By Audrey Jackson
Quality Assurance & Food Safety Magazine’s Jacqueline Mitchell reported that, “ten meat and poultry companies have recently adopted the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) voluntary Product of USA label, identifying meat, poultry and egg products from animals that are born, raised, harvested and processed in the United States. USDA launched a nationwide awareness campaign about the label earlier this year.”
“‘Origin should never be a mystery,’ said Juan Ramos, founder and CEO, Fort Worth Meats,” Mitchell reported. “‘Consumers deserve labels they can trust, U.S. producers deserve recognition for what they produce, and every meat product should be represented honestly for what it is. Working from pasture to package gives us a unique appreciation for the responsibility behind every label. Honest representation honors the work of producers and gives consumers the confidence to know exactly what they’re buying.’”
Progressive Farmer’s Jennifer Carrico reported that, “Upper Iowa Beef General Manager Ed Greiman told DTN it took a little time to get approval from USDA to make a change in their current label. The regional beef plant, located in Lime Springs, Iowa, is one of the group of companies adopting the source label. This will help consumers identify products that are born, raised, harvested and processed in the United States.”
“‘It wasn’t a hard process; we waited about a month for approval, and now it’s on our boxes,’ Greiman said,” Carrico reported. “’We also have each producer bringing cattle to us sign an affidavit about the source of the cattle. It’s not required by USDA, but we like to have the proof.’”
Source : illinois.edu