Quality Assurance
The goal of the Ontario Corn Fed Beef program is to produce a naturally great tasting product that is consistently tender and juicy.
Ontario’s choice for naturally great tasting, tender beef… time after time:
- Rich beef flavour
- Consistent tenderness and juiciness
- The assurance of wholesome feeding, strict farming practices and livestock management
The Ontario Corn Fed Beef Quality Assurance Program is an integrated food safety and quality assurance program.
Farmers participating in the program are responsible for implementing and following a number of operating procedures in order to be certified. To meet the high standards for the product, all suppliers of Ontario Corn Fed Beef must adhere to an independently-audited feeding and management program at farm level.
The Ontario Corn Fed beef Quality Assurance Program requires the most modern methods and techniques for on-farm food safety, emphasizing health, cleanliness, environmental stewardship and record keeping.
Food safety and quality assurance is the responsibility of all partners in the beef supply chain. Consumers, government, food processors, farm suppliers and producers all have a stake and a role to play.
The program enables producers to demonstrate that they are doing their part to:
- Market a consistent, high quality product
- Enhance on-farm food safety and quality assurance
- Promote environmental stewardship
The Ontario Corn Fed Beef Quality Assurance program is designed to produce a consistent quality beef animal that has been raised by a specific set of guidelines in order to provide a premium product to the marketplace.
Prior to participating in this Quality Assurance Program, each participant must have completed the Livestock Medicines Course (http://www.ontariolivestockmed.com/), the Quality Starts Here Verified Beef Production Program (www.qualitystartshere.on.ca ) as well as the Environmental Farm Plan Program (http://www.ontariosoilcrop.org/EFP.htm)
A producer becomes certified by adhering to the following procedures:
Certification Procedures
An Ontario Corn Fed Beef Producer becomes certified by:
- Completing the Ontario Corn Fed Beef Quality Assurance Course
- Completing the Quality Starts Here Verified Beef Production Program
- Completing the Livestock Medicines Course
- Completing an Environmental Farm Plan
- Completing the Grower Pesticide Course
- Tag animals with Ontario Corn Fed Beef tag
- Adhere to feed regimen as outlined in the guidelines (80% corn based ration)
- Keep records of all feeds sources, medicated rations and prescription records
- Keep records of medicines used in the prevention and treatment of diseases
- Keep medicine inventory and meet medicine storage requirements of program
- Use Vitamin E in feed 100 days prior to shipping
- Keep one feed tag/labels of each ration ingredient
- Provide feed samples upon request
- All animal health products must have a Drug Identification Number (D.I.N.)
- Allow a third party auditor to visit the farm for initial certification and subsequent on-farm audits with three days notice.
- Have feed supplier sign "Prohibited Feed Affidavit"
- Keep files of prescriptions for off label use, medicated feed and water medications
