History of BQA

Consumers have always wanted safe food. Because of concerns for beef safety, in 1980 cattlemen began investigating ways to ensure that their production practices would pass the scrutiny of the consumer.

In 1982, the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) began working with the beef industry to develop the Pre-harvest Beef Safety Production Program. The beef industry adopted the term Beef Quality Assurance (BQA).

Implementing BQA practices provides cattlemen an important key for avoiding additional government regulation. Voluntary producer driven programs have proven very successful and will continue to allow the industry the flexibility needed to produce safe, wholesome food in an economical manner.

Between 1982 and 1985, three feedlots and USDA-FSIS evaluated production practices to assess residue risks. In 1985, after careful analysis and adjustment of production practices, these three feedlots were certified by the USDA-FSIS as Verified Production Control feedlots.

What was learned during those three years now serves as the backbone for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) BQA program. Success of the effort is clear; violative chemical residues have almost disappeared in fed beef cattle and injection site lesions have been reduced by over 67 percent.

The principles of BQA are similar to those developed by Pillsbury for the quality control program for supplying food to the NASA space program. Their program, the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point program (HACCP), gained USDA acceptance and is presently the outline for quality assurance programs in packing houses and processing facilities.

HACCP is a process of determining what could go wrong, planning to avoid it, and documenting what you have done, with the additional step of validation and monitoring success. As of January 1, 2000, all livestock processing plants have developed HACCP programs according to USDA guidelines, which include food borne bacterial pathogen control.

The Pennsylvania BQA program is designed to bring best management practices to the farm that, along with HACCP principles applied at slaughter and processing facilities, will ensure a safe, wholesome, uniform sized beef product for consumers.