ANALSYS AND DESIGN OF AN INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR

SWINE FEED TRACEABILITY AT THE FARM LEVEL

Liana ANICA-POPA
Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, Faculty of Accounting and Management
Information Systems
E-mail: liana.anica@cig.ase.ro
ABSTRACT

The design approach of an information system for monitoring pig meat traceability (SIMTCP
can not ignore the feeding of animals!
Starting from this premise" in this paper are pre#ented the modeling ass$mptions" considerations
and %ML diagrams for processes of feeding pigs at farm le&el! Scientific research res$lts 'ere
obtained in the detail analisys phase of SIMTCP" d$ring of the deployment of the research
pro(ect )*esigning an information system to monitoring the traceability in por+ prod$ction,"
financed by the Competiti&e -rants Scheme (SC-" de&eloped 'ith the s$pport of Moderni#ation
of Information and .no'ledge Systems in Agric$lt$re Pro(ect (MA.IS!
At the end of comm$nication are 'orded concl$sions and g$idelines for f$t$re research in the
areas of prod$ct traceability" food safety and ne' information and comm$nication technologies"
ta+ing into acco$nt trends and re/$irements of a s$stainable global economy!

KEYWORDS
information systems design" %ML" por+ traceability" feeding traceability" ne' IC0T
INTRODUCTION
The euroean regulation defines tracea!ility as "the a!ility to trace and follo# a food,
feed, food-roducing animal or su!stance intended to !e or e$ected to !e incororated into
a food or feed, through all stages of roduction, rocessing, and distri!ution% and alies to
all food and feed e$cet rimary roduction for ri&ate domestic use or ri&ate domestic
consumtion. All food and feed comanies are legally !ound to ha&e tracea!ility systems
'Euroean (nion, )**), cited !y Meisinger et al., )**+,.
Tracea!ility for s#ine li&estoc- is recogni.ed li-e an effecti&e comonent of any food
safety control system, ser&ing consumers/ increasingly re0uires concerning a !etter 0uality
of or-. The ractical &alue of a tracea!ility informational system is affirmed !y
imro&ing consumers/ trust in meat 0uality and !y the encouragement of or- industry
'1hao, Teng 2 3ang, )**4,.
The analysis of causes of disease or of 0uality non-comliance of meat has highlighted
the need to o!tain information on the modality and origin of animal feeding and #ater
'5T6A78,.
de&eloment of society and the imro&ement of li&ing standards, consumers/ demand
for high 0uality meat roducts is constantly increasing '5T6A78,..
9&er 4*: of secialists articiating in a seminar on tracea!ility theme in ;u!lin
')**+, concluded that full tracea!ility #ill !ecome increasingly imortant for feed additi&e
and feed suliers #ithin the Euroean mar-etlace. Also, o&er <*: considered that trace
mineral and energy regulations #ill ose the !iggest challenge to ig roduction in the
future'5T6A)8,.
9ur research methodology included re&ealing state of -no#ledge !y literature and
materials of mass - media re&ie#. Also, ideas, information #ere e$tracted in #or-shos
frame#or-, organi.ed #ith farmers and reresentati&es of the authorities 'Ministry of
Agriculture and 6ural ;e&eloment, 6manian Association of =igmeat Emloyers,
&eterinary organisms, farmers/ associations, etc., and #ere erformed general and detailed
analysis !y documenting in igs farms. Finally, using (M> methodology, models #ere
de&eloed to manage &arious asects necessary for tracea!ility, including the feeding of
igs.
In this research material, are resented (M> diagrams of use cases, classes and
acti&ities that descri!e data and rocessing se0uences structures, re&ealed as necessary for
feed management su!system.
1. FARM INPUTS TRACEABILITY
Euroean regulations define tracea!ility as "the a!ility to follo# a food, feed, food-
roducing animals or su!stance incororated into food or feed in any stage of roduction,
rocessing or distri!ution%. All food or food roducing comanies are legally !ounded to
ha&e tracea!ility systems '5E( )**)8, cited in Meisinger et al., )**+,.
