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Esteemed SAAnews Weekly readers:
Food safety scandals have repeatedly rocked China's farming sector in recent years, but a new traceability system jointly developed by the China Food Science and Technology Institute and Taiwanese meat supplier Dachan Foods may help to change that. The system uses QR codes -- a simple printed pattern that farmers and consumers can easily scan with the most basic smartphone -- to trace meat products at every stop on the value chain, from farm to table. Taiwan has a robust food traceability system with over 1,200 companies participating as of earlier this year; Dachan believes a similar system will be well received in the mainland market. So do analysts from market research firm VisionGain, who estimate that the global market for traceability technologies will exceed USD 10.5bn this year.
Consumer confidence in China's livestock products industry reached a new low this summer as Shanghai Husi Food Co,, a major supplier to McDonalds, KFC, and other international restaurant chains, was revealed to be supplying unsafe and expired meat products. Already, Dachan has replaced Husi as a major supplier to McDonalds and Yum Brands.
For those of you based in China, we hope you had a festive National Day holiday. Our content this week is abbreviated, as China's agriculture media was on vacation for much of last week.
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