Re:
[email protected]
Dan Abel wrote:
If they have enough control over their supply chain they don't really need
it. They could just apply their own standards which would have to take into
account the same factors as the USDA system. This lets them create their own
beef brand to make comparison with meats labeled by grade and/or
certification more difficult.
Here's confirmation from their website where they hand out information in
blog form. The following was found at
http://community.safeway.com/t5/Our-Blog/Rancher-s-Reserve/ba-p/530 :
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by Kate-Mom on 08-13-2010 09:18 AM
Ranchers Reserve beef is USDA inspected and is graded either select or
choice. We do not specify a grade because we have the grower grow to our
specifications not to a grade. This means we have better controls on the
finished product and can promise the tag line "Tender beef at its best". We
sell the brand name to customers with the understanding that we provide more
than a grade from an USDA grader. We manage the cattle from the ranches all
the way through the feed lots, right to the store, therefore it's more than
a promise of a grade it is a higher expectation of tenderness for the same
price as all the other retailers that purchase their cattle from just
anyone. 80% of the cattle sold in supermarkets have no know origin and are
not managed all the way through the system, such as Safeway does with
Ranchers Reserve beef.
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That's their claim. But you can't find anything specific where they show any
comparison with the USDA grades.
In contrast look at another branded beef, Certified Angus Beef, which
publishes their own chart which shows that beef carrying the CAB label is
higher end choice or better.
http://www.certifiedangusbeef.com/brand/grades.php (It's worth looking
around the site while you're there, in particluar the requirement to pass
ten specifications that are not included in the USDA grades.)
MartyB
