New OnTrace Customer Care Centre Makes it Easier Than Ever to Register Your Premises

GUELPH, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 6, 2011) - Recognizing the increasing demand for agricultural premises registration services and for information about food traceability, On-Trace Agri-food Traceability today announced the startup of the OnTrace Customer Care Centre.

Premises registration is becoming increasingly important to farmers and processors. This is especially true now that a Premises Identifier (PID) certificate is one of the eligibility requirements for the recently announced Risk Management Program (RMP) and the Traceability Foundations Initiative (TFI) Program announced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on July 19th.

"Throughout the summer we've seen rising demand for premises registration services and requests for PID certificates, which pressed our existing capacity to the limit sometimes. We also want to make it easier for farmers and processors to register their premises when it is convenient for them," said Brian Sterling, OnTrace Chief Executive Officer. "We knew that once premises registration became an eligibility requirement for more government programs we would need to raise service levels for our stakeholders; for these reasons we established the OnTrace Customer Care Centre. A producer or a processor can now call anytime of the day or night to register their premises. And we encourage them to register ALL their premises because it is now easier than ever and it only takes a few minutes."

The OnTrace Customer Care Centre will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week with both English and French capability. It can be reached via the toll free number 1-888-38TRACE (8-7223).

Those wishing to register their premises online may still do so at www.ontrace.ca.

The OnTrace Customer Care Centre will be a strong value-add to OnTrace's Premises Registry services. The centre will become the focal point for traceability information, providing the agriculture and food industry with fast access to OnTrace's considerable traceability knowledge base.

ABOUT ONTRACE

OnTrace is the industry-led not-for-profit corporation created to lead food traceability programs and initiatives. OnTrace's goals are: to deliver traceability solutions that will enable the agriculture and agri-food industry in Ontario to become more innovative and competitive and; to strengthen the capacity of industry and government to respond to emergencies related to agriculture and agri-food welfare and public safety.

OnTrace is located at: 1030 Gordon Street, Suite 202, Guelph, ON N1G 4X5. Their contact coordinates are: phone 519.766.9292; fax 519.766.1313. For further information, visit: www.ontrace.ca.