Never Ever 3 certified beef in Uruguay
We are proud to announce that our cattle in Uruguay have been certified with the Never Ever 3 certification. The certification of our beef is a testament to our approach to raising our livestock and our attention to animal welfare and emphasises the importance we put on the quality and safety of the meat we produce and provide to our customers. Our cattle are hormone and antibiotic-free for life, graze on open ranges, and benefit from a grass-fed diet.
The certification is audited and renewed annually.
To explore more about this certification and our practices, we invite you to continue reading.
No hormones, antibiotics or animal-based feed
The three pillars of the Never Ever 3 certificate: No hormones, no antibiotics, no animal-based feed.
The certification guarantees beef free from hormones, antibiotics and animal-based feed. The cattle have never received this at any time in their lifetime.
If antibiotics are required for treatment of any diseases the animal must be treated and removed from the NE3 program. All types of growth hormones are prohibited, both natural and synthetic, including hormone manipulating drugs to promote growth.
Uruguay Natural Meat Program
To be Never Ever 3 certified the cattle must in addition to the requirements of the Never Ever 3 protocol, also comply with the requirements of the Natural Meat Program.
The program follows strict production and processing standards which includes sanitary guarantees and full traceability, where each animal must be provided with individual ID tags. This enables detailed tracking through all phases of movement and interventions, ensuring full transparency and integrity. Compliance allows the use of the claim “Source verified” on the product label.
Below you will find further explanation of the Natural Meat Program’s comprehensive approach.
The five freedoms of animal welfare
All animals must be handled according to the animal welfare guideline, through the five freedoms:
- Free from hunger and thirst.
- Free from physical and thermal discomfort.
- Free of illness and injuries.
- Free to express their normal behaviour pattern.
- Free from fears and anxieties.
Open-range
These cattle must be raised in open pastures all year round, however temporary confinement is allowed if necessary to ensure welfare e.g. weaning and rearing – but is not allowed for the purpose of fattening. Cattle that go through feedlot systems are excluded from the program. All our cattle are open-range and have never been confined in feedlots.
All our animals are open-range where they have access to shade and shelter from weather conditions. Our facilities are designed to minimise stress and injuries and goes through sanitary controls. The cattle are to be supervised by a veterinarian and go through a health supervision at least once a year. Our own practices exceed this minimum standard expectation by having our cattle inspected two or three times a year. All health interventions are recorded.
Staff training
Our staff is trained to ensure high competence to handle our animals in accordance with animal welfare guidelines. And we keep record of all training, which is also part of our Animal Welfare Certified Humane Protocol.
Environment
The Natural Meat Program, alongside its comprehensive certification criteria, incorporates an essential environmental audit component. This segment emphasises the importance of environmental stewardship, focusing on maintaining clean, organised ranch environments, responsible use and storage of chemical products, and stringent waste management practices. These measures are aimed at promoting environmental care to ensure field conservation.
Nutrition
The nutritional requirements intend to keep the cattle healthy and provide a nutritious product. Based on diet adherence, compliance allows for labelling the products with “grass-fed”, “80% grass-fed” and “No animal proteins in feed”, “No added hormones”, “Not fed antibiotics”. Emphasizing natural feeding and animal welfare by banning feed containing animal proteins, hormones, and antibiotics.
No animal by-products or growth hormones
The use of animal by-products in feed and growth hormones are strictly prohibited and controlled by government, and you will not find these in any of our products.
The program also places a high emphasis on humane animal transport and handling, aiming to reduce stress and prevent injury. Specific guidelines ensure that animals are handled gently, with restrictions on the use of prods and a prohibition on abusive treatment. Transport requires adherence to legal documentation.
Source verification and traceability
All our cattle receive the certification. The certification covers all stages of the beef. It starts the day they are born and goes until the end through processing, packaging and labelling of the cuts. This means that the abattoirs must also be certified. It guarantees a high-quality and safe product.
Our beef, raised and handled exclusively on our farms, is source-verified. The cattle are born and raised here, where they spend their entire lives on open pastures and natural grassland guarded by our gauchos.
Independent third-party audit
The certification Protocol was written by the INAC (Instituto Nacional de Carnes de Uruguay) and is audited on a yearly basis by the USDA. The Certification is Process Verified, which means that a third-party audit inspector will check that the farmer and producers full fill the program. The independent third-party entity that audits us is LSQA.
Part of the audit includes in situ observations, which means a direct and onsite examination to verify the conditions or practices, such as ensuring the absence of hormones, antibiotics and animal by-product in feed.
If at any point there are doubts about absence of antibiotics, hormones or animal-based feed, then laboratory tests must be conducted to prove the absence of these substances.
