Posted July. 07, 2008 09:01,
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new QSA Quality System Assessment (QSA) program to verify that beef exported to Korea is under the age of 30 months. U.S. beef products with QSA certification will reach Korea in a month or so.
The USDA announcement made on June 26 said that it would start a USDA Less than 30 Months (LT30) Age Verification QSA Program for Korea (QSA Program for Korea). The QSA Program for Korea requires suppliers to follow requirements outlined in ARC (Audit, Review and Compliance) Procedure, and the ARC Branch verifies the suppliers documented quality management system. Suppliers who fail to meet those requirements are not allowed to ship products to Korea.
Sources said it will still take a month of time for Koreans to have beef products certified by the program, since the suppliers need time for QSA documentation, slaughtering, processing and shipping.