As more and more countries adopt regulations requiring that U.S. red meat exports include labels printed in the language of the country of destination, USMEF – with funding from the Beef Checkoff Program and the USDA Market Access Program (MAP) – has completed an International Nomenclature Guide of Beef Cuts that provides equivalent names for the most common U.S. beef cuts for 33 different countries and regions, as well as comparable names for lesser-known value cuts in selected Latin American markets.

“Globalization of the meat industry and the multiplicity of terms used in international meat trade has complicated our industry,” said Dr. Nelson Huerta Leidenz, director of technical services for USMEF-Latin America, who spearheaded the project with USMEF staff and industry support from the U.S., China, the EU, Japan, Mexico, the Middle East, Panama, Russia, South America, South Korea and Taiwan. “Our goal is to give exporters a ready reference for those cuts that are most commonly traded so that bilingual labeling will not be an issue.”

English and Spanish versions of the guide are online. Questions about the Nomenclature Guide can be directed to Dr. Huerta at nhuerta@usmef.org.mx.