How to read a meat label

Ever wondered what the information on the label of beef means? There’s much to know! Here’s some guidance on the basics. We like to call it anatomy of a label.

So much info on this tiny sticker!

(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.

• Net: this is net weight of the meat, typically in kg. (Note to convert to lb, multiply the kg weight by 2.2)
• $/kg: this is the cost of the meat per kg weight
• Total: This is the Net kg weight of the meat multiplied by the cost/kg – this is the cost at check out.

You can learn more by clicking here.