cSociety chief executive Ron McHattie said Black Angus had nothing to do with Aberdeen-Angus, the breed developed in the north-east and which is now renowned globally for the quality of its marbled beef.
The Black Angus breed in the US does, however, originate from the Aberdeen-Angus.
The original Aberdeen-Angus cattle imported into the US in the late 1800s were crossed with the Texas Longhorn to produce the Black Angus, a breed more suited to the warmer conditions in the US.
Tesco said it was buying the beef from Windom, Minnesota, from an existing supplier. It is shipped chilled from the US and then packed by one of its key suppliers in the UK.
A spokeswoman said: “At the moment the range includes ribeye and sirloin steaks. The animals are all USDA (US Department of Agriculture) certified Black Angus and during their lives have a diet of grass and corn. The key benefit to this particular product is the consistency of the meat and the way it is marbled to give our customers a tender and flavoured product.”
NFU Scotland said Scottish farmers may well raise an eyebrow at the arrival of the beef from the US and over which there had until recently been a longstanding trade war with the European Commission because of the hormones used in American beef production.
Union spokeswoman Wendy Fleming said it understood from discussions with Tesco that the beef would not be sold in its Scottish stores.
She added: “Aberdeen-Angus is an iconic Scottish cattle breed, famed the world over for its quality. Those involved in the breed would want reassurance that any imported product bearing the Angus name is going to preserve the reputation of the breed.
“With the quality of beef production in Scotland, Scottish beef producers, regardless of the breed of cattle that they use, are well placed to meet the requirements of any supermarket’s premium beef range.”
The US and EU settled their differences in 2009 after a 13-year dispute. Europe banned imports because of concerns about the hormones regularly used in North American beef production and the possible human health concerns they posed.
That resulted in a trade war in which the US imposed import tariffs on a range of European goods.
The resolution reached allows the US to progressively increase its exports of hormone-free beef into the EU over four years.
Tesco said its Black Angus beef was free of hormones.
