to tell the wonderful story behind the producers of their food products. “We have always wanted to pro-
vide a platform where producers can speak directly to consumers about how much they do to provide them with a wonderfully wholesome, safe and great tasting product. Our Where Food Comes From labeling program allows for that direct in- teraction.”
Does IMI see a call for more hormone-free, Natural-type beef that will require third- party verifi cation? “Yes, the Non-Hormone Treated
Cattle (NHTC) program for Europe continues to grow,” Leann says. “We have successfully penetrated back into the European market and are seeing great success moving beyond the tourism trade and into retail in the EU. “The high-quality, consistent,
grain-fed product provided by the U.S. is in high demand and comes at a significant premium to any domestic product in the EU or our competitors from South America and Australia. At the spring USMEF board of directors meeting, John Brook, director of the EU market, commented that we needed more NHTC cattle to fi ll the demand he sees in the market. “Also, we continue to see more
Natural meat programs requiring TPV of the ‘Never Ever’ claims. Ad- ditionally, the No. 1 issue we see at the forefront of verifi cation is ani- mal welfare verifi cation. Whether it’s public or private brand stan- dards, we are seeing more verifi ca- tion in this area than ever before.”
How can small producers get involved in a program like IMI? “We work with small to large
tscra.org
sibility to stay abreast of the next verifi cation program our customers will demand.” Like it or not, more and more
food service providers and others are demanding beef and other foods that have been on a ration free of antibiotics, growth promotants and other additives. To expand its ser- vices to verify food is free of these additives, Where Food Comes From has signed an exclusive relationship with Colorado State University’s Center for Meat Safety & Quality (CMSQ) for the use of their newly acquired Randox Evidence Inves- tigator. This is a unique testing system
Leann and John Saunders and their children Kenneth, Hannah and Katie
producers and have programs that are cost effective for both. When you look at verifi cation, the truth is that when you verify practices the claim requires an on-site audit. The cost of getting on site to many ranches in the U.S. is where the burden of the cost lies. So the larger the operation and the more cattle you can cover with the cost of the verifi cation, the more opportunity for margin. “However, we work with many
producer groups and smaller pro- ducers in our verifi cation programs. We pride ourselves in diversifi ca- tion, achieving accreditation to the next program that the supply system might need to meet a market de- mand. We then offer these programs as ‘bundled’ programs to reduce both audit fatigue and cost to our customers. We feel it’s our respon-
that allows rapid screening for the presence of a wide array of residues in mediums such as food products, feedstuffs and urine. Where Food Comes From is the only organiza- tion with such an arrangement, which affords the company a com- petitive advantage in this emerg- ing space. “The need to rapidly and cost-
effectively screen feeds, livestock, produce, meats and other raw ma- terials and ingredients to assure compliance with specifi c program requirements has been evolving over the last few years,” says John Saunders, Where Food Comes From chairman and CEO. “For many of our domestic con-
sumers and international export partners, process verifi cation pro- vides the right kind of production platform to meet specifi c program requirements, but they also want to see test results indicating products do not contain specifi c elements.” For more on TVP and other ser-
vices that can help your ranch or feeding operation satisfy demands for verifi cation that can produce pre- miums for your cattle production, go to
wherefoodcomesfrom.com.
September 2013 The Cattleman 101
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