12/17/08 Revitalizing the Beef Quality Assurance program

Washington Ag December 17, 2008 The Beef Quality Assurance Program is an industry driven program that is designed to help producers provide consumers with a product that meets their expectations every time, from the standpoint of animal welfare, food safety and eating quality. Scientist Jan Busboom of Washington State University says a Western Regional Project created a Beef Quality Assurance website that is housed at WSU. Busboom: "Which provides educational training in Beef Quality Assurance principles and it allows people to be certified in a Beef Quality Assurance program." Currently there is not a lot of marketing advantage to being certified but Busboom says they believe there will be. Busboom: "For example, in the pork industry in order to sell a product they pretty much need to be Pork Quality Assurance certified. And there is a lot of movement in that direction in the beef industry as well." Busboom says that for the first time the Washington State Dairy Federation is helping develop the Beef Quality Assurance program and making it more applicable to dairy producers, who are beef producers too. I'm Bob Hoff.