U.S. Beef & Protein Exporter
Chihade International exports American beef, poultry and seafood to distributors, retailers and foodservice operators worldwide — including halal-certified programmes. We are licensed to represent the Certified Angus Beef® brand, and we have a USDA inspector on site at our SQF-certified facility in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Family-owned, and exporting American food from Georgia since 1979.
What We Export
Beef
Our core category. We work with several of the largest U.S. beef packers and are licensed to represent the Certified Angus Beef® brand — a licence granted only to partners the brand qualifies to sell and market its products internationally. Chilled and frozen, primals through portion-cut and further-processed.
Poultry
Whole bird, parts and further-processed items, subject to destination eligibility — which for poultry varies more than any other category (see below).
Seafood
Frozen seafood from U.S. packers, handled in the same cold chain as our other frozen programmes.
Halal proteins
We work with U.S. protein suppliers that specialise in halal production, and arrange certification through bodies recognised by the destination regulator — which is the part that actually determines whether a shipment clears.
Why Protein Export Is Not Like Other Food Export
Most food categories travel on the strength of the product. Meat and poultry travel on the strength of the plant that produced them, and that changes the work entirely.
- Eligibility is set establishment by establishment, destination by destination. A plant approved to ship to one country is not automatically approved for its neighbour. A supplier who shipped to your market last year may not be eligible this year.
- The authoritative source changes. The USDA FSIS Export Library is the reference, and it is updated as countries revise their requirements. It has to be checked at the time of the order, not remembered from the last one.
- Halal adds a second, separate hurdle. The certifying body must be recognised by the destination regulator, and in some markets the plant itself needs additional approval on top of that. A valid certificate from an unrecognised body will not clear.
- Documentation is inspection-linked. Export certificates for meat and poultry attest that product was produced under federal inspection and meets the destination’s requirements — they cannot be issued for an ineligible plant.
This is why we check eligibility before quoting rather than after. If a product cannot go to your market, we would rather establish that at the start than have a container held at the port.
Certified Angus Beef® for Export Markets
Chihade International is licensed to represent the Certified Angus Beef® brand. The licence is not open to every exporter — the brand qualifies the partners permitted to sell and market its product, and export licensees are a smaller group again.
For an importer that matters in two practical ways. The first is supply: a licensed exporter can build a programme around the brand rather than sourcing it opportunistically when it happens to be available. The second is presentation. Certified Angus Beef® carries brand standards for how the product is marketed in your market, and an export partner who is inside the programme can tell you what is permitted before you print anything.
Alongside the branded programme we ship commodity and premium U.S. beef across the usual specifications — chilled and frozen, primals through portion-cut and further-processed items.
Halal Beef and Protein Programmes
Halal is the category where exporters most often get it wrong, because there are two separate hurdles and clearing one does not clear the other.
The first is production. The plant has to be running a halal programme, under supervision, with the slaughter and handling conditions the certifier requires. We work with U.S. protein suppliers that specialise in halal production rather than treating it as an occasional run.
The second is recognition. The certificate has to come from a body your own regulator accepts. A halal certificate that is perfectly valid in one market can be rejected at another market’s port because the issuing body is not on that country’s recognised list. Gulf markets, Malaysia, Indonesia and others each maintain their own list, and those lists change.
We arrange certification through bodies recognised by the destination regulator, and we confirm the recognition status at the time of the shipment rather than assuming last year’s position still holds. Requirements do change — confirm the current position for your market before you ship.
Cold Chain and Consolidation for Frozen and Chilled Protein
Protein moves through our own facility in Lawrenceville, Georgia rather than being cross-docked by a third party we do not control. That is 64,000 square feet across 8,000 square feet of freezer, 16,000 of chilled and 40,000 of dry storage, with 22 dock doors, SQF certification, HACCP, and a USDA inspector on site.
Having all three temperature zones under one roof is what makes a mixed container work. An importer who wants frozen beef, chilled product and ambient grocery in the same shipment can have it built as one consolidated load here, rather than paying for three separate movements or accepting whatever mix a single packer happens to offer.
Product is received, held and loaded at temperature, and containers are pre-cooled before loading. The inspection and the paperwork happen at the same site as the product, which is what keeps certificate details and what is physically in the container from drifting apart.
