News Beef
Grass-fed Irish beef marked with its own label
The Irish government agency Bord Bia (the Irish Food Board) is launching a new national quality label for Irish beef called 'Grass Fed Standard' this fall. The label must provide consumers with transparency about the origin of the meat.
The name of the label says it all, 'Grass Fed Standard'. The meat sold under this label comes from Irish cattle that have been on the field for at least 220 days and whose rations consisted of at least 90% grass. The label was created to ensure that the meat comes from grass-fed Irish cattle.
Ireland and grass fed
According to Bord Bia, Irish beef stands for first-class grass-fed beef, which for many people equates to 'naturally tasty' and 'nutritious' meat. According to Bord Bia's Meat, Food and Beverage Director Padraig Brennan, Ireland is associated with grass-fed meat by nearly half of consumers worldwide. "The label with accompanying logo ensures that everyone who works with grass-fed Irish beef can distinguish itself from the consumer," says Brennan.
The scientific underpinning comes from Bord Bia's own quality assurance system SBLAS (Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme), which includes over 50.000 Irish cattle farmers. With this system, the agency claims to collect a lot of data during regular, independent company audits. This information, according to Bord Bia, is sufficient to provide evidence that the beef sold under the Grass Fed Standard label comes exclusively from grass-fed Irish cattle.
Jorine Cosse
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