“Certified Angus Beef” (CAB) are three words that form a brand symbol – incorporating a black bull’s profile - which assures consumers that beef they are purchasing (whether from a supermarket cabinet or from a restaurant menu) will bring eating satisfaction for taste and tenderness. The excellent palatability comes from breeding animals to a careful genetic plan that aims for a prescribed carcass specification that has consistent conformation and texture, and are fed nutritious rations that create a consistent pattern of “marbling” that will ensure nice tenderness during cooking.

 

The CAB carcass standard is documented on paper as a simple set of specifications for marbling, conformation and texture, which must be verified by a USDA grader official at the packing plant - before the carcass can be given a CAB label. Those qualifying carcasses thereafter carry a price premium – specifically, a 2008 CAB cut-out value of US$6.40 per hundred weight over USDA Choice, as reported by Urner Barry – all the way through the market chain to ultimate sale of CAB-brand beef cuts to appreciative consumers. If the consumer is like this writer, he or she will gladly pay the extra one dollar per pound for CAB beef – with the simple assurance that it will “turn out well” for that special occasion, or for those special guests whom you may be hosting, or just for your own individual enjoyment when eating alone at home.

 

 

What is the secret to attaining this prized status? Simply “old-fashioned discipline” in being able to conform to a rigid specification, without cutting corners, or bending the rules and of course, having good quality animals to start with. Black cattle today comprise nearly 60% of the total American beef cow herd of some 33 million head. Maintaining this strict discipline - and thereby upholding the quality standards for which the Angus breed of cattle has long been famous is the simple reason why CAB has succeeded over the past 30 years, and why other attempts at branded beef promotions have not come close to the same degree of success.