As more consumers ask where their food comes from, Freson Bros. IGA has signed on to a program where they have genetic proof their pork is home-grown.
The Freson Bros. chain, which operates in communities throughout Alberta, is carrying Sturgeon Valley based out of the St. Albert area. This company has adopted a genetic traceability system called DNA TraceBack. This system allows the company to back up their claims that the pork they produce is home-grown.
The DNA Traceback system is developed by Irish company IdentiGen, a tracking technology in use in Europe since 2000.
“The DNA TraceBack system is easy to implement, and it helps us establish a credible link from our farms through our processing facility to the consumer. From our point of view, being able to offer foolproof traceability is a key to building trust with the consumer,” said Dan Majeau, one of the principals at Sturgeon Valley Pork in a press release.
Each package of pork in Freson Bros. IGA in Drumheller that is from Sturgeon Valley bears a label certifying it is Alberta pork.
Darryl Jacques, manager of Freson Bros. IGA in Drumheller says they have been carrying the certified Alberta pork for about a month and they have seen a spike in the amount of pork purchased.
“In this day and age people are more concerned about where their food is coming from,” said Jacques. “People are curious partly because there have been issues in the past in different parts of the world, and it's nice to know we can trace it back to the farmers.”
The program takes samples of animals at the farm, and then randomly at the retailer. These samples are sent to IdentiGEN’s lab in the US to verify.
Jacques said Freson Bros. prefer to buy as local as they can.
“We have been promoting that we only have Alberta pork, it’s not coming from China, it’s not coming from the deep US. It is only Alberta pork and that is what we are going to stick with.”
