4 TAC §17.58
New §17.58 is proposed under the Texas Agriculture Code
(the Code), §12.0175, which authorizes the department to adopt rules
to administer a program to promote and market agricultural products grown
or processed in Texas and to charge a membership fee, as provided by department
rule, for each participant in the program.
The code that will be affected by this proposal is the Texas Agriculture
Code, Chapter 12.
§17.58.GO TEXAN Beef Program.
(a)
Statement of Purpose; Applicability. The GO TEXAN Beef
Program is established to provide a marketing program that adds value to raw
Texas beef by allowing use of the Texas Department of Agriculture's GO TEXAN
and Design mark only on raw beef products that meet important quality and
palatability characteristics. This section provides that feedlot operators,
slaughter facilities, fabricators and private label marketers may be certified
as GO TEXAN Beef Program members if they meet the requirements of this section.
This section shall apply only to 100% raw beef products, as defined in this
section. Though processed beef products (products that have been altered from
a raw state by the addition of seasonings or marinades or by being cooked
using techniques indigenous to Texas' cooking cultures such as by BBQ, Tex-Mex,
Southwestern cuisine, etc.) are not eligible for membership in the GO TEXAN
Beef Program, they are eligible for membership in the general "GO TEXAN" Program,
as set forth in this subchapter. Beef cattle producers may also qualify for
membership in the general "GO TEXAN" Program as livestock producers.
(b)
Product Requirements. Raw and non-processed beef products
meeting the requirements outlined in this section will be eligible for certification
as "GO TEXAN" 100% beef products as part of the GO TEXAN Beef Program. For
purposes of this section, the word "non-processed" means a 100% beef product
that has not been altered from its raw state by the addition of seasonings
or marinades or by being cooked.
(c)
Membership Categories, to include Feedlot Operators, Harvest
Operations, Fabricators and Private Label Marketers.
(1)
Feedlot operations. In order to be certified as a "GO TEXAN"
feedlot, a feedlot must meet the following requirements:
(A)
The feedlot must be located in Texas.
(B)
The feedlot must participate in a beef safety and quality
assurance program and may feed Vitamin E to the cattle certified for slaughter
as a "GO TEXAN" 100% beef product.
(C)
The feedlot must submit a GO TEXAN Beef Program application
to the department in accordance with this section.
(2)
Harvest operations. In order to be certified as a "GO TEXAN"
harvest operation, a facility including a beef packer or boxed beef supplier,
must meet the following requirements:
(A)
The facility must be located in Texas and must be inspected
by the Texas Department of Health (TDH) or the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA).
(B)
All cattle harvested by the facility for certification
as a "GO TEXAN" 100% beef product must have resided in Texas a minimum of
100 days immediately prior to harvesting.
(C)
The facility must employ practices to optimize palatability
of beef cuts. All operations shall utilize the following practices:
(i)
High voltage electrical stimulation of 300 volts or more
along with a postmortem aging plan of 14 days or more, as approved by the
commissioner and the scientific panel appointed by the commissioner; or
(ii)
Another palatability-enhancing program that is validated
with scientific data through the Option 2 Sampling Plan approved by the commissioner
and the scientific panel appointed by the commissioner. Copies of the plan
are available through the Texas Department of Agriculture.
(D)
Raw beef eligible for certification as a "GO TEXAN" 100%
beef product must be of the following quality:
(i)
Products of Prime, Choice or Select quality as defined
by the USDA;
(ii)
Products of Yield Grades 1, 2 or 3, as defined by the
USDA;
(iii)
Products coming from carcasses with a maturity score
in the "A" maturity range, as defined by USDA;
(iv)
Products coming from carcasses weighing less than 899
pounds; and
(v)
Products not coming from carcasses with dark-cutting characteristics.
(E)
The harvest facility must submit a GO TEXAN Beef Program
application to the department in accordance with this section.
(3)
Fabricators. For the purposes of this section, a fabricator
is defined as a meat processing establishment that purchases wholesale cuts
of meat and converts them into ready-to-cook cuts for the retail or foodservice
market by such steps as portioning, grinding, cubing and other such practices.
In order to be certified as a "GO TEXAN" fabricator, a fabricator must meet
the following requirements:
(A)
The fabrication facility must be located in Texas.
(B)
The owner or operator must confirm that raw materials used
will be 100% raw beef sourced back to a TDH or USDA inspected harvest facility,
and that such raw materials will meet the requirements of paragraph (2)(A)
- (E) of this subsection.
(C)
The fabricator must submit a GO TEXAN Beef Program application
to the department, including the name of the proposed beef products.
(4)
Private label marketers. In order to be certified as a
"GO TEXAN" private label marketer of 100% beef products, private label marketers
must meet the following requirements:
(A)
Marketers who have a raw beef product boxed for their own
label by another harvest facility or fabricator must confirm that the raw
materials used will be 100% raw beef sourced back to a harvest facility or
fabricator located in Texas, and that such raw materials will meet the requirements
of paragraph (2)(A) - (E) or paragraph (3)(A) - (C) of this subsection.
(B)
The private label marketer must submit a GO TEXAN Beef
Program application to the department, including the name of the proposed
beef products.
(d)
Application Process.
(1)
Application to use the GO TEXAN and Design mark in accordance
with this section, shall be made in the same manner as provided in §17.52
of this title (relating to Application to Use the TAP, Taste of Texas, Vintage
Texas, Texas Grown, Naturally Texas, or GO TEXAN and Design Mark).
(2)
Applicants must certify on the application that all applicable
GO TEXAN Beef Program requirements are met.
(3)
The department may contact applicants to verify that all
GO TEXAN Beef Program requirements are met.
(4)
Except as otherwise provided in this section, all requirements
for membership in the general "GO TEXAN" program shall apply to entities certified
under this section.
(e)
Fees. Applicants shall submit an annual fee in the amount
of $25 at the time of application to enroll in the GO TEXAN Beef Program.
The annual fee is prorated monthly for membership of less than one year. Companies
will be billed the annual registration fee of $25 each membership year thereafter.
(f)
Review Panels. Review panels provided for as part of the
application review process under this section shall be appointed by the commissioner
and shall be composed of three meat scientists with doctorate degrees in meat
science and a background in research.
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority to adopt.
Filed
with the Office of the Secretary of State on May 14, 2003.
TRD-200303012
Dolores Alvarado Hibbs
Deputy General Counsel
Texas Department of Agriculture
Earliest possible date of adoption: June 29, 2003
For further information, please call: (512) 463-4075