The report, published by the University of Newcastle's Centre for Rural Economy (CRE) and The Institute of Logistics and Transport, says that the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in 2001 exposed the 'poor logistics mechanisms and practices' throughout the supply-chain. It says the chain is characterised by a large number of animal movements, many of which go unrecorded.
A 'fat lamb' is a young sheep that is being fattened for slaughter, after which it will be sold as meat for human consumption. The supply-chain includes a large number of different people and organisations including farmers, auctioneers, livestock dealers and abattoirs and food retailers who carry out a variety of different transactions.
Sheep are taken through the different stages in the chain, some passing through several markets and farms across the country before reaching the abattoir. According to researchers, many of the animals' movements are not documented.
Today's report says that, in addition to the high number of unrecorded animal movements, it is also not clear who is responsible for the various stages in the channel and what the actual role of every chain member is.
These flaws could have lead to FMD spreading so quickly and may have also contributed to consumer concerns about product quality, safety, and the 'traceability' of the source of the meat.
The report makes several recommendations to policy makers. These may help prevent the spread of future FMD epidemics, while being cost effective and helping to improve consumer safety and animal welfare.
The report says: