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July 20, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BEEF INFORMATION EXCHANGE TO PARTICIPATE IN CONGRESSIONAL
HEARINGS FOR NATIONAL ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 20 -- The Beef Information
Exchange (BIE), a coalition of leading data service providers,
united to provide a private industry solution for the National
Animal Identification System (NAIS), announces that the BIE
will be providing demonstrations and giving testimony for
Congressional members in Washington D.C. July 21-22 as part
of Congressional hearings on NAIS.
BIE Members most recently confirmed their
capabilities this past May at the National Institute for Animal
Agriculture’s ID/INFO Expo. The group successfully demonstrated
interconnecting different database companies and providing
consolidated, individual animal traceback within minutes.
Most significantly, BIE Members performed this traceback utilizing
existing software and technical infrastructure, providing
a viable means for the livestock industry to implement a nationwide
traceback system much sooner and at a lower cost than alternatives
while still working within the NAIS structure provided by
USDA.
The primary focus of BIE Members during the
Congressional showcase is to advance this technical solution
and show government entities how complete individual animal
traceback can be conducted within minutes while still protecting
the privacy and confidentiality of individual producer information,
a key producer concern of a nationwide traceback system. BIE
Members feel that producers and processors will be willing
to embrace the NAIS only after data privacy and data confidentiality
issues are addressed.
Since the BIE was announced in October 2003,
the group has perfected its solution which gives producers
and processors the ability to keep ownership and movement
data on individual animals private until needed by state and/or
federal animal health officials for an investigation or surveillance.
BIE Members view this approach as applicable to other companies
who may wish to be data trustees to be certified by the USDA
and appropriate state agencies.
Producer response to the BIE concept has
been extremely supportive and encouraging. Additionally, several
state animal health officials included the BIE system in their
Cooperative Agreements for the NAIS, an effort to conduct
pilot projects to prove the NAIS concept. The BIE initiative,
started partially at the request of the USDA, is in the process
of formalizing its organization. Once this structure is in
place and membership guidelines have been developed, the BIE
will be seeking new members. A number of companies have already
expressed interest in working with BIE.
About the Beef Information Exchange
The Beef Information Exchange (BIE) is a coalition of leading
beef industry data service providers collaborating to meet
the need for low-cost, national traceback while ensuring producer
and processor data confidentiality on the majority of animals
in the national livestock inventory. The purpose of this effort
is to provide a secure technical platform to facilitate information
exchange throughout the livestock supply chain.
For more information on the Beef Information Exchange, please
visit www.beefinformationexchange.com or contact any of the
five founding member companies directly at:
AgInfoLink USA, (800) 282-0570, www.aginfolink.com
APEIS, (402) 379-9487, www.apeis.com
eMerge Interactive, Inc., (877) 578-2333, www.emergeinteractive.com
IMI Global, Inc., (816) 858-4796, www.imiglobal.com
Micro Beef Technologies, Ltd., (806) 372-2369, www.microbeef.com
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