Standards
Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) operates under rules and standards which have been formulated by industry. These Standards help secure Australia's reputation as a world leader in food safety. As part of LPA, the Standards offer verification of the claims made on the LPA National Vendor Declaration and Waybills (LPA NVD/Waybills).
The Standards represent the elements of LPA - the five key food safety areas of compliance within the program. Each element has a food safety outcome that must be met for producers to remain certified. Concise record keeping helps prove that day-to-day practices meet the Standards. Tools are available to assist producers in this process.
The five key areas LPA Standards are based on include:
- Property risk assessment
- Safe and responsible animal treatments
- Stock foods, fodder crops, grain and pasture treatments
- Preparation for dispatch of livestock
- Livestock transactions and movements
The LPA Standards have recently been reviewed. Select the options below to review the current Standards (V16), new Standards (V17) and a marked up copy highlighting the changes:
Elements, outcomes and performance indicators
The elements within the LPA Standards underpin the Australian agricultural industry's global reputation as a reliable safe red meat source. There are a number of performance indicators that must be met. These are generally management practices already undertaken by most producers and focus on risk management as related to food safety.
Element 1: Property risk assessment
Outcome: On-farm systems have been implemented to minimise the risk of livestock being exposed to sites that are unacceptably contaminated with organochlorines or other persistent chemicals.
Performance indicators:
- All potentially contaminated sites have been identified.
- All identified sites are managed to restrict the access of livestock to prevent exposure and contamination.
- Potentially exposed animals are identified and managed in a manner that minimises the risk of contamination of livestock intended for human consumption in accordance with relevant legal requirements.
Element 2: Safe and responsible animal treatments
Outcome: On-farm systems have been implemented to ensure that animal treatments are administered in a safe and responsible manner to minimise the risk of chemical residues and physical hazards in livestock intended for human consumption.
Performance indicators:
- Animal treatments are administered only by trained and competent staff in accordance with label and/or written veterinary directions and relevant legal requirements.
- Chemicals are stored securely in accordance with label/ manufacturers' directions to prevent exposure to livestock.
- Sufficient records are maintained to enable the traceability of treated livestock, including introduced livestock, with respect to relevant withholding periods (WHPs) and/or export slaughter intervals (ESIs) and/or the presence of physical objects and to enable the correct use of chemicals to be demonstrated.
Element 3: Stock foods, fodder crops, grain and pasture treatments
Outcome: On-farm systems have been implemented to manage the exposure of livestock to foods containing unacceptable chemical contamination so as to minimise the risk of chemical residues in livestock and to eliminate the risk of animal products being fed to ruminant livestock intended for human consumption
Performance indicators:
- Agricultural chemicals are applied to fodder crops, grain and pasture only by trained and competent staff in accordance with label directions and/or relevant approvals legal requirements.
- Chemicals are stored securely in accordance with label/manufacturers' directions to prevent exposure to livestock.
- Exposure of animals to fodder crops, grain, pasture and introduced stock feeds that have been treated with or exposed to agricultural chemicals is managed to minimise the risk of unacceptable chemical residues in livestock for human consumption. Sufficient records are maintained to enable the traceability of exposed livestock, including introduced livestock, with respect to relevant WHPs and ESIs.
- Exposure of animals to stock feed is managed to eliminate the risk of animal products being fed to ruminant livestock, with the exception of approved exemptions.
- Sufficient records are maintained to enable the traceability of fodder crops, grain, pasture and introduced stock feeds intended to be fed to livestock with respect to relevant WHPs and ESIs from slaughter or grazing/harvest as applicable and to enable the correct use of chemicals to be demonstrated.
Element 4: Preparation for dispatch of livestock
Outcome: On-farm systems have been implemented to ensure that the selected livestock are fit for transport and that the risk of stress and contamination of livestock during assembly and transport is minimised.
Performance indicators:
- Only animals that are in a condition fit for travel are selected to minimise potential disease and/or contamination related to transport conditions.
- On-farm assembly practices and transport arrangements are managed to minimise the risk of stress and contamination of animals.
Element 5: Livestock transactions and movements
Outcome: A system has been implemented to enable traceability of all livestock with respect to treatment or exposure to relevant food safety hazards for all movements between livestock production enterprises including to slaughter and live export.
Performance indicators:
- All livestock transactions and movements, including between properties (or between different Property Identification Codes (PICs)), are accompanied by a current, correctly completed LPA NVD Waybill.
- Sufficient records are maintained to enable the declarations on an accompanying LPA NVD Waybill concerning the food safety related status of livestock introduced to and dispatched from the property to be reconciled with the livestock traceability system adopted.
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