Summary.
The bill amends Law 104 of November 21, 2013, to apply the National Livestock Traceability Program throughout Panama and to every part of the agri-food chain. It proposes implementation in short-, medium-, and long-term phases, with adjustments reflecting sector needs and technological developments. The Ministry of Agricultural Development (Ministerio de Desarrollo Agropecuario) would implement the Program in coordination with the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud) and other competent authorities. State and private contributions, national and international organizations, donations, and penalties would fund official individual identification devices and Program operations. Purchases of those devices would be handled exclusively through the Ministry of Agricultural Development.
The Program’s objectives include tracing livestock-derived foods, products, and by-products; establishing food safety controls for domestic consumption and exports; and developing an official computerized traceability system. The system would record animal movements and provide information on their origin and destination. It would also record traceability activities affecting animal health, human health, and the environment. Through the National Directorate of Food Control and Veterinary Surveillance (Dirección Nacional de Control de Alimentos y Vigilancia Veterinaria), the Ministry of Health would prepare regulations or procedural manuals for slaughter and processing plants.
Through the National Directorate of Animal Health (Dirección Nacional de Salud Animal), the Ministry of Agricultural Development would coordinate information in the Registration System, establish and monitor technical and operating guidelines, and run the Single Agricultural Registry. It would develop individual or group animal identification, record movements and transport used between municipalities, establishments, and health zones, and maintain health information integrated with the official traceability system, subject to access and security rules. Its responsibilities would also include training, public information, and technical reports for official authorizations or certifications. Official identification devices would follow international standards, while emerging technologies and alternative systems would require ministerial validation. The National Directorate of Animal Health would submit species-specific technical standards to the General Directorate of Standards and Industrial Technology (Dirección General de Normas y Tecnología Industrial) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias).
For cattle, the visual identification device would be placed in the left ear and the radio-frequency device in the right ear. The competent authority could authorize operators to place the devices and register animals; the text also empowers it to establish exceptions to that requirement. The National Directorate of Food Control and Veterinary Surveillance would approve methods for identifying animal products and by-products. Interested parties would have to enroll in the Program and meet the applicable authority’s requirements. The Ministry of Agricultural Development would authorize individuals and organizations connected with the sector to provide system services and would establish a Livestock Traceability Operators Registry.
The bill would make a Movement Registration System available to municipalities, extension agencies, and authorized producer associations or operators for issuing Transfer Guides. Use would become mandatory once the system was available; the Ministry of Agricultural Development would supervise compliance and apply penalties under the law and its regulations. Cattle would have to be individually identified and registered before their first six months of life, or before their first movement or change of ownership if that occurred earlier.
The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agricultural Development would develop consumer education, including labeling with origin and traceability information. A contingency fund would receive donations, fines, state contributions, and service fees. Its resources would be deposited in the National Animal Health Fund (Fondo Nacional de Salud Animal) and administered under Article 12 of Law 23 of July 15, 1997. The bill would concern the agricultural, health, and standards authorities named above, as well as livestock producers, transporters, slaughter and processing plants, identification providers, and consumers.
What it proposes.
- Traceability across the livestock agri-food chain.
- Animal identification, registration, and movement.
- Program operation, oversight, and funding.
Who it would affect.
- Livestock producers and owners.
- Traceability operators and entities issuing Transfer Guides.
- Slaughter and processing plants and identification-method providers.
- Competent agricultural and health authorities.
Key points.
- The Program would cover the national agri-food chain, proceed in phases, and fund identification devices and operations through the specified sources.Art. 1
- The official computerized system would record animal movements and information on their origin and destination.Art. 2
- Health authorities would prepare procedures for slaughter and processing plants, while the agricultural authority would operate registries and health information systems.Arts. 3-4
- Identification devices would follow technical standards; cattle would carry visual identification in the left ear and radio-frequency identification in the right.Arts. 5-6
- Interested parties would enroll in the Program, and operators could be authorized to provide traceability services.Arts. 9-10
- The Movement Registration System would become mandatory once available, and cattle would be identified and registered before their first six months of life or their first movement or change of ownership.Arts. 11-12
- The bill proposes consumer education and a contingency fund financed by donations, fines, state contributions, and service fees.Arts. 13-14