Digital Angel Corporation Receives Over $600,000 Order From the USDA for National Animal Identification System.Preliminary Implementation of NAIS Underway SO. ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Digital Angel Corporation (the "Company") (AMEX AMEX See: American Stock Exchange :DOC), an advanced technology company in the field of rapid and accurate identification, location tracking and condition monitoring of high-value assets, announced today that it has received an order for 630,000 compliant radio frequency identification See RFID. (RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) A data collection technology that uses electronic tags for storing data. The tag, also known as an "electronic label," "transponder" or "code plate," is made up of an RFID chip attached to an antenna. ) ear tags valued at more than $600,000 from the United States Department of Agriculture United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), n.pr established in 1862, USDA is responsible for the safety of meat, poultry, and egg products. It conducts ongoing research in areas from human nutrition to new crop technologies and also helps ensure open (USDA USDA, n.pr See United States Department of Agriculture. ) for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). The cattle ear tags will be used for USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)/Veterinary Services State-Federal Cooperative Disease control and eradication efforts in targeted, increased-risk geographic locations. Barry M. Edelstein, interim President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Digital Angel, said, "This prestigious order from the USDA exemplifies our expertise in providing high-quality products at competitive prices. We were the first animal tag manufacturer to be designated as an Animal Identification (AIN) tag manufacturer by the USDA, which signifies that our tagging system is capable of identifying livestock with the unique, lifetime animal identification number that is being established as a national standard through the NAIS. We are proud that we continue to be a provider of choice for the USDA." Since 1948 Digital Angel's livestock tags have been utilized by ranchers across the world not only to protect their property from theft or loss, but more recently to control the spread of disease and improve herd management. Following the December 2003 incident of Mad Cow Disease mad cow disease: see prion. mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) Fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include behavioral changes (e.g. (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy bovine spongiform encephalopathy: see prion. ) in the state of Washington, the USDA initiated the development of a national animal identification program for cattle, with a target completion date of 2008-2009. The NAIS, a cooperative program between state and federal governments and the livestock industry to help trace, manage and eradicate animal diseases like Mad Cow Disease, Foot and Mouth Disease a contagious disease See also: Foot , Pseudo-Rabies Disease and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome in pigs, is being run by APHIS. APHIS launched the voluntary NAIS in 2004 with the premises registration system and is now continuing its advancement by implementing the animal identification component. Under the NAIS, electronic ID (EID) devices must be approved by USDA. Digital Angel has approval on its EID and transponder devices for livestock. The Company will be submitting its new sheep and goat EID device for approval shortly. Currently the USDA is entering into cooperative agreements to promote premise registrations among producers. To-date approximately 410,000 producer premises are registered. Although it is not mandatory for producers to ID their livestock, USDA is utilizing premise ID and electronic identification for their numerous disease control programs (brucellosis brucellosis (br 'səlō`sĭs) or Bang's disease, infectious disease of farm animals that is sometimes transmitted to humans. , tuberculosis, psuedorabies,
chronic wasting disease Noun 1. chronic wasting disease - a wildlife disease (akin to bovine spongiform encephalitis) that affects deer and elkanimal disease - a disease that typically does not affect human beings , etc.). The first use, which is the subject of the award for the 630,000 EID tags, will be to control and trace brucellosis among cattle. About Digital Angel Corporation Digital Angel Corporation (www.DigitalAngelCorp.com) develops and deploys sensor and communications technologies that enable rapid and accurate identification, location tracking, and condition monitoring of high-value assets. Applications for the Company's products include identification and monitoring of humans, pets, fish, poultry and livestock through its patented implantable microchips; location tracking and message monitoring of vehicles and aircraft in remote locations through systems that integrate GPS and geosynchronous satellite communications; and monitoring of asset conditions such as temperature and movement, through advanced miniature sensors. Digital Angel Corporation is majority-owned by Applied Digital Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :ADSX), which also owns a majority position in VeriChip Corporation (NASDAQ:CHIP). This press release includes forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements regarding sales expectations and performance of the products for the described purposes. This information is also qualified in its entirety by cautionary statements and risk factor disclosures contained in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006 and its quarterly reports. The Company can offer no assurances that any projections, assumptions or forecasts made or discussed in this release will be met, and investors should understand the risks of investing solely due to such projections. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this press release. |
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