US Government approval of the unique, high quality of Irish beef is great news for Clare beef farmers, according to local Fine Gael TD Joe Carey
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the proposal to advertise the unique qualities of Irish beef in the United States. This decision will accelerate its activities with beef buyers and retailers and bring its message closer to the US consumer.
Deputy Carey said: “The Quality Assurance and animal movement systems we have in Ireland are among the finest in the world. This enables to collect a vast amount of information in our farm audits. This is key to backing up our claims and demonstrating the quality of our product.
“The claims we make to US customers are independently verifiable at farm and animal level and the Irish beef exporters who wish to use these marketing claims must comply with the requirements of the USDA Process Verified Program and be independently audited.
“Irish beef processors will now have the opportunity to market their produce as ‘Irish Grass Fed Beef’ subject to adherence to the verification process. Such a marketing tool will allow our beef exporters pursue the Premium US beef market and will boost Irish beef exports to the US which will be crucial in terms of Brexit mitigation,” he explained.
“Our primary focus in the agri-food and fisheries sectors is to maintain ambition for sustainable growth and creating a supportive environment for primary producers and industry to deliver on those ambitions. Foodwise 2025 aims to increase the value of exports in the agri-food sector to €19 billion by 2025.
