# US 7,613,330 B2 · Methods and systems for tracking and managing livestock through the production process > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 7,613,330 B2 - Document ID: US7613330B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 11/695,712 - Filed: 2007-04-03 - Published: 2007-11-08 - Granted: 2009-11-03 - Earliest claimed: 2006-04-03 - Assignees: JBS Swift & Company - Inventors: Warren Mirtsching; John Felix; Mark A. Gustafson - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7613330B2 ## CPC - G06V 40/10: Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands - A22B 5/007: {Non-invasive scanning of carcasses, e.g. using image recognition, tomography, X-rays, ultrasound (analysing meat, e.g. search for foreign embedded objects G01N33/12; image analysis G06T7/00)} - A22C 17/10: Marking meat or sausages {(marking animals A01K11/00; labelling B65C)} - G06Q 10/087: Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders - G06Q 10/0877: {by inventory control or reporting using inventory tracking or counting} - G16H 20/10: relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients - G16H 30/40: for processing medical images, e.g. editing - G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING - A22B: SLAUGHTERING - A22C: PROCESSING MEAT, POULTRY, OR FISH (preserving A23B; obtaining protein compositions for foodstuffs A23J1/00; fish, meat or poultry preparations A23L; disintegrating, e.g. chopping meat, B02C18/00; preparation of proteins C07K1/00) - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - G16H: HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA ## Abstract Systems and methods are described that provide a relatively quick and easy way of tracing meat products to their origins. Specifically, methods of tracing a fully processed meat product back through the production process use windows of traceability to quickly identify which lots were being processed at a particular time. Identification and cross-referencing during the production process also allow for further tracking of the origin of meat products, ultimately up to their feedlot of origin. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of tracing the origins of a product, comprising: receiving a request for the origin of the product, wherein the request comprises information about the product; based on the information received about the product, determining a corresponding window of traceability for the product; determining at least one carcass that was present at a production facility during the window of traceability; determining a lot associated with the at least one carcass; reviewing an image of an organ separated from said at least one carcass; and establishing, based on a computer analysis of said image, whether said at least one carcass was administered a drug during its life span. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a report containing information regarding the origins of the product. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the product is a meat product. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the product is an organ. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4, wherein the organ is selected from the group consisting of brain, liver, tongue, pancreas gland, thymus gland, stomach, feet, kidney, lungs, heart, small intestine, testicles, placenta, crop and caul. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the production facility is a meat production facility. ### Claim 7 A system for producing and tracking a meat product, comprising: a meat production facility comprising a number of production areas; means for capturing images of animal organs that pass within an area of interest in at least one production area; a database used to store information relating to the images and products that are produced within the meat production facility; and a central processor that is operable to receive information relating to the images and products from at least one of the production areas and transfer the information to the database for storage, wherein the information at least comprises a window of traceability corresponding to at least one of the production areas. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7, wherein the means for capturing images is a camera. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8, wherein the camera is a digital camera. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7, further comprising means for generating a report containing information regarding the origins of the meat product. ### Claim 11 A method for auditing a meat production process, comprising: separating at least one organ of interest from other organs; grading the at least one organ of interest; capturing an image of the at least one organ of interest; associating the at least one organ of interest and the image with at least one of an animal and a lot of origin; analyzing the image using a computer; based on the analyzing, determining the grade of the at least one organ of interest; and associating the determined grade of the at least one organ of interest with the at least one of an animal and lot of origin. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, wherein the organ is selected from the group consisting of brain, liver, tongue, pancreas gland, thymus gland, stomach, feet, kidney, lungs, heart, small intestine, testicles, placenta, crop and caul. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, further comprising generating a report containing information regarding the organ's animal of origin. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, further comprising generating a report containing information regarding the organ's lot of origin.