Times Advocate, 1995-02-01, Page 51
Times -Advocate, February 1, 1995 pfjie 5
Beef grading: step ahead, or just
another level of bureaucracy?
One Exeter grocery store and abattoir operator says he can't see how the
new labelling program will bring any meaningful changes for customer
EXE'T`ER - Hailed by both the
Ontario Minisof Agriculture and
Food, and tiff Ontario Cattlemen's
Association as a step forward for
assuring the quality of beef sold to
consumers, one local grocer says
the province's new beef labelling
system is little more than a make-
work project.
The ministry announced new
standards for labelling
and advertising beef
products in Ontario last
month. From now on,
Ontario. beef will have
to match federal beet'
grade designations.
Stores will have to ad-
vertise top Canadian
beef cuts as being from
Canada A/AA/ or AAA grades.
"The new grade labelling in-
formation allows consumers to
make an informed choice about the
quality of beef they purchase," said
agriculture minister Elmer Bu-
chanan at' the January 10 press con-
ference announcing the new regu-
lations. "This will end the
guesswork for consumers who up
till now have had no way of know-
ing if they were purchasing a pre-
mium beef product or a less tender
meat from a more mature cow."
The Ontario Cattlemen's Associa-
tion also welcomed the announce-
ment, saying that consumers have
complained in the past that beef is
inconsistent in quality attributes
and the new designations were a
benefit to both consumers and
those who raise cattle.
Jim Darling at Darling's Food
Market in Exeter isn't quite so en-
thusiastic.
"The end
result to the
consumer is
no different."
"It's a joke," said
Darling. "Because
nothing has
chan4ed."
Darling said the
beef sold in local
stores will still be of
top quality; abattoirs
like Darling's own
will have to pay for a
beef grading service; and individual
cuts will still not be specifically la-
beled as to whether they are A, AA,
or AAA graded.
"The end result to the consumer
is no different," said Darling. "I'm
still buying the best cattle."
He also said the grading will not
drive off the market the lower
grades of beef that don't meet col-
our and marbling qualities of the A
grades, because he said there will .
always be a market for cut-rate
meats through some distributors.
Consumers, he said, aren't stupid,
and ,usually have a good idea of
what to look for in beef cuts. If
they don't like the product, they
won't shop there again. But, aside
from a tough steak, there is no.oth-
er risk because all meat, graded or
ungraded, domestic or imported
must ineet strict health inspection
standards before being sold.
Darling said the grading program
is "probably a make work project
so they can go check stores".
He also said he can't understand
why the Ontario Cattlemen's As-
sociation would be supporting the
program, since it will require Ca-
nadian and imported American beef
to be displayed and labeled separ-
ately in stores. Canadian beef will
get the A/AA and AAA designa-
tion, whereas American cuts will be
designated USDA Select.
Since Ontario's producers rely
heavily on live cattle sales to the
U.S., Darling said he fear's the seg-
regation of beef in stores could
cause a backlash against what is
usually a good product.
"If we get these American pack-
ers upset we won't be able to sell
our beef," said Darling. "We can't
eat all the beef we produce, not by
a long shot."
Should an abattoir decide to fore-
go the grading process, the beef
•
•
Jim Darling with one of the signs that grocery stores will have to use to keep Canadian graded
beef separate from American cuts.
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would have to be sold in the store
under the sign "ungraded", even
though it might be top quality.
Most stores, said Darling, will be
reluctant to go that route because
customers will likely shy away
from those cuts, confusing "un-
graded" with not being federally in-
spected. But again, all meat has to
be inspected.
"All it's doing is getting the cus-
tomers very confused," said Dar-
ling.
Darling's is fortunate enough to
have its own abattoir in town,
which gives rise to another quirk in
the beef grading process. All beef
carcasses are federally inspected
for health standards, and stamped.
The new grading process will
then add another set of stamps to
the carcasses - but in most cases,
those stamps are trimmed off the fi-
nal cuts in the store's butcher shop,
so the stamps are of use only for
the one -kilometre trek from abattoir
to store.
Darling said the only outcome
from the new grading system is the
higher costs involved in putting it
into effect, as his store is doing.
Those costs, naturally, will even-
tually be borne by the taxpayer and
the consumer, he said.
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CALGARY - According to a news release from the Canada Mort-
gage and Housing Corporation, more manufactured homes now
qualify for low downpayments on federally -insured mortgages
through the Chattel Loan Insurance Program.
David Dingwall, minister responsible for CMHC, said that "man-
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