Anguishing over Angus
(Canscene)– Like “organic” foods, the alleged omnipresence of Angus beef puzzles me.
I always understood that Aberdeen Angus meat was derived from a breed of black or red cattle with a low set body, producing well-marbled meat and bred for this purpose rather than as dairy cattle.
Today one encounters the use of the word Angus at meat sections of supermarkets, in independent butchers, in steakhouse menus and even in fast food joints. Even in the knowledge that Angus cattle have been bred and butchered in Canada for years, one wonders at the now widespread claims being made.
There’s a Canadian Angus Association to whose public relations officer I wrote some weeks ago, asking how claims were certified. I received no reply.
In one supermarket chain self -standing displays claiming the virtues of Angus beef merely indicate that it’s top quality beef without any mention of breeding or provenance.
It would be interesting to see an independent report on how widely standards set by associations such as the CAA are observed.
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