When you buy beef for your restaurant, whether it’s ground beef for burgers at a fast food operation or the best AAA tenderloin for fine dining, there are many decisions to be made - you need to take into consideration everything from the type of cut to the grade specification to the price. And when it comes to quality, you also need to take into consideration the place it was grown and the people who get the beef to your operation. To help you make informed buying decisions, here is some background information on the Canadian beef industry.

The Producer
Cattle in Canada are grown on vast rangelands with fresh air and clean water. In fact, Canadian cattle spend the majority of growth time out on rangelands in the open air. Our Canadian producers are responsible stewards of the environment ensuring that the cattle they raise are healthy and well tended, not only because this is how they earn a living, but because it is the right thing to do.

The average beef cow herd in Canada is 53 head, with the majority of cattle coming from small family-run operations. Many of these operations have been in existence for several generations, and ranching has been a way of life for these families for many years. Their experience and dedication means a great product for consumers.

Cattle producers also work together. Most producers in Canada belong to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, a national non-profit group that works to ensure a healthy industry providing consumers with the safe, quality product they can trust.

The Cattle
Genetics are a key factor in producing excellent product. Internationally recognized cattle genetics developed in Canada over many years mean some of the finest quality beef in the world is grown here.

Canadian cattle are "finished" (fed for prescribed time period) on high-quality grain in strictly monitored feedlots before processing. This grain feeding contributes to the rich flavour and marbling that restaurant guests have come to expect from high-quality Canadian beef.

Quality and Safety
Food safety is an important issue for consumers, and Canadian beef is among the safest in the world. There are many policies and procedures in place to monitor the safety of the industry. Plus, strict federal guidelines are in place to ensure that the Canadian cattle industry is not exposed to diseases such as BSE or foot and mouth disease from external sources.

The Canadian cattle industry established a quality assurance and food safety program in 1996 called "Quality Starts Here." The guiding principals of the program are:

• Cattlemen must provide humane and healthful treatment for animals
• Product safety and quality are a shared responsibility from pasture to plate
• Improved management practices in each link of the production chain will lead to the highest standards of eating quality and food safety.

A State of the Art Industry
All cattle sent for processing are uniquely identified with an ear tag - in the event of any food safety issues, beef products can be traced back to the source. Trained inspectors examine every animal before and after processing.

Beef is graded by the Canadian Beef Grading Agency, a third party certified program to ensure that beef is sorted into the correct grades (which closely match the U.S. grading system).

The Canadian beef industry is one of the most modern in the world, with technologies such as steam pasteurization for food safety and computer vision systems for accurate quality sorting. These advances make the Canadian beef industry one of the most innovative in the world.

The Canadian product you buy for your customer is safe, wholesome and provides the excellent quality eating experience that customers expect from Canadian beef.