What Is Beef Quality Assurance?

What is Beef Quality Assurance?

Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) is a program to ensure that beef and dairy cattle are maintained in a manner, which will result in a safe and wholesome beef product for the consumer, Specifically, BQA is designed to enhance carcass quality by preventing residues, pathogen contamination and carcass defects such as injection site blemishes and bruises. The BQA program is based on recommended national guidelines and scientific research. The goal of the BQA program is to maximize consumer confidence in beef and to increase the competitive base for marketing cattle- This will enable beef producers to enhance their product and maximize marketability.

 

Is a Beef Quality Assurance  Program Necessary?

Concern over food wholesomeness and safety is an important consumer issue. It is imperative that the consumer is confident in the safety and wholesomeness of the US beef supply. BQA is a good business practice that can identify potential problem areas and thus avoid potential product defects, both physical and microbiological. Seed stock producers, cow-calf and dairy producers, stocker operators and feeders each must take responsibility for the production of a safe and wholesome food product through proper animal care, handling, and management practices. Each must assume the responsibility for the role they play in delivering a quality beef product to their respective markets.

Definition of Quality

Beef quality is defined as a product which consistently exceeds customer expectations. Expectations may include flavor, tenderness, juiciness, color, leanness, safety, packaging, ease of preparation, price and anything else important to the consumer.

Dr. W. Edward Deming (a quality management expert credited with orienting Japanese products toward quality) conceptualized the ideas of total quality management and defined quality in two ways.

1. A product that conforms to a set of standards.

2. A product that meets consumer wants and needs.

Quality assurance is a system that works to prevent product defects from happening rather than a system which detects final product defects by:

• Identifying the set of standards required in a product that will meet or exceed customer expectations.
• Evaluating the entire production scheme of a product from start to finish.
• Developing a production system that prevents the production of a product that does not conform to prescribed standards.

This website is dedicated to helping cattle producers identify good production practices and cattle genetic selection criteria that will prevent the production of beef products that do not conform to industry targets, and in turn, will enhance consumer satisfaction, improve beef’s competitiveness and increase producer profitability.

Current consumer demands suggest the following fed cattle target:

Target:

1.       650-850 pound hot carcass weight.

2.       Slaughter age of 16 months or younger.

3.       Fat thickness of .20” to .45” at the 12^th rib.

4.       Rib eye size of 11” to 16” square inches.

5.       USDA Yield Grade of 2.99 or better.

6.       USDA Quality Grade of Low Choice or better.

7.       Feedlot ADG of 3.5 or more.

8.       Cherry red lean, white fat and zero bruise trim.