- The label says it's an Angus steak, and the premium price
tag suggests that's right.
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- But is it really Angus?
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- ViaGen, based in Austin, Texas, says DNA testing has
concluded half of the meat certified as Angus that its scientists bought
in supermarkets across the nation weren't properly branded because they
didn't meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture's requirements for Angus
content.
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- Steaks that carry the Angus brand sell for about 40 cents-a-pound
more than steaks that aren't identified by breed.
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- Dwight Hartley, owner of Premium Gold Angus Beef in Austin,
one of the oldest and largest of the certified Angus beef distributors
for restaurants and supermarkets, said misbranding is undermining public
confidence in labels.
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- Hartley said what's happened to Angus brands isn't fraud,
but a flaw in Agriculture Department rules for determining what can be
classified as Angus beef _ rules drafted 30 years ago at the request of
the Angus industry before quick DNA testing was available. The Angus program
was the USDA's first that certified animal breeds.
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- USDA rules say inspectors can determine whether a side
of beef is Angus or another breed either by tracing the ancestry of the
cattle back to Angus parents, or by visual inspection of the hide, which
has to be more than 51 percent black to be classified as Angus. Pure Angus
cattle are black.
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- Hartley said the problem is there are many other breeds
of cattle have black hides and look like Angus. "I've gone through
the process, and they look great," he said. But when cooked, he said
the other breeds lack the quality, finish and taste of pure Angus.
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- "I like Starbucks coffee, and I'm willing to pay
a premium for it. But the moment I go into Starbucks and get a coffee I
don't like, I'm not likely to come back," Hartley said. "If I
want the business, I've got to deliver. A lot of people are taking advantage
of our program at the moment."
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- Hartley said he contracted with ViaGen to get assurance
of the purity of the 4,500 head of cattle he sells each week in the United
States. "No one in the business argues with the fact that Angus beef
is the best eating experience," he said.
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- Minnie Lou Bradley, the president of the American Angus
Association, said she questions the results of ViaGen's survey and called
for further independent scientific testing.
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- "There's got to be a lot more testing," she
said. She said the USDA program has operated well and made "certified
Angus the most successful brand in the country."
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- Sara Davis, president of ViaGen, said scientists initially
tested beef bought in Texas supermarkets and found that up to 50 percent
of the samples didn't qualify for the Angus label. The company then bought
samples of Angus beef sold in supermarkets across the country and found
similar results.
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- A majority of the samples that failed DNA tests for Angus
content were found to have high content of Brahman breeds that produce
tougher cuts of meat. Braham beef do well on ranches in Florida and south
Texas because they are more tolerant to heat and lack of water than purebred
Angus.
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- "It didn't surprise me in general _ what surprised
me was how ubiquitous it was," she said. She said the company gets
results from its rapid DNA tests in two to four days.
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- Davis said the same DNA tests could be used on other
branding programs certifying Hereford and Kobe beef and Berkshire pigs.
"The methodology is applicable to any animal product," she said.
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- Brent Eichar, senior vice president of Certified Angus
Beef of Wooster, Ohio, the company that petitioned for the certification
program in 1978, said genetics alone doesn't guarantee a tasty cut of beef
that consumers want.
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- "Genetics alone is not a predictor of quality,"
he said. "You could have a purebred Angus cattle that would not match
the quality product in our product line that is 92 percent Angus,"
he said.
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- He said his company makes no claim of 100 percent Angus
cattle and said extensive cross-breeding by farmers casts doubt on any
claims of pure breeds. He said cross-breeding is widely used in the meat
industry to bring other qualities to the finished steak, including percentage
of fat that makes steaks tasty and tender.
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- "You can lean on our standard, and look for our
CAB (Certified Angus Beef) brand, and you don't have to be a meat scientist,"
he said.
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