AUSTIN, Texas (December 29, 2003) For over 23 years, shoppers have trusted Whole Foods Market's commitment to the very best quality cuts and they rely on us for the best tasting meats available. In light of the recent news about Mad Cow Disease (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or BSE), customers can continue to shop our butcher shops with confidence that our stringent quality standards help ensure the meat we sell is not at risk from Mad Cow Disease.
We work directly with all of our suppliers to seek out products that are raised without ever using animal by-products, added growth hormones or antibiotics. We ensure the highest quality standards of our all-natural meats by insisting upon mandatory third party audits to monitor slaughter facilities for animal welfare as well as to assess food safety and strict compliance with the Food and Drug Administration's Good Manufacturing Practices. We also require that each producer have a traceability program in place, which means that we can trace the beef in our stores back to the ranch where it was raised.
BSE has an incubation period of at least 2–5 years. All meat sold at Whole Foods Market is processed from animals less than 24 months of age and we have never sold meat from “downed” animals.
Every step of the way, Whole Foods Market insures that our natural meat is raised the way nature intended. Our Meat Department Team Members are ready to provide knowledge and expertise like old-fashioned neighborhood butchers. We feature custom cuts, cooking instructions and personal recommendations to meet the exacting standards that make Whole Foods Market a leading resource in consumer information and natural meat.
Whole Foods Market is very proud of our exceptional position in the grocery industry for championing innovative production systems that improve the quality, taste, and the safety of the meat we sell, while also supporting the comfort, physical safety, and health of the animals.
Our shoppers enjoy our great-tasting quality meats with confidence as our strict standards and traceability measures ensure:
- Cattle in our program are fed a vegetarian diet and are never fed any animal by-products, which the scientific community believes is how BSE is transmitted to other animals.
- Strict source-verification protocols, which track our animals throughout the process. This allows us to quickly identify the origin of our beef back to the rancher if necessary.
- The cattle our producers use for meat consumption is harvested before 24 months. (BSE usually is found in cattle 30 months or older)
- Beef at Whole Foods Market is sold only in the whole muscle form. BSE is transmitted through eating brain and spinal tissues and has not been found in whole muscle. . None of our products contain brain or spinal tissues. Our ground beef comes to us in the whole muscle form and we grind it fresh ourselves at each store.
- Food safety and strict compliance with the Food and Drug Administration's Good Manufacturing Practices as well as animal welfare in the processing facilities are monitored through third party audits.
Core Values of Our Natural Beef Program
Whole Foods Market monitors the cattle in our beef program.
We provide our customers with the highest quality, best tasting cuts of meat available, free from animal by-products, added growth hormones or antibiotics.
Cattle in our program are fed a vegetarian diet with no animal by-products.
All of the beef sold at Whole Foods Market is from cattle, including the parenting stock, that have never been fed animal by-products.
We can trace our beef back to the ranch or farm.
Our suppliers source every cow back to their place of birth. Animals purchased from another farm must be accompanied by signed affidavits attesting the animal has never received prohibited items, including feed, from each previous owner.
We know the producers in our program and have verified their cattle raising and handling practices.
Whole Foods Market is very proud of our exceptional position in the grocery industry for championing innovative production systems that improve the quality, taste, and the safety of the meat we sell, while also supporting the comfort, physical safety, and health of the animals.
Our suppliers harvest cattle before 24 months of age.
BSE has an incubation period of two to five years. (There has been only one case in the world where an animal has been infected at less than 30 months of age.)
Beef at Whole Foods Market is sold only in the whole muscle form.
BSE is transmitted through eating brain and spinal tissues, and has not been found in whole muscle. None of our products contain brain or spinal tissues. Our beef comes to us in the whole muscle form and we grind it fresh ourselves at each store.
Our suppliers have never processed any “downers.”
Any sick animal that is treated with antibiotics and/or other medications that don't meet our quality standards are restored to health and sold to the commercial market. Any injured or lame animals are returned to the farmer or ranch for evaluation and, if needed, humanely destroyed.
Our suppliers are third part audited.
All of our meat suppliers are third party audited for food safety and humane animal treatment at the processing plants. A veterinarian inspects all of our cattle prior to them entering a slaughter plant.
We are a leading resource in consumer information and natural meat.
Our natural meat is raised the way nature intended. Our Meat Department Team Members are ready to provide knowledge and expertise like old-fashioned neighborhood butchers. We feature custom cuts, cooking instructions and personal recommendations to meet our customers' exacting standards.
