal auditing and 2. Livestock handling Below is the declaration vendors provide after they have
document control facilities answered the questions within the NVD.
3. Quality Records 3. Livestock Transport
4. Document Control 4. Animal Welfare
5. Chemical Inventory 5. Accredited Livestock
National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme (NFAS)
The National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme (NFAS) is a
mandatary QA integrity system for feedlots producing grainfed
beef for the Australian domestic market and all export markets.
A feedlot is an intensive production system where the cattle
are fed a prepared feed ration for a specific length of time
depending on the final customer.
Under the NFAS, the movement of cattle from the farm to the
feedlot must be recorded in the NLIS database. In addition
as outlined in a manual, health and production controls for
grainfed cattle are applied through strict checks for feed and
water safety, strict regulations are adhered to, with monitoring
for veterinary treatments and inspection for pesticides or
trace metals.
Records must be kept to allow the health and feeding history
As the person responsible for the husbandry of the
of each individual animal to be traceable.
cattle, I also declare that all the information in part A of
this document is true and correct, that I have read and
understood all the questions that I have answered, that I
have read and understood the explanatory notes, and that,
while under my control, the cattle were not fed restricted
animal material (including meat and bone meal) in breach of
State or Territory legislation.
Signed: ____________________________Date: ___________
Phone: ( _____ ) _____________________________________
* nly the person whose name appears above may sign this
O
declaration, or make amendments which must be initialled.
Commodity Vendor Declaration
The Commodity Vendor Declaration (CVD) is a part
of Australia’s red meat, grain and fodder industry’s
commitment to deliver safe products. If a commodity
supplier to a farm or feedlot has used chemicals in
production of the commodity, it must be declared on
the CVD. LPA and NFAS regulations require a CVD or a
system to independently ensure the feed is residue free.

6. TRANSPORT AND SALEYARD – INTEGRITY
TruckCare
TruckCare is a voluntary quality assurance program applied to
livestock transportation and is centred on maximising animal
welfare, meat quality and meat safety.
National Saleyards Quality Assurance
(NSQA) program
The National Standard for the Construction and Operation of
Australian Saleyards forms the basis of the National Saleyard
Quality Assurance (NSQA) program. The Standard addresses
the key quality issues/hazards within the saleyard sector
including food safety, product quality, stock identification
and traceability.
ON-FARM AND FEEDLOT – TRACEABILITY
National Livestock
TRANSPORT AND SALEYARD – TRACEABILITY
Identification System (Cattle)
The core basis of Australia’s livestock National Livestock Identification System (Cattle)
traceability system is the Property The primary responsibility of saleyards participating in the
Identification Code (PIC), which NLIS is reading and then recording in the NLIS database
underpins Australia’s NVD and the cattle transactions that occur in the saleyard. Legislation
National Livestock Identification System requires saleyards selling NLIS identified store / breeding
(NLIS) programs. The PIC system cattle to up-load cattle movements to the NLIS database.
was introduced in the late 1960s and
identifies each property with an eight digit alphanumeric code. PROCESSING PLANT
The code is issued by State Governments and identifies the
state, region and location of the property. A comprehensive level of activities to ensure integrity and
traceability are carried out in processing plants. The Australian
Federal and State Government organisations and industry
NLIS is the Australian traceability conduct auditing and verification processes that form an
system for grass-fed and grain-fed integral part of Australian control systems. Elements of these
cattle. It was developed by the systems are subject to Australian Government legislation.
Australian Government and the red
meat industry. The NLIS is based
on a ‘whole of life’ electronic tag on
PROCESSING PLANT – INTEGRITY
individual cattle, which utilises radio The Australian Standard
frequency technology and enables
All export licensed processing plants operate under the
individual animal transactions,
Australian Standard for hygienic production and transportation
including PIC information, to
of meat and meat products for human consumption
be recorded and transmitted
(AS4696:2002) which is based on world’s best practice and
electronically by the producer or processor. This information is
is consistent with the ISO 9002:1994 standard. Additionally,
transferred to a central database, allowing the tracing of cattle
the Australian Federal government mandated HACCP-based
from the farm to the point of slaughter to occur swiftly and
quality assurance programs to be adopted for all Australian
efficiently – this is one attribute that distinguishes the NLIS
export abattoirs since 1997.
from other traceability systems around the world.
All registered abattoirs are required to have qualified veterinary
All grainfed cattle in Australia personnel and inspectors stationed in each export meat
destined for export markets abattoir to:
are required by the NFAS to be • Carry out daily hygiene inspections before operations
individually identified with a unique begin each day;
identification number when they • monitor quality assurance and meat safety throughout
enter a feedlot. the production process; and
• conduct ante-mortem and post-mortem health
inspections to ensure the safety and suitability
of products for human consumption.