Minimum order is $5,000. Typical lead time is around three weeks from confirmed order to loading, depending on the plant and the destination paperwork.
Export Documentation for Meat and Poultry
Protein carries a heavier document set than any other food category, and most of it is tied to the plant and the inspection rather than to the commercial transaction.
- The FSIS export certificate — the health certificate for meat and poultry, issued against the destination country’s requirements and the establishment’s eligibility.
- Destination-specific attestations — many countries require additional statements on the certificate covering matters such as residue testing, disease status or processing conditions. These vary by country and are revised without much notice.
- Halal certification where required, from a body the destination regulator recognises.
- Legalisation — several markets require the certificate to be attested by a chamber of commerce and the destination consulate before it will be accepted.
- Commercial and shipping documents — invoice, packing list with lot and production detail, bill of lading, and where applicable a certificate of origin.
Getting a detail wrong here is expensive in a way that a labelling error is not, because the product is temperature-sensitive and sitting at a port while a certificate is corrected. Requirements differ by market and change over time, so confirm the current position for your destination before you ship.
Who We Supply
Importers and distributors. The largest part of our protein business. We build the programme, handle plant eligibility and documentation, consolidate the load and ship it. See the markets we serve.
Foodservice operators and their suppliers. Portion-cut and further-processed protein to spec, shipped alongside the rest of the order. Foodservice supply.
Retail and supermarket groups. Protein consolidated with U.S. grocery lines so a store programme arrives as one shipment. Retail supply.
Franchise systems. Approved-spec protein for international franchise units, kept consistent across markets. Franchise export.
U.S. packers and processors. If you produce protein and want it in export markets without building an export department, we act as the export arm. Working with us as a supplier.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you export U.S. beef to international markets?
Yes. Beef is our core protein category. We work with several of the largest U.S. beef packers and ship chilled and frozen beef — primals, portion-cut and further-processed — to distributors, retailers and foodservice operators in over 30 countries.
Are you a halal-certified meat exporter?
We export halal beef and other halal proteins produced by U.S. suppliers running dedicated halal programmes, with certification arranged through a body your destination regulator recognises. Recognised-certifier lists differ by country and are revised periodically, so we confirm the current position for your market before shipping.
Can you supply Certified Angus Beef® for export?
Yes. Chihade International is licensed to represent the Certified Angus Beef® brand. That licence lets us build an ongoing programme around the brand and advise on how it may be marketed in your market.
Do you ship frozen beef, chilled beef, or both?
Both. Our facility holds 8,000 sq. ft. of freezer and 16,000 sq. ft. of chilled space, so frozen and chilled programmes can be built in the same building — and, where the destination allows, in the same container as dry grocery.
Do you export poultry and seafood as well as beef?
Yes. Poultry covers whole bird, parts and further-processed items; seafood is frozen, from U.S. packers. Poultry eligibility varies by destination more than any other category, so the first step is always confirming which establishments your market currently accepts.
What documentation is needed to export meat from the USA?
An FSIS export certificate issued against the destination country’s requirements, any destination-specific attestations, halal certification where required, consular or chamber legalisation for markets that ask for it, and the commercial set — invoice, packing list with lot detail, bill of lading and certificate of origin where applicable. Requirements change; confirm the current position for your destination before you ship.
Why does plant eligibility matter when buying U.S. protein?
Meat and poultry eligibility is granted establishment by establishment for each destination. A plant approved for one country is not automatically approved for its neighbour, and eligibility can be added or withdrawn. Sourcing from an ineligible establishment means the shipment cannot be certified, whatever the product quality.
Do you offer cold storage and 3PL for meat exporters in the USA?
Yes. Producers and other exporters use our Lawrenceville, Georgia facility for freezer and chilled storage, consolidation and export documentation. It is SQF certified with a USDA inspector on site and 22 dock doors.
What is the minimum order for a protein shipment?
$5,000. Typical lead time is around three weeks from confirmed order to loading, depending on the plant and the destination paperwork.
Talk to Us About a Protein Programme
Tell us the categories and specifications you are looking for and the market you are shipping into, and we will come back on plant eligibility, documentation and what a first load would look like.