Agricultural Livestock and Poultry Program RAAA Specification

Marketing 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Stop 0258 March 17, 2023

Service Washington, DC 20250 Page 1 of 4

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Live Animal Specification

Red Angus Association of America

1 SCOPE

This specification sets forth the requirements for live cattle eligible for certification in approved beef 

programs claiming Angus influence. Cattle may qualify for the breed influence specification by 

meeting the Genotype or Phenotype requirements specified below.

2 REQUIREMENTS

Cattle eligible for Angus influence certified beef programs must meet the following:

2.1 Genotype: Cattle eligible for Angus influence beef programs based on the genotype portion of 

the requirement must have positive identification (ear tags, tattoos, brands, etc.) and be 

traceable back to provable (e.g., registration papers) Red Angus parentage. Cattle enrolled in 

the RAAA, Red Angus Feeder Calf Certification PVP qualify by being traceable to one 

registered parent (typically sire) and have the Red Angus Feeder Cattle Certification Program 

yellow tag (program compliant visual, EID and/or EID combo tag).

2.2 Phenotype: Cattle eligible for certification in Angus influence beef programs need also possess 

the following phenotype (appearance); that is, they must have a main body that is solid red with 

no color behind the shoulder, above the flanks, or breaking the midline behind the shoulders, 

excluding the tail. Carcasses from live animals which display certain non-Angus characteristics 

(e.g., dairy conformation, Holsteins, Brahman humps) will be excluded as specified in the 

carcass specifications for approved programs.

3 VERIFICATION

Compliance with genotype and phenotype requirements will be determined and controlled through a 

quality management program approved and monitored by the Livestock and Poultry Program. Three 

options are available to ensure that live animals comply with the specified requirements: (1) 

continuous USDA, Quality Assessment Division (QAD) supervision, (2) ante-mortem lot inspection, 

and (3) program monitoring. Under the first two options, QAD personnel certify that the animals meet 

the specified requirements prior to slaughter. Procedures for these two options will be developed on an 

individual plant basis and must be approved by the local QAD supervisor. Under option 3, the 

procedure described in 3.1 are followed.
Agricultural Livestock and Poultry Program RAAA Specification

Marketing 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Stop 0258 March 17, 2023

Service Washington, DC 20250 Page 2 of 4

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3.1 Program Monitoring Procedures

During the time of harvest, trained slaughter plant employees will determine those animals that meet 

the RAAA live Animal Specification and identify the carcasses of those animals with one of the 

following options: an “R” stamp, red ink on the Achilles Tendons (Gambrel Tendon), or through other 

identifying markings, approved by the local QAD supervisor. When the plant chooses to mark the 

carcasses with anything other than the “R” stamp or red dots on the Achilles Tendons, the plant will 

provide to QAD, a written Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) identifying the designated area and 

marking. This documentation will be posted in each QAD office so that all QAD personnel can access 

this information.

Regarding cattle that are genetically identified under the Live Animal Specification, the identity of the 

qualifying lots must be maintained with the “R” stamp, red dots on the Achilles Tendons, or other 

approved identifying marking, applied to the carcass.

Employees conducting these program procedures must display program identification whenever they 

are performing live animal identification duties. USDA, QAD personnel will conduct unannounced, 

random checks of these approved employees’ work to monitor compliance with the procedures, as 

shown in Table I. USDA, QAD personnel will evaluate the employees work for a period of two to five 

minutes during each evaluation. QAD personnel will record any observations of the list of defects that 

are shown in Table II.

TABLE I. MONITORING FREQUENCY

Slaughter Rate

Number of Cattle/Shift

Frequency of the Monitoring Periods**

Up to 500 2

501-1,000 4

1,001-1,500 6

1,501-2,000 8

Over 2,000 10

** QAD personnel can randomly determine the times of actual observations before the beginning of 

the slaughter shift based on the plant’s expected slaughter rate for the shift. 
Agricultural Livestock and Poultry Program RAAA Specification

Marketing 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Stop 0258 March 17, 2023

Service Washington, DC 20250 Page 3 of 4

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TABLE II. DEFECTS

Defect Categories

Major Minor Defects

101 - Not solid red (evidence of another color) behind the 

shoulders or above the flanks.

102 - Untrained plant employee performing live animal 

identification.

202 Trained plant employee performing live animal 

identification without displaying program identification.

203 Carcasses offered to QAD personnel for certification that 

does not have approved stamp or mark as meeting the 

requirements.

204 Designated stamp or mark not placed on approved area of 

carcass.

Major Defect 101 applies to cattle that are not genotypically qualified.

Normal Program Monitoring

Normal program monitoring is performed using the designated frequencies for defect detections, 

known as “normal monitoring level.” If no defects are observed under normal program monitoring 

levels, the designated frequency of monitoring will continue per plant shift.

Accelerated Program Monitoring

However, if observation is made by USDA, QAD personnel of any major defect, two minor defects 

within a week, or three minor defects within four weeks, will immediately result in accelerated 

monitoring during the next shift. Accelerated monitoring results in the shift that had the defect 

observation will have monitoring doubled for two weeks. If no defects are observed within that twoweek span, the plant shift will revert to the normal monitoring level.

Full QAD Supervision

If any major defect or two minor defects are observed during accelerated program monitoring, the 

identification program will be placed under 100% USDA QAD Supervision for a period of two weeks. 

After two weeks of 100% supervision with no defects observed, the program will revert to accelerated 

monitoring and meet those requirements before going to normal program monitoring levels as 

described in Table I.

Each shift is monitored independently, meaning the defect recorded on the day shift will not affect the 

level of inspection for the night shift. Therefore, a plant could be on accelerated monitoring for the day 

shift but normal monitoring on the night shift.
Agricultural Livestock and Poultry Program RAAA Specification

Marketing 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Stop 0258 March 17, 2023

Service Washington, DC 20250 Page 4 of 4

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

___________________________________

Chad Nelson, National Meat Supervisor

Standards and Specifications Division

Livestock & Poultry Program