7. PROCESSING PLANT – TRACEABILITY
National Livestock Identification System (Cattle)
The primary responsibility of processors participating in the
NLIS traceability program is reading and then recording in the
NLIS database cattle transactions that occur at the processing
plant. Legislation requires abattoirs processing NLIS identified
cattle to up-load information to the NLIS database.
On-Plant Product Traceability
Government legislation underpins the traceability systems
in all Australian beef export processing plants. Provisions
under the EMOs require processors to implement traceability
systems by accurately correlating the beef carcases with the
PIC numbers for identification.
Australian Quarantine and Inspection The information correlating the carcase and the PIC is stored
Service (AQIS) on a database by the processing plant and ensures precise
trace back through the processing plant from when the live
Licensed export meat processing plants in Australia are
animal arrives to when the final beef products are exported.
required to operate under the Export Control Act 1982. Under
this Act, Export Meat Orders (EMOs) provide the framework
for meeting the detailed legislative requirements that apply to
export meat plants.
This Act governs all aspects of how meat is handled during
processing. Each export meat abattoir has a veterinary officer
from AQIS – the Australian Government agency responsible for
meat hygiene, safety regulation and certification – to verify that
the legislation is being correctly implemented.
AQIS Health Certificate
Once the meat is ready for exporting, the processing plant will
electronically request an AQIS Health Certificate. The AQIS
Health Certificate states that beef produced was processed
in an hygienic manner and was derived from animals which
have been found by ante-mortem and post-mortem veterinary
inspection to be free from diseases designated by the laws
of the importing country and suitable in every way for human
consumption.
The AQIS Health Certificate includes information on the
exporter, importer, processing plant, boning room, a
description of the product including quantities, container
marks/numbers, vessel or aircraft and the port of loading TRANSPORT AND SHIPPING – TRACEABILITY
and discharge. The information obtained from the Health
Cartons of beef are loaded into refrigerated containers, which
Certificate is stored by AQIS in a central database.
are then inspected and sealed under the supervision of AQIS.
The container is not reopened until it reaches its final destination.
To maintain the optimal shelf-life and quality of the beef product
during transport, the temperature of chilled beef should be
maintained at 0°C (±1°C) and below -18°C for frozen product.

8. MICROBIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
AND MONITORING PROGRAMS
In order to verify the performance-based monitoring systems,
which underpin the Australian Standards, the Australian red
meat industry and AQIS conduct regular assessment and
monitoring programs –
• the generic E. coli and Salmonella Monitoring Program – a
national program of microbiological monitoring of carcase
surfaces. Under the program, carcase surfaces of all species
of livestock slaughtered in Australia for export are tested for
generic E. coli and Salmonella.
• The National Residue Survey (NRS) is an Australian
Government program that monitors agricultural products
and meat producing animals for residues of agricultural and
veterinary chemicals, as well as some environmental and
industrial contaminants. Testing is carried out for a range
of chemical compounds. The purpose of residue monitoring
is to quantify the occurrence of residues in products and
to verify that residues in products are within internationally
accepted limits. Appropriate authorities are contacted when
limits are exceeded so that corrective action can be taken
and affected product removed from the food chain.
Current analytical technology can detect chemicals at
very low concentrations.
FOOD SAFETY © Meat & Livestock Australia 2006.
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