Last week federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz was on hand at the University of Manitoba's National Centre for Livestock and the Environment to announce funding for a number of initiatives intended to help the Canadian swine industry improve its competitive edge in the global market place.

Included in the package is 3.3 million dollars for the Canadian Pork Council to strengthen the national swine traceability system which is designed to track the movement of hogs throughout the country.

Dr Karin Wittenberg notes in support of traceability, the University of Manitoba in 2009 held Canada's first national research and development workshop around food traceability and the development of a national food traceability strategy.

Dr Karin Wittenberg-University of Manitoba

Food traceability is an advantage for us in Canada and this announcement really allows us to work toward a national traceability system.

If you take a look at our role in terms of the export market for pork products, we have definitely tried to position ourselves as providing a premium quality product and a national traceability system is allowing our producers and our industry to differentiate themselves in a positive way worldwide.

We are able, with this traceability system, to identify the origin of the pork product and to give our consumers confidence that what they are buying is indeed some of the best quality pork that's available in the world.

Dr Wittenberg applauds the federal funding announcement.

She says this additional funding really allows us to work toward a national traceability system.