Canada Publishes Wholesale Meat Specifications
CANADA - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has published the Wholesale Meat Specifications Document (WMSD) for fresh beef, lamb, poultry, pork, turkey and veal.
10 February 2015
2 minute read
By: The document reflects the harmonisation of the terminology used for wholesale cuts of meat between Canada and the United States.
The US wholesale meat cut terminology is reflected in the Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications document.
Canada and the US have been working together to create a common approach to wholesale meat cut nomenclature.
Through the Regulatory Cooperation Council, the CFIA worked with the Canadian and US meat industries, as well as with the US Department of Agriculture to update their respective manuals.
This common understanding of terms benefits industry through reducing the costs of maintaining separate inventories for packaging and labelling, facilitating trade and reducing red tape and regulatory burden.
In 2013, the value of Canada's meat exports to the US was over C$2.3 billion while the meat imports from the US were valued at more than C$2.7 billion.
For more information, visit the CFIA web site at www.inspection.gc.ca.
