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LEAN TRIMMINGS<br />

PRIME<br />

The official magazine of the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong><br />

<strong>Food</strong> <strong>Safety</strong>:<br />

Ensuring Our <strong>Food</strong><br />

Supply is Safe in<br />

2009 and Beyond<br />

Premier Edition


thetoc<br />

Premier Issue<br />

Published For:<br />

The <strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> - West<br />

1970 Broadway, Suite 825<br />

Oakland, CA 94612<br />

(510) 763-1533<br />

Fax (510) 763-6186<br />

The <strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> - East<br />

1400 - 16th Street NW, Suite 400<br />

Washington, DC 20036<br />

(202) 667-2108<br />

staff@nmaonline.org<br />

Published By:<br />

Matrix Group Publishing.<br />

Return all undeliverable addresses to:<br />

16516 El Camino Real, Suite 413<br />

Houston, Texas 77062<br />

Toll Free: (866) 999-1299<br />

Toll Free Fax: (866) 244-2544<br />

www.matrixgroupinc.net<br />

President & CEO<br />

Jack Andress<br />

Senior Publisher<br />

Maurice LaBorde<br />

Publisher<br />

Peter Schulz<br />

Publisher & Director of Sales<br />

Joe Strazzullo<br />

jstrazzullo@matrixgroupinc.net<br />

Editor-in-Chief<br />

Shannon Lutter<br />

shannonl@matrixgroupinc.net<br />

Finance/Administration<br />

Shoshana Weinberg, Pat Andress,<br />

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accounting@matrixgroupinc.net<br />

Director of Marketing & Circulation<br />

Shoshana Weinberg<br />

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Neil Gottfred<br />

Sales Team Leader<br />

Jessica Potter<br />

Matrix Group Publishing. Account<br />

Executives<br />

Albert Brydges, Lewis Daigle, Rick Kuzie,<br />

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Commandeur, Declan O’Donovan, Bruce<br />

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Percival<br />

Advertising Design<br />

James Robinson<br />

Layout & Design<br />

J. Peters<br />

©2008/2009 Matrix Group Publishing. All rights<br />

reserved. Contents may not be reproduced by<br />

any means, in whole or in part, without the<br />

prior written permission of the publisher. The<br />

opinions expressed in this publication are not<br />

necessarily those of Matrix Group Publishing.<br />

Printed in Canada.<br />

INTRODUCTIONS<br />

7 A message from the President of the NMA, David Wimmer<br />

7 A message from the CEO of the NMA, Barry Carpenter<br />

8 NMA’s Board of Directors<br />

COVER STORY<br />

9 <strong>Food</strong> <strong>Safety</strong>: Ensuring Our <strong>Food</strong> Supply is Safe in 2009 and Beyond<br />

FEATURES<br />

13 A New Era?<br />

15 10 Things You Need to Know About Country-Of-Origin Labeling<br />

MEATXPO’09<br />

17 Mark your Calendars!<br />

18 Committee Meetings<br />

18 Forums<br />

18 Roundtables<br />

18 Specialty Meetings<br />

19 Keynote Speaker<br />

23 Preliminary Agenda<br />

25 Exhibitors<br />

27 Conference Floor Plan<br />

NEWS & VIEWS<br />

30 Meet NMA’s Newest Asset<br />

31 Meet Our Leaders in Washington<br />

32 NMA Scholarship Foundation Announces 2008 Recipients<br />

35 Get to Know the NMA<br />

37 Buyer’s Guide<br />

table of contents<br />

<strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> 5


Intros<br />

A Message from the President of <strong>National</strong><br />

<strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong>, Dave Wimmer<br />

WELCOME TO ThE FiRST iSSuE OF<br />

LEAN Trimmings Prime, <strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong><br />

<strong>Association</strong>’s new magazine. More than a<br />

year from conception to completion, this magazine<br />

is intended to showcase the best of NMA. And we’ve<br />

got a lot to crow about.<br />

i’ve been with the association for over a decade<br />

and it never ceases to amaze me how much this<br />

group gets done. What attracted me to NMA initially<br />

is that it seemed like a truly hands-on organization.<br />

With all that’s going on in the world, now more than<br />

ever, we need representation that’s not afraid to<br />

roll up its sleeves and get to work. There are things<br />

happening in the market that require real assistance<br />

and true collaboration to overcome.<br />

A Message from the CEO of the <strong>National</strong><br />

<strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong>, Barry Carpenter<br />

