Progressive Beef Food Safety Program

As a commitment to food safety and proper animal care and handling of cattle the Beef Marketing Group developed a pre-harvest Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) program designed to address food safety hazards at the feedlot called Progressive Beef.  Additionally, implementing first class animal husbandry practices as a part of the program is the responsible thing to do and important to the economic viability of BMG.  A pre-harvest HACCP program deals with all factors affecting incoming cattle and feed ingredients, as well as everyday activities.  A primary part of the system is documentation and verification which allows the feedlot to ensure the product is produced in a safe environment.everyday activities.  A primary part of the system is documentation and verification which allows the feedlot to ensure the product is produced in a safe environment.

HACCP Principles

The objective of HACCP is to make food products safe to consume and be able to prove it.  The basic concept is to use science and technology to plan, control, and document the safe production of food.  HACCP is a very effective management system focused on the prevention of problems in order to assure the production of safe food products.  This is accomplished using the seven principles in which HACCP is based.  The principles of HACCP can be applied to all phases of food production, including basic agriculture, food preparation and handling, food processing, food service, distribution systems and consumer handling. The seven principles are as follows: 1. Conduct a hazard analysis; 2. Determine critical control points; 3. Establish critical limits; 4. Establish monitoring procedures; 5. Establish corrective actions; 6. Establish verification procedures; and 7. Establish record-keeping and documentation procedures.

HACCP at the feedlot

Applying HACCP principles to feedlot procedures allows the feedlot to understand its process more thoroughly.  Furthermore, identifying hazards associated with the product such as chemical, physical, and biological allows the feedlot to understand where a hazard may occur and how it can occur.  When identified the process is controlled to prevent or minimize the likelihood the identified hazard will occur.  Lastly, an imperative part of HACCP is to document and prove that the feedlot has controlled the process.  Currently HACCP is not required to be implemented in the feedlot.  The Progressive Beef Program offers feedlots the opportunity to produce a safe product and to be able to verify this to its end users.

Progressive Beef is a HACCP based system at the feedlot.  Thorough HACCP, intervention strategies and good management practices are used to produce a safe and verifiable beef product.  The program includes standard operating procedures (SOPs) that must be followed daily to address food safety issues.  Progressive Beef deals with every aspect of daily activities at a feedlot such as: receiving and processing cattle; receiving and storage of feedstuffs; feeding; treatment of sick cattle; pest control; manure management; facility cleanliness; and shipping cattle.  Additionally, there are log books that must be filled out daily to record the SOPs.  The Progressive Beef program also includes a Cattle Care Guide to address animal handling and welfare.  Furthermore, bio-security plays a vital role in the program.  Progressive Beef strives to eliminate chemical and physical hazards such as pesticide residues and lost needles in animal tissue, and reduce microbiological hazards such as food borne pathogens.