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Quality
U.S. meat producers are committed to providing the highest quality products to their domestic and international customers. A component of this quality, of course, is constant attention to food safety. More information about this topic can be found in the Food Safety Section of this USMEF Web site.
The topics below address the other ways quality is addressed farm to fork. By focusing on issues that influence the quality of U.S. meat, livestock producers, meat harvesters and processors and the U.S. government maximize quality, then communicate that quality to consumers and customers.
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Quality Assurance / Livestock Production
It’s been estimated that half of the quality of U.S. meat is determined before the animal reaches the harvesting facility. To meet expectations for top quality meat, U.S. livestock producers have implemented science-based quality assurance programs that allow for, and provide a high level of confidence in, the best possible harvest animals. Other issues that these quality assurance programs address include animal welfare, the environment, biotechnology and genetics.
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Quality Control: Plants and Processing
When meat animals reach the plant they and the meat they generate must be handled properly to assure the quality consumers have come to expect. The government does its part in this topic through their Meat Inspection program, which addresses food safety issues. Another food safety program utilized is Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP), which is an extensive effort that goes far beyond pathogen control. Issues such as eliminating Foreign Materials from the meat supply and the use of newer strategies such as Cold Case Management also enter into the picture.
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Meat Grading
Most U.S. meat companies recognize the value of utilizing voluntary U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grading services to help communicate quality to their customers. Quality grading is available on beef, lamb, veal, yearling mutton and mutton, while yield grading, which determines the useable meat in an animal carcass, is provided for beef, pork and lamb. Consistent standards for quality are used to establish the USDA meat grades, which are applied by experienced USDA graders.
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Foreign Materials
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) ensures that U.S. meat and poultry products offered to the international and domestic consumer are safe, wholesome, unadulterated and truthfully labeled. In fulfilling this responsibility, the agency's laboratories perform sanitation analyses of meat and poultry products including investigations for extraneous or foreign materials. Follow the adjacent resource links for more information about how FSIS ensures U.S. red meat is free of foreign material. |
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Cold Chain Management
“Cold chain management” is defined as steps in the process necessary to produce a perishable product, such as meat. The primary goals of managing the cold chain are:
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Copyright 1996-2008 U.S. Meat Export Federation
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