In 6omanian economy, many suliers e$ist for agriculture sector. This can !e
classified in the follo#ing grous '5T6A?8,:
- @ousing 'sta!les, electricity, cooling facilities, etc.,A
- E0uiment 'mil-ing machines, tractors, irrigation etc.,A
- FeedA
- MedicineA
- Seeds, fertilisers and insecticidesA
- 3ater.
=igs/ feed and medicines can lay an imortant role in the food chain and ha&e
imlications for the 0uality comosition of agri- food roducts that eole consume.
Bonse0uently, in the feed industry are en&isaged the de&eloment of rograms to ensure
feed 0uality #hich imly '5T6A?8,:
- Breating osi!ilities to trac-ing and tracing of ig feedA
- Alicating The @a.ard Analysis and Britical Bontrol =oint '@ABB=, rincile
into ris- e&aluation and controlA
- Ensuring -no#ing of the #hole feed chain 'included ra# materials suliers,A
- Imlementing and using of an early #arning system.
At the igmeat farms 'roducers, le&el, feed tracea!ility reresents an Cinsurance
olicy% for the organi.ation image, in case of une$ected negati&e situations, caused !y
igmeat 0ualitati&e non - comliance form feed or #ater 0uality reasons.
Farmers are moti&ated, not only o!ligated !y the general conte$t, to in&est in
corresonding facilities at higher 0uality standards at their farm or lands to roduce or-.
In 6omanian economic en&ironment, it is the farmers/ o#n resonsi!ility to achie&e a
healthy economic situation for their !usiness 'also in countries li-e Italy, Dermany or
;enmar-, as the research team remar0ued during the documentation &isits,, !ut in a
transition contry li-e 6omania are re0uired inter&entions and suort financial resources
from the State art, to institutional and technical de&eloment E !asic condition for
increasing chances to comete on the international igmeat mar-et.
6omanian farmers need information a!out ho# to imlement a Dood Agriculture
=ractice 'DA= , and technologies for li&estoc- !reeding, feeding, control of animal health
status and use of &eterinary drugs. 6egarding the #elfare of animals, the o#ners are o!liged
to satisfy the !iological needs of each category of animal and ro&ide safety, food and
#ater '5T6A?8,.
Starting #ith tis considerations, #e ela!orated diagrams to ma-e ossi!le collecting
information concerning inuts li-e ig feed in a feed tracea!ility su!system.
2. UML DIAGRAMS FOR MODELING FEED TRACEABILITY SYSTEM
In this aer three diagrams #ere selected as rele&ant, for deicting a comlete image of
data rocessing and treatments of the system of feed tracea!ility at farm le&el.
Food administration is follo#ed !oth !y lots of animals, locations, and on lots of fodder,
fodder categories and ra# materials incororated into feed.
(se cases diagram related to oerations designed to record managed farm feed is gi&en
in Figure 7.
Figure 7. Use cases diagram for fodder traceability system
6esonsa!il gestiune furaFare
Destiune lot furaFe
Subsist! Gstiu" Fu#$%$#
Actuali.are lot
furaFe
Destiune categorie
furaFe
Modificare
categorie furaFe
Ge$tendsH
Ge$tendsH
Introducere
materie rima noua
Destiune materie
rima
Ge$tendsH
I
I
i
n
c
l
u
d
e
J
J
I
I
i
n
c
l
u
d
e
J
J
=reluare cantitate
materie rima sta!ilita e lot
furaFe
I
I
i
n
c
l
u
d
e
J
J
Adaugare categorie
noua
Ge$tendsH
Kerificare lot
animale
Destiune !on consum
furaFe e lot animale
Kerificare lot
furaFe
Ge$tendsH
Ge$tendsH
I
I
i
n
c
l
u
d
e
J
J
Kerificare locatie
Ge$tendsH
=reluare cantitate
consum e lot animale
Ge$tendsH
Blasses of o!Fects structure re0uired to manage data related to feed administrated to
farm animals is sho#n in Figure ).
Figura ). Classes diagram for feed traceability
The system can register the consumtion documents, recording feed consumtion, the
0uantities of each feeder element and the date of feeding !y lots and locations. Each lot
may consist of one or more igs. For each iglet cal&ed in farm are recorded its arents -
so# and !oar.
