Traceability and record keeping
Version 2026-07-v1 · Last updated 04 August 2026
For every animal we sell, and every meat order we handle, we keep a record that connects what you receive back to the animal it came from. This page explains what that record contains, why we keep it, how long it lasts, and how you can obtain the record for your own animals.
What we record about every animal
We record the identity and origin of each animal we sell: its identification, such as the ear tag or brand it carries, and the place it came from. Where an order is for several animals from a group, we record the specific animals that make up that order, by their individual identification, and not merely the number of them. This is what allows a particular animal in a particular order to be named with confidence, rather than described only in general terms.
The record that follows a meat order
Where you add own-use slaughter and cutting, the record follows the animal through every stage. It carries the origin of the animal, the registered abattoir where it was slaughtered, the licensed facility where it was cut, and the batch identifiers assigned at slaughter and at cutting. From that record, what arrives at your door can be traced, step by step, back to the animal from which it came.
Why we keep it: disease, theft and recall
Traceability is not paperwork for its own sake. If a disease has to be traced, a state veterinarian can follow our record back to the farm an animal came from and forward to everyone who received animals from the same source. If an animal is ever alleged to have been stolen, its identification and origin are on record. And if anything ever had to be recalled, we could identify and reach every buyer affected. These are the reasons the law requires the record, and the reasons we would keep it even if it did not.
How long we keep it
We keep traceability records for the period set by veterinary and food-safety law, which is longer than we would otherwise hold such information, precisely because these records exist to allow disease to be traced long after a sale has concluded. Financial records connected to your order are kept for a minimum of five years. How we look after the personal information within those records is described in our privacy policy.
Getting the record for your animals
The traceability record for your own order is yours to ask for at any time. If you need it, for your own records, for your veterinarian, or for any other proper purpose, reach us on the contact page with your order reference to hand, and we will provide it.