Alberta Today Supplier of Safe Food Products Meat Sector Starts With High Quality Genetics

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1 Alberta's Livestock, Meat, and Animal Genetics Industry Proud Heritage of Farming and Ranching Alberta's agriculture and food sector is an important cornerstone of life and culture in the province. Most of Alberta's rural communities come from a longstanding heritage of farming and ranching.

2 Alberta Today Alberta continues to build on this proud heritage and is a recognized and reliable supplier of safe, high quality agriculture and food products to consumers around the world. Alberta's effective industry food safety programs, along with vigilant oversight by federal and provincial governments, are vital to protecting public health, maintaining consumer confidence and enabling market access. These strong partnerships and collaboration across our agriculture and food industry contribute to the excellent reputation of Alberta and Canada's agriculture and food sector. Meat Sector Starts With High Quality Genetics Alberta's livestock and meat industry is founded on high quality genetics. Alberta has established itself as a reputable supplier of beef, dairy cattle and swine genetics. Alberta also has experience exporting sheep and goat genetics to various international markets. Alberta's livestock genetics industry focuses on providing high quality live animals, semen, embryos and related products and services to customers around the world. Alberta is a source of high-quality disease free livestock, and world-renowned genetics. Supplier of Safe Food Products Canada's reputation for animal health is built upon the practices of bio-security and monitoring at all levels. Monitoring takes place from farms to high technology laboratories through veterinarians and government inspectors. Producers receive on-farm food safety training and both producers and processors comply with government regulations. The purpose of Alberta's Animal Health Act and its regulations is to enhance public health, animal health, and food safety in Alberta and enhance market access through effective animal disease control measures. The Act focuses on the rapid and effective response to an animal disease occurrence by authorizing control measures, animal disease surveillance, traceability, and carcass disposal provisions. It also authorizes livestock market inspection and licensing, and control over the sale of production animal medicines by retail outlets.

3 Alberta Beef Alberta has a reputation for producing great tasting beef. Alberta leads the country in beef processing accounting for more than two-thirds of Canadian beef processing. Alberta is Canada's largest cattle producing province with nearly 40 percent of the national herd. Alberta Pork Lean Alberta pork is a highly nutritious product in demand around the world. Alberta is a committed leader in value-added and safe pork. Alberta has the most accessible pork for Pacific Rim markets. Great Tasting Alberta Beef Alberta has a reputation for producing great tasting beef. Grain-fed Alberta beef is delicious and contains 14 essential nutrients including iron and protein. Canadian beef is graded based on national regulations. The regulations provide greater consistency and predictability in the quality of specific grades of beef. The minimum marbling standards applied to Canadian beef are used to segregate the beef cuts into Canada Prime (slightly abundant), Canada AAA (small) and Canada AA (slight). Canada A beef has some traces but less than slight marbling and comes from young animals. Grass and forage are the foundation of our cow calf industry, but feed for finishing cattle in Alberta is grain-based (barley, corn and wheat) with the feed ration containing a high percentage of grain, augmented by silage. Major breed combinations in the province include Black Angus, Hereford, Red Angus, Simmental, Charolais and Limousin, which provide optimum marbling and high yielding carcasses. Our clean environment, excellent water quality, favourable climate and relatively young animals used for meat production equate to high-quality, tender, juicy and great tasting beef that is a trademark of Alberta. Safe and Nutritious Pork Alberta has a natural advantage for pork production with plentiful supplies of barley, wheat and canola for feed. With access to superior genetics and a commitment to using the highest traceability practices, Alberta pork is unique in texture and quality.

