November 13, 2003 - Mark of Quality Helps Consumers Identify Quality Beef

Suggested Lead:

New, convenient beef products are showing up all over the United States.  But which ones are worth buying?  A Mark of Quality Commission, funded through the beef checkoff, is helping identify high quality convenient beef products and granting companies who produce them the opportunity to recognize the designation on the package.  Pat McDowell, a Texas beef producer and member of the Mark of Quality Commission, says it’s a way for the industry to comment on how their product is marketed.    

Cut #1    :25       Outcue: "...quality of these products."

McDowell says companies that participate in the process also value from the experience. 

Cut #2    :17       Outcue: "...all that stuff."

There are other steps the products must take.

Cut #3    :38       Outcue: "...the Mark of Quality."

The Mark of Quality Commission was authorized through the $1-per-head beef checkoff, which is administered by the Beef Board, subject to USDA approval.  The checkoff Act and Order was part of the 1985 Farm Bill, and was approved by 79 percent of producers in a 1988 referendum.