Look for statements or grade mark stamp symbols for guidance about quality Canadian beef. Designations of national quality standards are assigned by a certified grader as an objective way to help with your purchase, whether you want the most marbling (Canada Prime) for enhanced juiciness, or less marbling for leaner premium cuts (Canada AA), or something in between (Canada AAA). The grade assigned helps you pick what you want.
Click here for more about Canada Beef Quality Grades
See reference in text to the letters a, b, c, d and e.
(a) The Name: This is the official beef cut name. The official name, tells you if the cut is a steak, roast, cubed beef or other type of cut or ground beef. The name also tells you where the cut comes from – whether shoulder, hip, loin – or in this example, the Blade area.
(b) FP stands for Finished Product – a meat processing term that means the Blade was cut into steaks.
(c) All beef sold in Canada is inspected for safety federally or provincially. This symbol designates that the beef was inspected at a federal plant, and the number is an identifier for the plant.
(d) Best Before date is guidance of when the beef is at its best quality. This date is a quality indicator. Ideally, cook or freeze beef before the Best Before Date.
Packaged On date is your guidance for when to cook or freeze your beef. For beef cuts, cook or freeze within 3 days of the Packaged On date or for ground beef, cook or freeze within 1 to 2 days of the Packaged On date.
Expiry date is when a food should be used for food safety guidance.
(e) Pricing matters: Pricing is based on a cost per weight – so if you compare the labels on packages of beef, you’ve got pricing options to choose from depending on the cut. For example, a tenderloin steak is typically more expensive per kg, than a sirloin tip steak. So watch for the cost advantage if you are looking to stretch your beef budget.
Cherry red colour even close to Best Before date
A note on colour: Beef will lose its cherry-red colour and may look a bit brown or grey as it is exposed to oxygen, so if within dating, it’s not spoiled, it’s just not as pretty.
Browning due to oxygen exposure
These basic instructions from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are helpful reminders of the safe food handling basics: Clean, Chill, Separate, Chill. For more detailed information on how to manage your beef safely at home, check out Food Safety at Home. Learn more
