Economic assessment of a smart traceability system (RFID+DNA) for origin and brand protection of the pork product labelled “suinetto di Sardegna”

Abstract The suckling piglet is a typical niche meat product traditionally slaughtered before weaning at nearly one month of age. Due to African Swine Fever (ASF) foci and dumping phenomenon the pork production system of the island suffers from exportation restriction and competition with imported of pork products from GDO circuits, often claimed as local. A bottom-up analysis highlighted the need to establish a robust system of origin and brand protection for the suckling piglet labelled “Suinetto di Sardegna”. Previous experiences tested the opportunity offered by the integrated system of identification of animal and products based on the RFID technology, paired with molecular analysis (DNA) for meat traceability. This study reports the economic evaluation of such a smart traceability system, through the introduction of technologically advanced tools in the traditional process of production. A comparative evaluation of conventional vs. RFID+DNA system was carried out and costs are compared. The break even point (BEP) calculated following the potential investment for the adoption of the RFID+DNA system for origin and brand protection highlighted that the abattoir of the circuit “Suinetto di Sardegna” should sell at least 17 piglets or the equivalent of 1305.00 euros in sales before any profits could be realized. In the light of production capacity of an extensive traditional farming system, this value requires high numbers of production units (unit = whole carcass of suckling piglet). In addition, this economic evaluation was only related to representative farms and did not take into account seasonal fluctuations or effective geo-distribution of farms, but was based on average yearly production and spatial distance of farms from abattoir. Decreasing trend of costs due to massive deployment of RFID and the diffusion of molecular analyses for traceability purposes may be forecasted and minimum acceptable levels of economic BEP can be achieved in a short period. If the new technology becomes a standard for the traceability of the suckling piglet, incremental benefits can arise from the reinforcement of the brand “Suinetto di Sardegna”.