A farm assurance is a certification for different farming enterprises that provide products intended to be introduced in the food supply chain for further consumption. In the United Kingdom, food assurance schemes provide consumers and businesses with guarantees that food had been produced with particular standards and regulations that indicate food safety, animal welfare, environmental protection, traceability, control and prevention of diseases (FSA, 2012). One of the most representative and leading example of quality food assurance scheme in the UK is the Red Tractor, which covers all regarding the lifespan of an extensive range of products including meat, diary, poultry, cereals, fruit and vegetables. The contents of the dairy scheme provided,
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To accomplish a dairy health plan in concordance to the farm assurance scheme, the schedule intends to have three important requirements. These establishments need to have a written up-to-date health plan implemented on farm, to monitor issues that occur on the farm by completing an annual review executed by a veterinarian; and to take action on matters. The herd health plan includes certain criteria such as a list of most common diseases and information on which procedures should be assess, in order to explain the farmers how to complete the plan themselves. Additionally, because it is a requirement that a veterinary surgeon manages an annual herd health and performance review, the farm assurance scheme produced a template in which the professional records the performance, health condition and medicines utilised in the herd, but also recommends actions regarding the possible issues found in the farm (RTA, …show more content…
Thus, a farm achieving the standards becomes and remains a member of the Red Tractor Assurance quality mark. Considering that Red Tractor sets robust standards for good agricultural practices on farms, the scheme and health plan are specific and potentially effective to maintain food safety, due to the documentation and procedures in place and available for all the staff members which are reviewed with the purpose of producing safe and legal food. Furthermore, to maintain an assurance status, the scheme highlights the traceability and controls that all livestock going into the production system have to be evaluated on, in which preventive measures to control and reduce to the minimum, infections and breakdowns on farm and further contamination post farm; are indicated too. This demonstrates that they are involved and actively participating into safeguarding food from hazards by controlling potential critical points on farm. Even though Red Tractor is being effective within these parameters, the schemes are voluntary arrangements that food businesses opt to exert. Although, the government and national industry agencies are not responsible for any specific policy for food assurance schemes, they should encourage farmers to build confidence in the consumers and gain new market opportunities for
To accomplish a dairy health plan in concordance to the farm assurance scheme, the schedule intends to have three important requirements. These establishments need to have a written up-to-date health plan implemented on farm, to monitor issues that occur on the farm by completing an annual review executed by a veterinarian; and to take action on matters. The herd health plan includes certain criteria such as a list of most common diseases and information on which procedures should be assess, in order to explain the farmers how to complete the plan themselves. Additionally, because it is a requirement that a veterinary surgeon manages an annual herd health and performance review, the farm assurance scheme produced a template in which the professional records the performance, health condition and medicines utilised in the herd, but also recommends actions regarding the possible issues found in the farm (RTA, …show more content…
Thus, a farm achieving the standards becomes and remains a member of the Red Tractor Assurance quality mark. Considering that Red Tractor sets robust standards for good agricultural practices on farms, the scheme and health plan are specific and potentially effective to maintain food safety, due to the documentation and procedures in place and available for all the staff members which are reviewed with the purpose of producing safe and legal food. Furthermore, to maintain an assurance status, the scheme highlights the traceability and controls that all livestock going into the production system have to be evaluated on, in which preventive measures to control and reduce to the minimum, infections and breakdowns on farm and further contamination post farm; are indicated too. This demonstrates that they are involved and actively participating into safeguarding food from hazards by controlling potential critical points on farm. Even though Red Tractor is being effective within these parameters, the schemes are voluntary arrangements that food businesses opt to exert. Although, the government and national industry agencies are not responsible for any specific policy for food assurance schemes, they should encourage farmers to build confidence in the consumers and gain new market opportunities for