Non-Hormone Treated Cattle
Cattle marketed with the NHTC logo signifies:
- Cattle have not received hormones or growth promotants at any time in their life
- The producer has been approved with an onsite audit prior to the calves being shipped (we can help set up such an audit)
- Cattle must be tagged with unique, permanent identification (EID, RFID, or a visual tag)
- Proper documentation signifying verification will accompany shipped animals. The documentation will include a producer affidavit on file that designates the USDA approved 3rd-Party Provider responsible for certifying the producers NHTC status
If you would like to discuss setting up 3rd-party verification to get your calves NHTC approved, please call your Representative directly, or contact Roundup at (877) 579-5579.
USDA Summary
Non-hormone Treated Cattle (NHTC) program has been in effect since 1999, when the EU and the US agreed to control measures to facilitate the trade of non-hormone treated bovine meat.
There are three principal components of this program:
- Cattle are to be grown in approved farms/feedlots and delivered to the slaughter establishment with an affidavit from the grower attesting to their non-hormone treated condition.
- Non-treated cattle and beef are segregated at the slaughter establishment and handled in a fashion that ensures that they are not commingled with other animals or meat.
- Tissue samples from non-hormone treated cattle are collected at slaughter and analyzed by accredited independent laboratories for residual levels of restricted compounds.
In order for FSIS to provide export certification for this product, there must be assurances that there are effective controls in all phases of production in growing the animal, as well as at the slaughter establishment. Compliance with the conditions outlined herein must be certified by a third party. The laboratory results from analysis of tissue samples collected at slaughter will help verify the effectiveness of these controls.
For more information, we recommend you visit Roundup’s Value-Added associate, TechniTrack LLC at www.technitrack.com to get in depth information and process guidelines for marketing your calves as NHTC verified.
