USDA Develops Certification for EU Beef Exports

September 1, 1999

USDA has developed a third party certification system designed to make sure beef exported to the European Union is produced from cattle that never received hormonal growth promotants. The Food Safety and Inspection Service is working with industry to improve controls from birth to processing and packaging

FSIS suspended the certification of the non-hormone treated cattle program July 16 because of concerns with controls in the program. One initiative of subsequent efforts between FSIS and industry is the development of a third party certification system.

The agency has developed guidelines to be used by all phases of the industry to develop written programs to document that meat marketed as "hormone free" is from animals that have not received hormone treatment. Each phase of production must receifve third-party verification. Certification services will be offered by USDA to industry on a fee basis. FSIS also has delegated authority to the Agricultural Marketing Service to accredit other third parties interested in providing certification of the systems.

Once the third party has completed the audit and verified every step in the production chain, FSIS will resume export certification of non-hormone treated beef to the EU on a case by case basis.

Details on the program will be provided Sept. 9 at a 10 a.m. meeting in the conference room of the FSIS Technical Service Center, Landmark Center, 1299 Farnam Street, Omaha, NE.