FAMILY owned meat processing company Thomas Foods International has joined the Pasturefed Cattle Assurance System (PCAS).
Cattle Council of Australia president Howard Smith said the signing demonstrated that processors and producers were continuing to work together to ensure full integrity of grassfed products delivered to consumers.
PCAS is an assurance program that enables the industry to prove claims relating to pasturefed or grassfed production methods.
Underpinning PCAS are the PCAS standards which govern the on-farm feed requirements and traceability of the cattle as well as pre-slaughter handling practices which influence eating quality.
Thomas Foods International chief executive Darren Thomas said he saw the membership in PCAS as further validation of the strict quality assurance protocols his company undertook from the farmgate to plate.
“Obtaining PCAS is also in line with our company’s ongoing support of our national suppliers and reflects the increasing global demand we are seeing for high quality pasturefed cattle,” Mr Thomas said.
PCAS was developed by Cattle Council as an assurance program that enables the industry to prove claims relating to pasturefed or grassfed production methods.
Thomas Foods International processes on average 5000 cattle and 120,000 sheep, goats and lambs a week for the domestic and 85 overseas markets. Livestock are processed at facilities in South Australia and NSW with distribution hubs in Adelaide, Coffs Harbour, Brisbane, Darwin and in the US.
PCAS is certified to provide premiums to producers supplying a niche market meeting consumer demand for certified products. PCAS producers can already supply their cattle to the wholesalers Teys Australia, Butchers Nook and Stanbroke for processing and distribution. Beef sold under the Macro Grassfed and Australian Grasslands Premium Beef labels are all PCAS Certified.
More information on the PCAS system is available at www.pcaspasturefed.com.au/
