JBS Australia unveils traceability scheme for beef range
The traceability system will link the customers of the brand with the individual farmer that raised the livestock for the specific cut of beef.
JBS Southern chief operating officer Sam McConnell, explained how the scheme will connect consumers with the producers of the beef.
“It has been 12 months in the making and will be part of a larger blockchain scheme being implemented by JBS that will enable individual primal cuts to be traced back to the producer,” he said. “We are very excited to implement the innovative system first at our Longford beef facility in Tasmania, where cattle supplied by our King Island producers are processed. As the system evolves, it will be rolled out at our Brooklyn plant in Melbourne.”
The business has been working on this for the past 12 months and JBS Southern’s beef sales manager Robert Ryan said the traceability scheme will be reflected in the brand’s new packaging.
“We have re-designed packaging and printed promotional material about the product which will be available in selected flagship restaurants around Australia who have partnered with JBS,” he said. “The program and relaunched brand will enable the customers to tell the story of each individual producer providing the product, as these primal cuts are being bought and served to consumers in their restaurants.
“It is an innovation that parts of the market have demanded for some time, and we are proud to be the first to deliver a solution.”
King Island Beef is a part of the Great Southern group of brands, underpinned by JBS’ innovative Farm Assurance Programme.
“In addition to the raising promises the brand makes, which are underpinned by our third party verification process, the King Island Beef brand is all about where is comes from – King Island. Therefore, there is no more appropriate brand for us to launch this innovative traceability system with than this,” McConnell added. “As a leader in the branded beef space, the modern and innovative approach to traceability within our Great Southern Program ensures customers and consumers are engaged in the process and can trust where their food has come from.
“With the ongoing exchange of information in the Great Southern Program between farmers, customers and end-users, our new traceability tool will allow our producers to become a key part of the brand story and its provenance.”
