Brenda O’Farrell
The Advocate

Consumers will soon be seeing local beef products in grocery stores sporting a new stamp: “Boeuf du Québec.”

The certification is part of the Producteurs de bovins du Québec’s new marketing campaign to address the growing consumer demand for quality meat that is homegrown.

“With this certification, producers are responding to this demand,” said Jean-Thomas Maltais, president of the Producteurs de bovins. “Buying local beef at the grocery store means helping to increase the province’s food autonomy and contributes to the economic vitality of all our regions.”

The certification guarantees that the animals were raised on a farm in Quebec, and that 85 per cent of the animals on that farm were born in the province. Producers must produce proof of these criteria to qualify for the certification.

Qualifying products will be packaged with the distinctive “Boeuf du Québec” logo, in red, ivory and black, featuring the silhouette of a cow in a field. It will appear on products in all Sobeys grocery stores, which includes the IGA chain.

The Producteurs de bovins represents the more than 12,000 beef producers in Quebec. Beef production is the fourth largest livestock production group in Quebec, producing about $583 million in sales.

Cutline: This is the new logo that consumers will find in grocery stores on beef products from Quebec.

Credit: Courtesy of the Producteurs de bovins du Québec