4 The combination of very low pig density and a prime environment enables the industry to maintain an excellent health status, leading to better pig performance and lower use of medications. To demonstrate our industry's commitment, the Canadian Quality Assurance (CQA) on-farm food safety program was developed to validate producers' daily farm operations. The science-based program uses HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) principles and requires engaged producers to meet a very strict set of standards supported by extensive record keeping. An auditor then reviews these documents and examines the farm facilities to ensure that all program standards are being met. Alberta pork producers are committed to maintaining product quality and consumer satisfaction. Poultry Products that Meet Customer Demands Alberta's poultry industry production consists primarily of chicken, turkey, ducks and eggs. Alberta also produces ratites, including ostriches, emus and rheas for their extremely lean meat and for their hides, feather and oils. Alberta's poultry products are low in fats and high in protein, and contain amino acids, niacin, vitamin B6, iron, zinc and many other essential nutrients. To meet the requirements of different cultures and countries, Alberta's industry is equipped to provide halal-certified and kosher poultry as well as a range of organic products. Horse and Horse Products Alberta's horse owners place great value on their animals. Careful breeding, precise feeding, attentive handling, effective vaccination are all measures used to help safeguard the health of their animals and ultimately contribute to the protection of the equine industry. Alberta exports live horses, genetics and meat. Canada's export program ensures that only healthy animals and animal products and by-products which meet the import health requirements of an importing country are exported, and that live animals are transported in a humane manner. In Alberta, regulations requiring premises identification are part of the Animal Health Act. Premises registration is a valuable tool to include in an overall animal health management program. These requirements for equine enhance food safety as well as the ability to trace back equine meat products in response to international customer requests.

5 Meat products from registered facilities in Canada are produced and inspected to ensure they meet current requirements and safety standards. Canada has procedures in place to detect and control potential residue issues in the meat supply. All facilities in Canada that process equines destined for export markets for edible purposes must have complete records for all animals (domestic and imported) presented. In 2010, Canada released the world's first welfare standards for handling slaughter horses Recommended Handling Guidelines and Animal Welfare Assessment Tool for Horses. Flavourful and Tender Bison Meat Alberta bison has a full, rich flavour and is a nutritious, lean meat with high protein content. Grading of bison according to national regulations provides greater consistency and predictability in the eating quality of the specific grades. Alberta bison are raised without the use of growth stimulants or sub-therapeutic antibiotics. Bison are handled much less frequently than other livestock, allowing them to range on pasture lands the same way they did historically. Due to preservation efforts of ranchers and the benefits of raising bison, Canada now has 125,000 bison on private ranches and farms. Bison ranching has significant ecological benefits and often involves the return of farmland to grassland, which eliminates the need for chemical pesticides and herbicides. Natural and Delicious Lamb Alberta lamb is in high demand by Canadian consumers. To meet consumer specifications for consistent quality and fine taste, lamb producers raise lambs on forages and finish them with grains. Consumers enjoy the resulting excellent flavour, tenderness, and quality of Alberta lamb. Canada's Sheep and Lamb Food-Safe Farm Practices program facilitates an effective recording of good production practices to address potential on-farm food safety risks and meet consumer expectations for safe high quality product. This program is complemented by the mandatory Canadian Sheep Identification Program where every lamb is identified as it leaves its farm of origin. 15

6 The Alberta lamb supply chain is collaborating on projects developing models for sustainable lamb production, for consistent lamb quality and for national traceability for sheep. Alberta also has a thriving international sheep genetics industry supplying the global industry with reproductive expertise, services as well as genetics. A Culinary Treat or Medicinal Ingredient - Elk Alberta represents nearly half of Canada's total farmed elk. Alberta's elk meat and velvet antler are exported internationally. Elk meat is tender and healthy with a mild, distinctive delicious flavour. It is very low in cholesterol and calories and can be included in many cooking styles and cuisines. Tasty Goat Meat and Quality Products Goat meat and dairy products, cashmere and mohair, fine leather and sleek hides, and bath and beauty products have been valued agricultural products for thousands of years. Alberta exports live goats for breeding and meat production. Alberta A Valuable Trade Partner Alberta has developed a coordinated approach to system integrity based on federal and provincial legislation, world class animal health protocols, food safety practices and emergency response and preparedness. Our focus is on high standards and continual improvement to better meet the needs of our customers at home and abroad. Alberta is an experienced exporter of genetics from a variety of livestock species. These genetics include semen, embryos and breeding stock. Alberta suppliers are able to produce meat products based on customer specifications, such as organic, Halal and hormone-free. Alberta is a reliable and trustworthy provider of high quality agriculture and food products. Our goal is to provide our industry customers and consumers worldwide, with safe, consistent, high quality products and we will continue to work hard to earn and keep your business. Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development agrifoodexports@gov.ab.ca