Grass fed beef in Australia receives verification

The Cattle Council of Australia recently detailed a new strategy for the grass fed beef industry in Australia, including a number of different imperatives; one of which being the correct standardisation.

The industry will soon be able to identify the production details of each product with the new Pasturefed Cattle Assurance initiative, which is due to launch soon.

The strategy has been in the works for more than five years and the deadline for all criteria to be met is June 2014. The aim is to maintain a healthy future for the grass fed beef industry, make sure each product has an identifiable source and to clear up any uncertainties.

One of the upcoming initiatives is the cattle verification program, which is designed to show where each product has come from. It has taken time to put into place because the vagueness of words identifying cattle, such as ‘natural’, has caused in-depth discussion on the verification of such products. It has been realised that beef needs a more specific identification programme.

Unlike many verification systems, this plan will be put into action on farms instead of being a consumer oriented assurance. The label should ensure that cattle owners have done all that is required to make the claim of producing pasturefed or grass fed beef. This assurance system is purely to allow those dealing with the farms to be able to verify that what they are selling is pure and that all descriptions are truthful.