The models roose feed management !y lots of feeds, categories and gi&en the
0uantitati&e comosition of ra# materials.
Aroriate data rocessing oerations are illustrated in feeding acti&ity diagram on
Figure ?.
LAdaugaBategorieFuraF',
LBonsultaBategorieFuraF',
LModificaBategorieFuraF',
LStergeBategorieFuraF',
-IdMBategorieFuraF : >ong
-;enumireBategorieFuraF : >ong
C$t&'#iFu#$%
LAdauga>otAnimale',
LBonsultare>otAnimale',
LModificare>otAnimale',
LStergere>otAnimale',
LNumar>otAnimale',
-IdM>otAnimale : String
-NrIdentificare : String
L'tA"i!$(
LAdaugaBBFuraF',
LBonsultaBBFuraF',
LModificaBBFuraF',
LStergeBBFuraF',
-IdMBBFuraF : String
-;ataBBFuraF : ;ate
-9!ser&atii : String
BCFu#$%
LAdauga>ocatie',
LBonsulta>ocatie',
LModifica>ocatie',
LSterge>ocatie',
-I;M>ocatie : >ong
L')$ti
0..1 *
apartine
0..1
*
e
s
t
e

s
c
r
o
a
f
a
0..1 *
are vier
1
..*
*
*
*
-Cantitate : Double
se consuma
* 0..1
include
LAdauga>otFuraF',
LBonsulta>otFuraF',
LModifica>otFuraF',
LSterge>otFuraF',
-IdM>otFuraF : String
-dataFa!ricatie : ;ate
L'tFu#$%
1..1
*
se
incadreaza
LAdaugaMaterie=rima',
LBonsultaBategorieMaterie=rima',
LModificaBategorieMaterie=rima',
LStergeMaterie=rima',
-IdMMaterie=rima : >ong
-;enumireMaterie=rima : >ong
M$t#iP#i!$
-CantitateMP : Double
formeaza
1..* 1..*
Figure ?. Activities diagram for fodder traceability
*. NEW IC+T
The 0uality of information tracing to the farms deends on instruments and technologies
used for. Tracea!ility systems includedata!ases, data#arehouses, 9>A= technology tools,
modern technology for intelligent identification, for or- 0uality monitoring and
controlling.
Boncerns a!out the tracea!ility of agri - food roduct led to the announcement of the
comletion !y IBM in 9cto!er )**4, of an alication for mo!ile hones 'i=hone a,
called Breadcrum!s, designed to ro&ide consumers access to information a!out food,
esecially groceries. OBreadcrum!sO #ill !e a!le to scan !ar codes and ro&ide a summary
of the ingredients, date of manufacture !ut, in addition, any time of recall of roduct.
6eading !arcodes is erformed using the i=hone camera, and information offered to the
consumer are ta-en from the 3e!.
Modern technology has ena!led smarthones connection to the Internet o!Fects
'con&ergence of the Internet #ith real-#orld o!Fects,, de&ices li-e the i=hone might
!ecome sensor and 6FI; reader, #hich allo#s consumers to interact #ith real #orld
o!Fects in much more details.
OBreadcrum!sO is a !egining for future de&ices to reach the consumer, ro&iding it #ith
information until no# remained inaccessi!le, li-e #here and #hen food #ill !e consumed,
ho# long they stayed on the shelf !efore !eing urchased and #hether a!out counterfeit
roducts 'MacManus, )**4,.
Burrent information society tra&erses a re&olutionary hase of food and consumer
demands. @ence, many challenges arise related to ethics, food a&aila!ility and accessi!ility
5nu e$ista8
5e$ista8
Kerificarea e$istentei lotului de animale
P Inregistrare date lot
Breare lot nou
Adaugare lot, &ier, scroafa
Breare lot furaF
Kerificare locatie
Inregistrare cantitate furaF consumat
Actuali.are consumuri furaFe
Sta!ilireP&erificare categorie furaF
5nu e$ista8
5e$ista8
Breare categorie noua
BreareP&alidare materie rima
Inregistrare cantitate materie rima
Inregistrare !on consum furaFe
information. Tracea!ility management issues must !e efficient so that costs generated !y
food safety measures do not !ecome increasingly higher.
