A tracking system aimed at containing the possible spread of the bird flu which has caused havoc in many parts of the world since 2003 is now ready to be demonstrated this month for related authorities and poultry industry in China.

"Everything is now in place to launch definitive testing in mid-March," said Perry Law, President of the Canada-based Smart-tek Communications, Inc at a conference held in Beijing to showcase the prospect of the system.

"At that time we will be conducting two tests or demonstration with various government agencies and authorities," he said, hoping the system can help China form effective collaborative networks against bird flu throughout its vast territories.

The system, "RTAC-PM," short for "RFID Tracking Alert Containment and Poultry Monitoring," was designed for livestock monitoring and is targeted specifically for the poultry industry in conjunction with attempts to contain the possible spread of the H5N1 Avian Influenza.

"At its core, the system utilizes the Internet to report detailed, real-time information about events in the poultry supply-chain to a central monitoring station," Law said.

Based on radio frequency identification, the system allows a central agency controlled by food-supply authorities to monitor the flow of products over an arbitrary area, from a small town all the way up to an entire country.

With built-in alert monitoring protocols, the system provides instant alert notification of events that could indicate anomalies that, subject to investigation protocols, could indicate the onset of disease outbreak to the central agency.
 
Law said the system will provide information that is vital to the central agency, allowing them to rapidly respond to threats of disease outbreak. Alert events include excessive mortality rates during growth, and unusual patterns of movement that could signify an attempt to cover-up disease outbreaks by poultry farmers.

Alert events will allow the central agency to dispatch inspectors to investigate, thus focusing monitoring efforts on the areas most likely to be at risk.

"In the poultry industry, there are only a few stages of the production cycle," added Law.

With eggs from the egg supplier, chick producers produce the newborn chicks which are then sent to a farm where the birds are fed and grown. Once the chicken crop reaches maturity, they are processed. The entire life cycle from chick to maturity is only approximately eight weeks.

Information about the production cycle of each specific flock is captured and recorded at the chick producer, growing farm and processing plant. Utilizing our customized tags and tagging equipment, the RFID bird tag is designed to allow for bird growth and durability.

The unique tag is re-useable for many crops. Information such as date of birth, birth location, breed, and farmer information can be collected by the central government agency, and available to authorized users via the Internet.

In addition to recording the movements of the birds themselves, the system can also track the movements of containers, cages, and trucks used to transport poultry among the various facilities involved in the production process.

Furthermore, the system will be capable of tracking the finished product (both for domestic and export consumption) all the way to the consumer, providing complete traceability from egg to supermarket, making this the most advanced tracking system in any food-related industry, Law said.

He was confident that the system can be used as an invaluable asset to any governmental agency responsible for the safety of the food supply and preventing the spread of bird flu.