Trained and certified Pennsylvania Beef Quality Assurance producers have an improved marketing tool. Qualifying producers and processors can use a Beef Quality Assurance label on their product, thanks to the efforts of the Pennsylvania Beef Council and the approval from United States Department of Agriculture. This is the first BQA label approved in the country.
Certified producers can gain access to the labels after their processor takes the necessary steps to apply the label to their beef packages. In this month’s Quality Care Matters, we learn about the certification process and how producers and processors think the label will help tell the beef story to the public.
The approval process began with submission of the label application, with BQA program specifications, to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Labeling and Consumer Protection staff in Washington.
USDA requires the BQA program to list all BQA certified marketing claims on point-of-sale (POS) and educational materials. The label’s small dimension allows exemption from the detailed list, but it must include a website, pabeef.org, for the public to locate the claims. The certification only refers to the BQA program itself, not the carcass.
Pennsylvania Beef Council director of industry education Nichole Hockenberry led the effort to gain USDA approval. “It was a lengthy yet rewarding process, and I am extremely excited that Pennsylvania is the first state in the country to have a BQA program certified by USDA,” Hockenberry said. “I think the approved label opens more doors and conversations with our consumers about why BQA is important when raising quality beef.
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Source: Pelton Livestock Marketing & Consulting