In the Dreat Britain case, Draham ')**+, reaffirms the need of ta-ing glo!al trend in
farming olicies, consumer rotection and agri E food roducts tracea!ility, !ut in &ie# of
e$isting conditions and national goals. This idea is #elcome for a country li-e 6omania
too, #hich should ma-e greater efforts to meet re0uirements on multile le&els, imosed !y
the Euroean (nion or &arious international fora.
CONCLUSIONS
=ig food tracea!ility !ecomes ossi!le. @o#e&er, from the literature and ractice #e
can detach difficulties and limitations of this aroach, #hich can affect farms.
Notermans ')**?, identifies the ossi!ility that, in case of !ul- deli&ery of ingredients
in food rearation, ingredients are used from se&eral !atches, in #hich case the deli&ery
dates, the identification of the rior storage facility and of deli&ery #eight or &olume may
!e the only !enchmar-s to &erify this oint.
Then it may !e not !e ossi!le a clear searation !et#een indi&idual !atches of feed -
finished goods, !ecause of re0uired to add of ingredients.
Another issue is that, in emergency cases, tracea!ility oerations must !e erformed
0uic-ly, #hich re0uires the e$istence of erformant information systems, #ell designed for
the e$ress urose of ensuring tracea!ility, !ut can !e costly.
9ther difficulties related to the organi.ation may !e:
- The nature and si.e of manufacturing lant and storage sace of feed and #aterA
- E$change of information !et#een different arts of the roduction chainA
- >e&el of -no#ledge of farmers and staff in terms of feed safety and tracea!ilityA
- ;egree of cooeration #ithin the food industry.
;uring the ne$t stage of de&eloment of the tracea!ility system, the research team
must ta-e into account all these o!ser&ations in the system reengineering aroach, for food
tracea!ility su!system functionality can !e imro&ed.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The study #as financed !y the roFect %;esigning an information system for tracea!ility
monitoring in the or- meat roduction%, contract num!er nr. 7Q7.4)7P7?.*+.)**+, roFect
financed !y the Drants Bometiti&e Scheme deloyed using the roFect MARIS E financed
according to the loan statement nr. QS<+-69 aro&ed !y >a# nr. 7S* P )**<.
REFERENCES
Draham, T. ')**+,, S$staining %. 1arming Li&elihoods, Ethical Shoing- Bonference 6eort,
disoni!il la htt:PP###.fairands0uare.cooPU0VlatestMne#s, consultat la )4.*?.)*7*
Macmanus, 6. ')**4,, I2M *eb$ts 1ood Traceability iPhone app" disoni!il la
htt:PP###.read#rite#e!.comParchi&esPi!mMde!utsMfoodMtracea!ilityMihoneMa.h,
consultat la ).*Q.)*7*
Meisinger, T.>., =endell, ;.>., Morris, ;.>., Bel-, R.E., Smith, D.B. ')**+,, 3e&ie'4 S'ine
Tracea!ility Systems in Selected Bountries 9utside of North America, The =rofessional Animal
Scientist )Q ')**+,:)4<-?*7
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Bam!ridge, (R
1hao ;e-an, Teng Bui-feng, 3ang Wian-#ang ')**4,, *esign of Traceability System for Por+
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5T6A78 Pigmeat Traceability 0 S'ine 5elfare, disoni!il la
htt:PP###.ighealth.comPNe#s44PM>B.@TMY3elfare, consultat la +.*Q.)*7*
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alltechs#inetechnicalseminar.as$, consultat la 7.*Q.)*7*
5T6A?8 S$bsidiary body reports! Commercial agric$lt$ral /$ality standards! 3e/$irements for
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Dene&a, ))-)< octo!er )**S
5E( )**)8 3eg$lation (6C No! 89:;<==< of the 6$ropean parliament and the co$ncil of <:
>an$ary <==< laying do'n the general principles and re/$irements of food la'" establishing the
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Comm! ?@48