Product Quality

Quebec Milk-Fed Veal has long been recognized for its quality, consistency and uniformity. Its pale pink, tender meat and delicate taste are greatly appreciated by the most demanding customers.

To preserve its brand recognition and reputation with consumers increasingly concerned about the food they eat, milk-fed veal producers, in conjunction with all industry stakeholders, stopped using growth hormone implants in April 2004. 

All farms involved in milk-fed veal production established production standards a long time ago to ensure the quality and uniformity of their product. Nonetheless, in 2008 producers decided to adopt common specifications to set feedlot and animal welfare standards. This tool ensures that milk-fed veal will long remain a product of unequalled quality that meets the industry’s highest standards.

The Verified Veal Program is designed to afford producers a means of responding to consumers who ask for proof of food safety. It provides our customers with the assurance that the veal produced in Canada is first quality.

A balanced diet

Producers are concerned about providing a quality diet to their calves. They use reconstituted milk powder, a high-quality product similar to the formula given to infants. Milk replacers contain an optimum level of energy, proteins, vitamins and minerals that ensure the animal’s best possible development.

This high-energy, high-protein diet ensures the proper development of the animal until it reaches maturity, at around 20 weeks of age, or a weight of 460 pounds (210 kg).

A healthy environment

Since feedlots contain young calves from numerous dairy farms, producers must absolutely prevent the spread of germs and diseases. Milk-fed calf feedlots are therefore carefully cleaned and disinfected and the air quality in the buildings is closely monitored.

Eager to better respond to consumer needs, milk-fed veal producers are adapting their buildings to collective production methods by the year 2018.

Personalized care

In addition to the daily care provided by the producer, a qualified technician visits the farm each week to perform a quality inspection of the animals. This helps ensure the health and well-being of each animal, as well as compliance with the feeding program.