Although Organic Certification, ultimately under the control of Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), can be extended to a particular farm, there is no way of certifying that a particular egg packaged in an Organic carton actually came from a Certified Organic farm. This is true of Free Range and Free Run products as well. Traceability provides consumers with increased confidence in the specialty egg products they purchase as they can now verify for themselves that each egg is truly Organic, Free-Range, Barn (Free-Run) or from Regular Cage Production. Using a combination of special codes that are marked on the end of each egg denoting the farm and the side of each egg by the Federal Grading Station, the EggsacTrace system makes the origin and authenticity of every single egg fully traceable. At any point in the eggs journey from the producer, grading station, distribution centre, retailer, and finally to the consumer’s home, the codes imprinted on the egg can be used to identify the country of origin, the method of production, the producing farm, the grading station, and the best before date for that specific egg.

Food safety and animal welfare are of paramount importance to Canadians. Consumers and regulatory agencies are demanding higher standards and increased confidence in the safety of their food and the care of animals that produce it.

EggsacTrace is an egg traceability system that will allow for the identification of the precise origin and authenticity of any single egg imprinted with an EggsacTrace Code. This additional measure of quality control offered through the EggsacTrace System will ensure a higher degree of public safety and facilitates increased levels of response to egg related outbreaks of bacteria, disease or other health risks. It also becomes a pre-emptive move against the use of eggs as a weapon of agro-terrorism.

The public gains the ability to identify eggs from a specific farm in the event of bacterial contamination or other health risk, limiting their exposure in the event of an egg-related threat to their health.

Health agencies are able to assert faster and more precise responses to health risks that threaten human and bird populations including vaccine development. These threats include strains of Avian Influenza that might affect public health.

Canadians benefit from increased confidence in the authenticity of the Classic Shell Eggs and eggs packaged in specialty cartons such as Omega-3 enhanced eggs, Vitamin enhanced eggs, Vegetarian eggs, Cage-Free, Organic, Free Range and Free Run hens.

Traceability increases the public’s awareness of the egg safety measures in place in Canada and helps to maintain loyalty to Canadian eggs amidst increasing pressure from imported eggs. This increased loyalty helps protect the Supply Management System, and ultimately will ensure the endurance and survival of the Canadian Family Farm.

The EggsacTrace Traceability System is the only system in Canada that allows an egg to be traced to the producing farm. This allows consumers to verify the precise origin and authenticity of their encoded eggs through the use of the EggsacTrace website and establishes a connection between the Canadian consumer and our egg producing farms. It also limits the impact of disease outbreak and reduces the number of birds that must be destroyed by allowing diseased flocks to be identified through the eggs.

WE ASK YOU TO SUPPORT EGG TRACEABILITY TO PROVIDE A MORE STABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR CANADIAN EGG FARMERS AND A HIGHER LEVEL OF FOOD SAFETY & BIRD WELFARE FOR CANADIAN CONSUMERS.

Sincerely,
The EggsacTrace Team.