The United States and Canada have agreed to harmonize the terminology used for wholesale meat and poultry cuts, according to a USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) news release this week. Both countries will adopt the U.S. Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications (IMPS) as the standard meat nomenclature, thereby establishing the IMPS as the foundation of a North American approach for poultry and the “U.S. Trade Descriptions for Poultry” in combination with the Canadian “Meat Cuts Manual.”
“Adopting a common trade language is beneficial to industry on both sides of the border and will enhance trade and opportunities for American producers,” said USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Administrator Anne Alonzo. “Meat production in the United States and Canada is highly integrated, and this will benefit industry by reducing costs of maintaining separate inventories, and facilitate the efficient trade with our Canadian partners.”
As of February 24, 2014, selected meat and poultry cut names can be used interchangeably with their Canadian equivalent. The full list of applicable meat cut names is listed in the IMPS. Consumers will not be impacted as it only applies to wholesale cuts of meat.
Currently, trade between the two countries can be hindered because of cut names and labeling requirements, AMS said in its news release. The Canadian meat classification system is based on a regulatory document known as the “Meat Cuts Manual.” The United States uses the IMPS, a set of voluntary standards maintained by AMS. Large volume purchasers such as federal, state, and local government agencies; schools; restaurants; hotels; and other food service users reference the IMPS when purchasing meat products. While both documents have many similarities in the cut descriptions and names, they are not inclusive and omit certain cuts with differing names.
In early 2011, the United States and Canada created the U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) to accelerate trade and travel between the two nations. The RCC goal was to establish clear, consistent standards to identify products to make it easier for industries to do business on both sides of the border, AMS said. For more information, visit: http://trade.gov/RCC/.
