100% Pure Berkshire Pork

General Policies

Participating members, directors, officers and staff of the ABA and BMP adhere to the following policies of the 100% Berkshire Pork Program:

·       The objective of the American Berkshire Association is to ensure that all pork marketed in the 100% Berkshire Pork Program is harvested from pigs with purebred, pedigreed, registered Berkshire sires and dams.

·       100% of the producer suppliers and packers receive yearly onsite re-evaluations that verify all products originate from offspring from breeding stock that meet the criteria established by the American Berkshire Association.

·       All participating producers and licensed packers receive regular training on the most current policies of the 100% Berkshire Pork Program.

·   The Management Review Committee must approve all program certification and training officers.

·   All operators of herds participating in the 100% Berkshire Pork program are qualified at Level III status in the National Pork Board’s Pork Quality Assurance program.

·       All Berkshire sires are DNA tested and found to be free of the mutant HAL 1843* and mutant Rendement Napole genes.

·    All breeding animals and market hogs are ear-notched for identification according to the ABA-approved notching chart.

·       All breeding animals are identified with ABA-approved ear tags.

·      All Commercial Berkshire herds participating in the program will be assigned a unique herd number. Registered herds must comply with the breed standards for ear notching.

·       Animals owned by one owner, but transferred between sites must be documented to include: the location of all sites under the producers’ control, documentation of the animal transfers between sites (this may be done by using either internal management records, contracts documenting the animals on feed, or the use of the feeder pig transfer forms).

·       Animals transferred between producers must be documented using the ‘feeder pig transfer form’ and/or pedigrees.

·       All pork qualifying for the program is from Berkshire hogs traceable to source farms.

·      Any animal that is disqualified from the 100% Berkshire Pork Program is purple-tagged, segregated, identified and sold outside the 100% Berkshire Pork Program, with records retained that demonstrate final disposition.

·   All intellectual property associated with the 100% Berkshire Pork Program, including but not limited to trademarks, certification marks and labels, is owned by the American Berkshire Association and may be used by licensees and sub-licensees only according to the terms of licensing agreements.

·     Licensed packers agree to segregate qualifying hogs and the pork they produce from non-qualifying animals and pork.

·       Licensed packers agree to follow requirements for use of certification marks, labels and marketing materials associated with the 100% Berkshire Pork program.

·       Licensed packers will need to complete the documented program for the 100% Berkshire Pork Program. .

·   Licensed processors, distributors, foodservice suppliers and retail outlets agree to follow guidelines for use of labels and marketing materials associated with the 100% Berkshire Pork program.

·   Operators of certified herds and program licensees must retain relevant records for at least one year.