USDA Beef Packaging Info

[Mike]

Wife bought a package of Ribeyes at Sam's Club, written on the package was all of the following info:

Members Mark
Angus Flavor & Tenderness Guarantee (What?)
Prime Reserve (Is it Prime or is it Choice?)
Naturally Grain Fed (Did it eat the grain naturally, or was the grain Naturally raised?)
USDA Choice (Is it Choice or is it Prime?)

On the pricing sticker:
USDA Select Beef (Prime, Choice, or Select? It can't be all three? see above)
Born in the U.S.
Fed in the U.S.
Harvested in the U.S.

How in the hell are we supposed make a decision on beef buying with this conflicting info? :shock:

 

[mrj]

#1. Call that store and speak to head of meat dept. and ask for all terms to be explained starting with which sticker is from USDA, if any.

Then: my guess is the price sticker is USDA and 'should' have correct info. The first sticker sounds like SAMS club info.

Most important, imo, is how does it cook? Is it tender according to the cut (as in: high quality/price steaks should be tender), was the flavor good?

Another guess is that at least one of the terms on the sams' label may be their 'brand name' for beef they sell, which makes a point for me that with over 40 'brands' of beef in our stores, with varying amounts of information available for each, WHY do we need a false COOL law, which large samples of consumers want on a label: ranch of origin, and which the proponents of COOL prevented from being on the label?

mrj

 

[Mike]

I am eating one right now and I'll get back later. Not nice to type with a mouthful.

 

[Mike]

It was just OK. Nothing to write home about. But wasn't as mushy as some Angus I've had.

How do you know the COOL label on these steaks were false?

 

[mrj]

I the COOL label is false because it does not provide the information most consumers say they want: FARM or RANCH of origin.

That information is available from the dozens of branded meats, and simply naming nation of origin does so little to tell how an animal was raised/cared for, or fed. It might be raised better in the USA, but no guarantees, are there? A pretty fair guess is that beef from Australia, or more arid areas of the USA for instance, where animals are necessarily spread out by sparser growth of the grasses, are probably exposed to fewer natural seriously bad germs than beef raised by careless farmers in the places in the USA where we can pasture animals per acre instead of the 20 to 70 or more acres per cow required in more arid places.

I, as a consumer buying food for my family, do not like to be fooled. I believe current requirements, or lack thereof, of the COOL law attempt to fool consumers into believing all beef raised in the USA is superior and safer than beef raised in other nations, including some that likely have at least equal, or maybe even superior rules to the USA.

I, as a beef producer, would prefer to have a robust international trade, with proper protections against animal health problems, equally safe production and processing practices and better vigilance against fraud than the current disruptive COOL law with the questionable value for costs. My family, and most others in the USA simply are not going to eat some of the perfectly fine parts of a 'cow' which people in other countries and cultures love to eat and are willing to pay better than salvage prices for, which is definitely a factor in our high cattle prices in the various low margin businesses comprising the modern beef industry.

mrj