100% Pure Berkshire Pork

General Program Requirements

The American Berkshire Association (ABA) is the United States’ national breed association for Berkshire swine. Founded in 1875, the ABA is the nation’s oldest swine registry and has maintained pedigree records of purebred Berkshires since its origination. The ABA has approximately 300 breeder-members located across North America, with the highest concentration in the Midwestern United States. 

A Board of Directors elected by the general membership sets policy for the ABA. The board elects officers. All directors are unpaid producers. Currently, the Association Secretary/Treasurer is the only full-time, paid professional staff person.

Berkshire Meat Products, LLC (BMP), is a wholly owned subsidiary of the ABA. As a limited liability company, the BMP's purpose is to provide marketing support for Berkshire pork producers and their customers. The BMP contracts with third parties for marketing and sales services.

The superior quality of Berkshire pork is well documented. In a summary of tests conducted over a 10-year span at the National Barrow Show in Austin, Minnesota, Berkshire pigs scored highest of all major American pure breeds in sensory quality. From various studies, including the Journal of Animal Science, Berkshire pork was ranked first in 19 of 22 quality measures in four important categories.

As part of a continuing effort to improve meat quality, participants in the 100% Berkshire Pork Program are required to test all Berkshire boars used as sires to ensure they have only non-mutant HAL 1843 * and non-mutant Rendement Napole genes.

The goal of the 100% Berkshire Pork program is to assure consumers of a “quality dining experience.” To accomplish this, the ABA has developed a process verified program to ensure that all pork sold under the 100% Berkshire label has been produced from pigs that are offspring of purebred, pedigreed Berkshire sires and dams.

To enhance the credibility of the 100% Berkshire Pork program for both domestic and international markets, especially the highly important Japanese market, the ABA/BMP audits and verifies that pork is produced by a process that guarantees it is:

·    Berkshire pork from animals whose parents are purebred, pedigreed Berkshires as specified in the American Berkshire Association’s breed criteria.

·       Traceable to source farms.

·       From herds managed in accordance with the guidelines of the National Pork Board’s Pork Quality Assurance Level III program.