US steps up testing for beef brands with Australian fallout

Beef claiming to be antibiotic-free is being rigorously tested in the US, and there could be a big fallout for Australian brands.

The United States is upping the ante over meat branding claims such as antibiotic-free – and Australian beef exporters are watching closely.

As the US Department of Agriculture prepares to test beef products sold with “raised without antibiotic” claims, a major US retailer will have its antibiotic-free branding tested in court.

The outcomes of both situations could have major implications for Aussie producers selling into the US. The Weekly Times first reported last month that the US Department of Agriculture was preparing to test the veracity of products marketed with claims such as antibiotic-free and carbon-neutral.

The US Department of Agriculture is preparing to extensively test beef claiming to be antibiotic-free. Picture: Zoe Phillips

The USDA has since asked all processors to nominate whether they were selling beef with “raised without antibiotic” branding so they could conduct sampling on those products.

“The purpose of this questionnaire is to collect information on establishments that slaughter cattle and are producing products that bear certain RWA claims on the labels,” the Food Safety and Inspection Service said.

“FSIS will use results of this questionnaire to direct future sampling related to these claims.”

The closing date for the declarations over antibiotic-free status was on Tuesday, and the FSIS is assessing the feedback.

Testing is initially on meat processed in the US.

The Weekly Times cartoonist Chris Rule’s take.

The questionnaire comes as a US court case challenging the antibiotic-free status of beef sold through retailer Whole Foods was given the green light.

A consumer is challenging the Whole Foods’ claims, and calls on the findings from Farm Forward, an advocacy group lobbying to stop factory farming but in its mission said it “promotes agriculture that combines the best in traditional husbandry and animal welfare science”.

Farm Forward executive director Andrew deCoriolis told The Weekly Times there were implications for Australia.

“Whole Foods almost certainly imports beef from Australia and New Zealand, and that beef is subject to their standards‚ which includes ‘no antibiotics, ever’,” Mr deCoriolis said.

He said Whole Foods did not make information about its suppliers public, so it was not possible to say which brands might be sourced from Australia.

”But the Whole Foods certification program, Animal Welfare Certified, certifies ranchers outside of the US and that was specifically so they could work with cattle producers in Australia,” Mr deCoriolis said.

“In general, my understanding is that beef imported to the US is subject to the same USDA labelling requirements as domestically produced beef, so any changes (to) labels like ‘raised without antibiotics’ would apply to Australian ranchers.”

Mr deCoriolis said the lawsuit challenging the antibiotic-free claims of beef sold in Whole Foods would now move into the discovery phase.

“Farm Forward has already turned over hundreds of pages of documents and we’re waiting for Whole Foods to do the same,” he said.