Since its founding in 1978, the Certified Angus Beef brand in Wooster, OH, has helped restaurants and grocery stores identify and market premium fresh beef to consumers. The not-for-profit program representing American Angus Association cattle ranchers does not own cattle or beef, yet it aligns with food businesses at every level—packers, processors, distributors and retailers—to package and market beef meeting strict quality standards.
As the brand’s fresh meat sales grew into the 1980s, customer demand emerged for value-added items like deli meats and frankfurters. The staff’s need for greater understanding of processed meats became top priority.
“Third-party quality audits and HACCP [Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points] were useful tools from the start,” says Brett Erickson, director of value-added products. “They gave us information about processors as well, but growing need for consumer transparency in the industry requires new insight on food safety.”
The staff’s search led to the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) in 2012. While relatively new in the United States then, the third-party certification was gaining recognition as one of the most stringent food safety certifications in the world. It complemented the Certified Angus Beef brand’s fine quality and offered a universal code for sharing product and food safety information with multiple processors of all product types and plant sizes.
By June 2012, the beef brand began requiring GFSI certification for new processors and then started working with existing processors to make the transition, allowing them to choose the accrediting program. Staff found many processors already considering GFSI certification, most through its U.S.-based Safe Quality Food (SQF) program. Within SQF’s three tiers, the beef brand requires Level 2 certification for food safety or Level 3 with added quality management measures. Some processors who have worked through the food safety requirements are eyeing Level 3.
“We are fortunate to be associated with dedicated manufacturer-processors who embraced this opportunity to minimize risks by sharpening the food safety culture within their facilities,” Erickson says. “Once we explained how it can be benchmarked to all food safety certifications required by their customers, they wanted to know more.”
One of those processors is Hudson Meat Company in Columbus, OH, where brothers Dan and Jeff Emmenegger use sous vide to cook deli meats, pot roast, prime rib and short ribs. Along with the consistency gained through this slow-cooking method, most products are custom-processed using customer-supplied fresh meats, offering a unique niche in the market. Many items have been Certified Angus Beef product since 1989, when Hudson became one of the brand’s first value-added processors.
“GFSI certification was important to us because it was important to the Certified Angus Beef brand,” says Dan Emmenegger, Hudson’s president. “Our customers were not requiring it yet, but we wanted to be a step ahead of the game and open doors to new business.”
The family-owned processor was already maintaining HACCP approval, so Dan Emmenegger was hesitant about adding costs for staff time, hiring a consultant or buying new equipment. He now says the expense has been worthwhile, with a primary focus on rewording Standard Operating Procedures to match the SQF code.