There’s a good chance that you prefer 1 brand of jerky to another.
It’s likely due to:
- Beef being used
- Texture of the meat
- Tenderness
- Flavor profile
- etc.
Basically, you like Brand A for B reasons and would rather buy it over Brand C.
Now, grab a bag of your favorite jerky.
All commercially sold beef jerky is labeled as follows:
“U.S. Inspected and Passed by Department of Agriculture”
Next to this will typically be the “Establishment Number” that processed that jerky.
The Establishment Number is typically abbreviated as “EST. #”
With that number, you can then do a search on the USDA/FSIS website and see who processed the meat.
Chances are, that single establishment is processing for dozens of brands and you can find new flavors while maintaining the same jerky “style” you like.
(This is because brands stick to 1-5 flavors that people like and will maybe do a limited run flavor every year or so).
An Example of This Process
A craft jerky brand I quite like is Righteous Felon.
On the front of their packaging, we can see: “U.S. Inspected and Passed by Department of Agriculture.”
BUT we don’t see the “EST #”
But this # is required to be on the packaging.
So if we flip the bag over we can see a stamped # for the jerky as “18583.”
This is also alongside the expiration date.
So we go to the FSIS website and search for that #.
The Establishment # is for “Green Meadows Foods, Inc” with the # M18583+P18583.
Their website doesn’t say much about the brands they process but they do say “90 brands.”
You can rinse repeat this across any brand and see who private labels them.
Another Example with a Brand My Mom Likes
A brand my Mom likes is KRAVE or #18951.
The Processor being Prime Snax who lists 3 brands on their site:
- Arizona Jacks
- Desert Star
- Chipper
From the FSIS page we also see “Perky Jerky.”
You get the gist – find the #, search for it on the FSIS website, see who processes it and then look for that # on other brands labels.
