Performance Food Group uses meat traceability system
Performance Food Group (also known as Performance Foodservice) one of the nation’s largest foodservice distributors, and Kansas-based IdentiGEN, a provider of meat traceability systems, have developed the first commercial system to trace ground meat back to its origins using DNA technology.
Thousands of US restaurants nationwide—including Blackstone Bar and Grill (Yorkville IL), Oakes Farms Market (Naples FL), and DeRango The Pizza King (Kenosha WI)—will serve Braveheart Black Angus Burgers from Performance Food Group (PFG) that are traceable by DNA TraceBack technology.
This collaboration marks the first time DNA TraceBack, previously used to trace cuts of meat, has been used to trace ground beef to its Black Angus origins. This deployment follows a collaborative effort, begun in January 2010, among IdentiGEN and the manufacturers of PFG’s Braveheart Black Angus Beef hamburgers.
“This is an exciting development in meat traceability systems, because it enables us for the first time to trace a batch of ground beef back to its origins,” said Steve Sands, PFG’s vice-president of protein. “Our Braveheart customers demand the highest-quality Angus beef that has been raised in the Midwest. DNA TraceBack is a critical tool to verify that Braveheart Black Angus ground beef is what they’re getting.”
IdentiGEN’s DNA TraceBack system captures the unique DNA of Black Angus cattle as they move through the production chain. Robust analytical and statistical techniques are employed, making it possible for individual beef patties to be traced back to their origins with precision unachievable with conventional tracking systems, said Dr Ronan Loftus, chief executive officer of IdentiGEN North America.
PFG’s adoption of DNA TraceBack for Braveheart Black Angus Burgers follows the company’s adoption of DNA TraceBack for its steaks, roasts, and other beef cuts in May 2011. PFG turned to DNA TraceBack to assure its thousands of Braveheart Black Angus restaurant customers, foodservice outlets, and grocery retailers that all of its beef—from steaks to hamburger—comes from Angus cattle, Midwest-raised on an all-vegetarian, corn-based diet.
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