Abattoir Tags & Their Critical Importance

What are Abattoir Tags?

Abattoir tags, also known as carcass tags and traceability tags, are used in slaughterhouses and abattoirs to ensure animals are individually recorded and can be traced throughout the entire food chain operation. Traceability is increasingly recognised as a key risk mitigation and management tool, as well as a critical component of quality assurance in the agri-food industry.

What is the importance of abattoir tags?

Abattoir tags are of high importance when it comes to food traceability from farm to fork as these tickets and tags enable the identification and recording of livestock. The importance of abattoir tags is so high, that there are legalities around the operational requirements of slaughterhouses. This is also the case for any premise where livestock is kept, even temporarily as they must keep a register for livestock, including:

• Where the animals last come from
• Date of the arrival

Asset Tracking for Food

When the carcass is split into smaller pieces of meat, there will be an identification / carcass tag also attached to this as it travels through the processing plant. The tag and barcode attached will contain identification information about the animal, when it arrived, when processing began etc. These abattoir tags enable tracking data records throughout the whole production traceability system which is of great importance from farmers, to packers, to end consumers. Information sharing obtained through a whole chain traceability system has many positives for beef cattle packing. As consumers and distributors purchase various cuts, the purchase information can be passed back to the producers. For example, this information can be passed to cow-calf farmers, who can adjust their herd management to produce cattle with higher quality meat. There are other benefits of this as it enables consumer food safety, food quality, and cost reductions can be obtained through the use of carcass tags which enables whole supply chain traceability in beef cattle packing facilities.

What materials make up abattoir tags?

We can manufacture carcass tags to meet your unique application:

• Our ticket and tag materials can be further tailored to include a layer of mesh or metal which enhances the durability of the tags and or label materials. The inclusion of metal foil means when these materials are used in conjunction with end-of-line metal detectors, they can prevent fragments of food production labelling from entering the food chain.
• Our durable top coated thermal materials include a protective coating designed to prevent contamination from any condensation, fats, grease and solvents. These materials are designed for long life cycle applications, such as carcass tags and abattoir tags
• We also offer ISEGA and/or FDA approved adhesives for direct and indirect food contact

Speak to our team

If you are looking for an abattoir tag, ticket or label construction then speak to our team about your unique application(s). We have a huge variety of adhesives and face materials available for you to choose from.