Every story has a number: 36,575

When I travel, whether it’s for work or pleasure, a big part of the trip is the food. Choosing the best restaurants has become an even bigger deal in the last five years since I got married and moved to a small town with only two options for dining out (and one is a subpar Sonic).

One part of my pre-trip research always includes looking up the Certified Angus Beef ^® brand licensees in the area. (Did you know you can do that? Check it out here!) I also like to see if Diners, Drive-ins and Dives has visited that city (Guy has never steered us wrong) and see what people are saying on Yelp. Like I said, the stakes are high when you don’t get to a big city often.

One time, I came across a menu that mentioned Certified Angus Beef burgers but something didn’t quite add up. I knew after going through orientation in Wooster there was a team of folks dedicated to investigating such matters and making sure when folks think they’re getting the brand, they actually are getting the brand. I turned the matter over to them.

But the brand’s compliance team does a lot more than check up on the occasional submitted tip.

Jen Moser, compliance specialist, says in the last five fiscal years, they’ve gathered and studied 36,575 menus — that’s an average of 7,315 per year — from distributors, staff, family members, board members and others familiar with the brand and its integrity.

Menus are evaluated in two ways: First, they determine if the restaurant is actually a licensee. Then, they check each beef item offered against what that restaurant has purchased. Jen says knowing the current CAB offerings at a restaurant allows them to accurately monitor its purchases to ensure the customer is receiving CAB product when it’s identified on the menu.

Restaurants that are using the brand’s name or logo but are not licensed to do so can be quickly identified and either encouraged to license or asked to remove the marks from the menu. Likewise, restaurants using the marks incorrectly can be asked to correct the marks or remove the marks from the menu.

“We protect this brand. It’s not just our job, but our passion. We know that it only has value to all along the chain if consumers get a positive eating experience every time,” Jen says.

“Our brand was built on integrity, and I’m happy to have a part in continuing that tradition.”

-Katrina

Katrina Huffstutler is a freelance writer based in Electra, Texas. She’s a frequent contributor to the Black Ink team and lover of functional cattle and quality beef.

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“Every number has a story.” Don’t believe me? Check out these links to the other posts in our 30-day series:

Day one: $6.93

Day two: 2.5 million

Day three: $204.10

Day four: 12.1 million

Day five: 11/13

Day six: 8 million

Day seven: 139

Day eight: $39

Day nine: 30.1%

Day 10: 120 million

Day 11: -2.26

Day 12: 12 to 15 minutes 

Day 13: 30%

Day 14: 32 million

Day 15: $154,000

Day 16: 118

Day 17: .51

Day 18: 105

Day 19: 1650

Day 20: 36,575

Day 21: 603

Day 22: 23%

Day 23: 31

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