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TRACES allows for the quick detection of fake certificates and therefore contributes to the fight against food fraud and enhances cooperation and collaboration between authorities. When a decision is taken on a consignment, the involved parties are notified and have access to the relevant documents. The TRACES platform enhances cooperation and coordination between the competent authorities of EU countries and non-EU countries, but also between the traders themselves and their competent authorities. The possibility to trace back and forth all the movements of animals, animal products, food and feed of non-animal origin and plants contributes to the reduction of the impact of disease outbreaks and allows for a quick response to counter certain serious risks along the agri-food chain. It facilitates the exchange of data, information and documents between all involved trading parties and control authorities and therefore simplifies and speeds up the administrative procedures. The main objective of TRACES is to streamline the certification process and all linked entry procedures and to offer a fully digitised and paperless workflow. Today, TRACES is an indispensable tool used in about 90 countries, with more than 55.000 users worldwide for the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary certificates and official documents required for imports, exports and intra EU movements of live animals and goods.
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TRACES is the European Commission's online platform for sanitary and phytosanitary certification required for the importation of animals, animal products, food and feed of non-animal origin and plants into the European Union, and the intra-EU trade and EU exports of animals and certain animal products.
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The establishment of TRACES has been an essential component for this accomplishment. Each year, vast quantities of live animals and goods are being traded within and into the European Union (EU) for the benefit of over 500 million Europeans, raising the question: how can the European citizens be sure that the food reaching their plates is safe? For this reason, the European Commission has taken extensive action in this direction over the past years in order to ensure the safety of the agri-food chain.
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