NATiONAL MEAT ASSOCiATiON iS<br />

WiELDiNG AN iNCREASiNGLY respected<br />

voice for the meat packers and processors<br />

on the national and international scene. Our<br />

members are leaders in the industry and our staff<br />

diligently provides unique one-on-one assistance to<br />

membership.<br />

The NMA network has a knowledge and<br />

experience of meat industry issues, including federal<br />

inspection, labor relations, general government<br />

regulation, that makes us unique in the industry.<br />

Furthermore, the association provides a reason<br />

for all segments of the industry to come together<br />

through our offices, workshops, conferences,<br />

conventions and expositions.<br />

Packers, processors and others with grants of<br />

inspection utilize the regulatory and technical<br />

assistance, as well as hACCP support and<br />

education, provided by NMA’s regulatory arm.<br />

Equipment manufacturers gain contacts, advertising<br />

This magazine will not only seek to capture the<br />

best of what NMA does, but also educate readers<br />

about the evolution of governmental policies. With<br />

things like mandatory country-of-origin labeling<br />

and new food safety surveillance programs, we’re<br />

entering a new era of top-down regulation. Lean<br />

Trimmings Prime will help track these trends.<br />

it’s also a handy way for you to get to know your<br />

association better. You may not be aware of just how<br />

active this staff is on behalf of us all. in these pages,<br />

i think you’re likely to see more than you expected.<br />

And if that prompts you to get more deeply involved<br />

in upcoming events and activities, well, in the end<br />

it’s member like us who are the heart and soul of<br />

any association. ❙<br />

opportunities and the focused tradeshow,<br />

MEATXPO. Meanwhile, consultants tap into the<br />

strong networking possibilities, clear directory and<br />

atmosphere of friendly inclusiveness that NMA<br />

provides. Academics and educators utilize our<br />

information services, our scholarship foundation and<br />

our website, www.nmaonline.org.<br />

With this new publication, Lean Trimmings<br />

Prime, we aim to provide even better information to<br />

the entire association. it will be dedicated to keeping<br />

up on the changes in the meat industry and to<br />

keeping the industry informed about the changes to<br />

the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong>.<br />

Most importantly, however, Lean Trimmings<br />

Prime will keep NMA members up to date on<br />

everything relevant to their businesses. And<br />

members know that if they have a question that<br />

goes beyond the pages of this or any publication, the<br />

association is always available. Contact us at (510)<br />

763-1533 for immediate assistance. ❙<br />

introductions<br />

<strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> 7


2008-2009<br />

DIRECTORS/OFFICERS<br />

Chairman of the Board - Jim Maxey, J & D <strong>Food</strong>service, Fresno, CA<br />

President - Dave Wimmer, Wimmers <strong>Meat</strong> Products, West Point, NE<br />

Vice President - Robert Jensen, Jensen <strong>Meat</strong> Company, Vista, CA<br />

Secretary - Robert Rebholtz, Agri Beef, Boise, ID<br />

Treasurer - Larry Vad, Ideal <strong>Meat</strong> & Provision, Northridge, CA<br />

Barry Carpenter - CEO/Executive Director<br />

BOARD OF DIRECTORS<br />

REGION I (AK, OR, M, ID, WA, W.MT, S.B.ALBERTA)<br />

Ron Baer, Kings Command<br />

John Duyn, Carlton Farms<br />

Ryan Lenz, Schenk Packing<br />

Robert Rebholtz, Washington Beef<br />

Nicole Sorenson, Hill <strong>Meat</strong> Company<br />

REGION II (N.CA, N.NV, HI)<br />

Eddie Bell, ConAgra<br />

Eric Ching, Palama <strong>Meat</strong><br />

Lawrence Coelho, Central Valley<br />

Mike Grazier, Buseto <strong>Food</strong>s<br />

Dave Langston, Del Monte Capital <strong>Meat</strong><br />

Les Oesterreich, Superior Farms<br />

John Piccetti, San Francisco Sausage<br />

Kevin Smith, Costco Wholesale <strong>Meat</strong>s<br />

Clinton Wong, United <strong>Meat</strong> Company<br />

REGION III (S.CA, S.NV, AZ)<br />

Bill Bridgford, Bridgford <strong>Food</strong>s<br />

Marty Evanson, Jobbers <strong>Meat</strong> Packing<br />

Ron Gustafson, Coast Packing<br />

Eldad Hadar, Wayne Provision<br />

Henry Haskell, Square H Brands, Inc.<br />

Andy Lofquist, King <strong>Meat</strong> Packing<br />

Chris Pocino, Pocino <strong>Food</strong>s Company<br />

Terry Unruh, Desert <strong>Meat</strong> Company<br />

Larry Vad, Ideal <strong>Meat</strong> & Provision<br />

Todd Waldman, United <strong>Food</strong> Group<br />

REGION IV (E.MT, E.ID, WY, UT, CO)<br />

Cristina Gomez, OSI Industries<br />

Ben Badiola, SSI <strong>Food</strong> Services<br />

Charles Moore, Maverick Ranch<br />

Rob Stephens, Independent <strong>Meat</strong><br />

Burke Stone, