News Update

News Update
Nov. 3, 2006

Columbia, Peru Open Border to U.S. beef

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab applauded today the recent actions by Colombia and Peru to lift their bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)-related bans on U.S. beef and beef product imports.

“We are very pleased to see the Peruvian and Colombian markets reopened to U.S. beef and beef products,” Johanns said. “We look to other trading partners to similarly make trade decisions in accordance with science-based international standards,” Ambassador Schwab said.

In 2003, the United States exported a combined total of more than $4 million worth of beef and beef products to Colombia and Peru. The reopening of these two markets restores two-thirds of the market access for U.S. beef and beef products in South America, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Natural and organic beef similar, but not the same

While natural and organic beef products are not likely to ever dominate the U.S. market, demand for organic products has been growing at the rate of about 20% annually since the early 1990s, according to a release from Kansas State University (K-State). The market is estimated to be more than $25 billion in annual sales, with large specialists such as Whole Foods and Wal-Mart supercenters competing for customers. Certified Angus Beef LLC is now offering natural products, and given the growth in this area, there may be opportunities for producers to participate and benefit. The first step in exploring that option is to understand the differences between natural, organic and other marketing claims of these specialized products.

Organic
Organic beef meets the standards put in place by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). These standards apply to product grown in the U.S. or imported from other countries. To be labeled as “organic,” the entire production system, from farm to processor, must be inspected by a government-approved certifier to make sure all rules are followed. This certification process allows producers to use a “certified organic” seal. Products can be labeled as “100% organic,” “organic” (not less than 95% organic material), or “made with organic” (at least 70% organic ingredients). Details of the requirements can be found at www.ams.usda.gov/nop.

Organic meat, eggs and dairy products come from animals that have not received antibiotics or growth-promoting hormones. Conventional pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified products or ionizing radiation cannot be used in production. Livestock must receive organically produced feed, and the land used to produce the feed cannot have had prohibited substances for at least three years before the harvest of the organic crop. Vaccination and other preventative management practices are used to keep animals healthy. A sick or injured animal must be treated; however, if treated with a prohibited medication it cannot be sold as organic.

Operations selling less than $5,000 per year are not required to be certified by USDA. These producers and handlers must abide by the national standards and may label their products as organic even though they are exempt from the certification. These products would have an “organic” but not “certified organic” label.

Natural
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) regulates the term “natural” on meat and poultry products. There are three requirements for use of the term “natural” on food labels: 1) the product must be minimally processed, 2) the product cannot contain any artificial ingredients or colors, and 3) the product cannot contain any preservatives. There are not requirements on the management practices during the life of the animal. While organic claims are certified by the USDA, natural programs are administered and regulated by the company or organization that owns the brand name. Each natural program may have slightly different requirements. For example, some programs do not use implants or ionophores such as Rumensin,® while others restrict their use during the last 100 to 120 days prior to harvest.

Other labeling terms regulated by FSIS
No hormones (pork or poultry): Hormones are not allowed in raising hogs or poultry. Therefore, the claim “no hormones added” cannot be used on the labels of pork or poultry unless it is followed by a statement that says, “Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones.”

No hormones (beef): The term “no hormones administered” may be approved for use on the label of beef products if sufficient documentation is provided to the agency by the producer showing no hormones have been used in raising the animals.

No antibiotics (red meat and poultry): The term “no antibiotics added” may be used on labels for meat or poultry products if sufficient documentation is provided by the producer to the agency demonstrating that the animals were raised without antibiotics.

Non-hormone treated cattle
The Non-Hormone Treated Cattle (NHTC; www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/arc/nhtc.htm) program has been in effect since 1989, when the European Union (EU) and the U.S. agreed to control measures to facilitate the trade of non-hormone treated beef. Cattle for this program must be produced under an approved USDA Quality System Assessment (QSA) Program. The QSA program ensures that the specified product requirements are supported by a documented quality management system. Any farm, ranch, feedlot, or other entity interested in producing animals for harvest and subsequent shipment to the EU must have their control system approved in advance. The documented system will be audited by USDA to assure conformance with these conditions. This is the same process used to provide age- and source-verification to export markets.

Grass-fed
The proposed standard for a grass (forage) fed marketing claim will be part of the voluntary USDA grade standards used in conjunction with the USDA Process Verified Program (PVP). The wording of that claim is under reconsideration and USDA was taking comments on the claim proposal up until Aug. 10. Initially the grass-fed claim indicated that grass, green or range pasture, or forage shall be 80% or more of the primary energy source throughout the animal’s life cycle. The new claim proposal under review stated: Grass (forage) fed — grass (annual and perennial), forbs (legumes, brassicas), browse, forage, or stockpiled forages, and post-harvest crop residue without separated grain shall be at least 99% of the energy source for the lifetime of the ruminant specie, with the exception of milk consumed prior to weaning. Routine mineral and vitamin supplementation may also be included in the feeding regimen. Grass (forage) fed claims will be verified by a feeding protocol that confirms a grass or forage-based diet that is 99% or higher.

Summary
While many may think that natural and organic mean basically the same thing, they are defined and regulated differently. Use of the terms organic, non-hormone treated and grass-fed all use some type of audit-based system for which all participants must have documentation and programs in place to ensure the integrity of the claim. The use of the term natural has much simpler requirements and the owner of the brand is responsible for regulating compliance. A more detailed comparison of “natural” and “organic” can be found at www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publications/PDF/FSA-3103.pdf.

Until the standardizations were put in place by USDA in 2002 for organic food, the use of the term “organic” was not nearly as clearly delineated as it is now. As efforts grow to provide products for other specialized markets, expect the terminology and requirements to evolve with them.

— by Sandy Johnson, livestock specialist, K-State Research and Extension