Representatives from various beef importing companies traveled to Uruguay to meet with the Uruguayan National Meat Institute (INAC) and tour a number of processing plants across the country.

APHIS representatives Ricardo Romero and Theresa Boyle with Stuart Leifer, Len Steiner, Silvana Bonsignore (INAC), and Terry Timmons.

Stuart Liefer, President of the Meat Importers Council of America (MICA) and Pierce Trading Intl., Len Steiner, consultant for Steiner Consulting Group (commodity trading advisors), and Terry Timmons Director of ConAgra Foods (North America's largest packaged-foods company) expressed their satisfaction with Uruguayan beef and the various processing plants they had visited, citing among other things, the high sanitary standards and accountability they found in all the facilities.

Upon completing their tour, the group wanted to receive first hand information on the sanitary status of the Uruguayan beef industry, as well as a perspective of the meat sector in the region. They met with APHIS representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Montevideo who informed them that Uruguay is well recognized for its transparency and cooperation with the USDA regarding their sanitary concerns.

In reference to Uruguay's certification under the natural/grass-fed beef program, the group indicated that this certification is an important factor since there is an ever-increasing market for natural foods in North America and this feature would certainly pay off in the long run for Uruguayan beef producers. In 2004 the program was audited and approved by Agricultural Marketing Service as a "USDA Process Verified" program (the sole foreign program to be certified by USDA).

Related item: Agricultural Marketing Services reviews Uruguay's Certified Natural Beef Program

 

Return to Home l Back