Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

McDonald's wants full cattle traceability - FCC's AgriSuccess Newsletter story:

 

http://www.fcc-fac.ca/newsletters/en/express/articles/20100122_e.as...

One of the biggest restaurant chains in the world is supporting the Canadian government and its effort to implement mandatory livestock traceability by 2011.

 

"McDonald's believes that a robust, national traceability system is critical to ensuring consumer confidence and building brand trust in the beef industry," says Jeff Kroll, senior vice-president of McDonald's Restaurants of Canada during a recent presentation to the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association.

 

"While it's an additional cost, we believe that it's simply the right thing to do. Traceability is the right thing for all of us to do for our businesses and our customers, both domestically and abroad," Kroll says.

 

Growing consumer awareness about food production and demand for greater food safety has caused McDonald's to emphasize traceability for all menu items. In 2009, the company purchased 64 million pounds of Canadian beef, 44 million pounds of chicken and 62 million eggs. In Canada, 2.8 million people eat at McDonald's daily -- almost 10 per cent of the population.

 

Kroll notes that since the 2003 BSE case, McDonald's has purchased 100 per cent Canadian beef for its Canadian restaurants. They have also been part of a program to trace their beef, if concerns arose.

"For us to be able to call our supplier, which is Cargill, and say, 'that animal came from a specific farm, are you buying from that farm? Was that animal in our meat? What lot was it in?' We need to be able to answer those questions to be able to assure safety and quality to our customers," Kroll explains.

 

While he was firm in the need for a traceability system, Kroll also told producers McDonald's is willing to pay for that increased traceability.

 

"We pay a premium today for the firewalls we have on beef. That's just a fact and is something we build into our price to our owners who operate our restaurants across the country and is something ultimately the consumer is paying for today."

 

Quality, food safety, animal welfare are all things McDonald's has a history of paying more for, according to Kroll, and will continue to pay for.

 

"Ultimately it does get passed onto the consumer, although it is one element of 500 that go into the price of a product before it goes to one of our restaurants," Kroll says. "Do I think consumers will pay more for a premium product? Marketed correctly -- absolutely."

Views: 188

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Let's look on the bright side if the big companys want traceability and we provide it ahead of other country's, we have the first step to providing our canadian consumers with a true canadian product. If we can prove something other countries can't I believe we have an edge. We always focus on the negative's of traceability, maybe it is time to accept it and look at the positives.
nothing wrong with traceability if someone is willing to pay for the increased costs.... and if something goes wrong up or down the chain..... the whole chain will be yanked in.

there is an interesting article posted titled "Think that beef is Canadian? Think again…"

“We have increased the amount of meat we are sourcing from Canadian producers and always aim to source as much product as possible domestically. However there are no existing suppliers of antibiotic and hormone free beef in Canada that can meet our PC requirements and supply adequate supply of beef,” said Julija Hunter, vice president of public relations for Loblaw.'

http://thebadger.ca/2010/02/09/think-that-beef-is-canadian-think-ag...

Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

BASF announces 2024 Growing Home winners on the Prairies

The Growing Home with BASF initiative was launched in Western Canada in 2023 as a way to give back to the communities where BASF customers live, work and play.  BASF will distribute $100,000 between four organizations in four provinces to support local initiatives in rural Canadian communities This year’s program received 624 nominations from growers, which were narrowed down to 12 finalists, three each in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. The $25,000 contribution from BASF to each of the winning organizations will help fund initiatives that promote the health and sustainability of rural communities. Vice President, Business Management at BASF, Leta LaRush says they were incredibly inspired by each organization nominated and the positive impact they have on their communities. "We’re thankful to work with growers and retail partners who are so passionate about their communities, and we are excited to give back to each of the finalists for Growing Home with BASF this year

The Best Offense Is Defense: 15 Plays To Keep Your Beef Herd Safe

As humankind evolved from a nomadic hunter-gatherer society into agricultural-based settlement populations, there is a reason domesticated bovine played a major role as a farmed species. Cattle are hardy and resilient, defending themselves against many potentially harmful viruses, bacteria and parasitic burdens. That said, as their caregivers, there are scenarios where beef cattle producers can help ease that burden by implementing some simple barriers against disease to keep their herds productive and healthy.   1. Grazing leases and shared pastures Producers can play a proactive role in community grazing situations by ensuring animals with a poor body condition score, or showing signs of possible illness, are not shipped to a community pasture. While there, pasture staff should have a standardized protocol for vaccination, disease identification and treatment while animals are at the community pasture, and they should work closely with a veterinarian when things aren’t looking righ

CN and CPKC employees moving towards a strike

Railway employees could strike later in May

CNH Industrial Union Contract Talks Become 'Intense'

Contract discussions between CNH Industrial and union-represented workers at the Fargo, N.D., plant were described by a union leader as "intense"" in an April 24 report from KFGO.

CNH expands network connectivity with Intelsat collaboration

CNH and Intelsat, operator of one of the world’s largest integrated satellite and terrestrial communication networks, today announced a collaboration that will be the first to provide farmers ubiquitous access to the internet via a ruggedized satellite communications (SATCOM) service

© 2024   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service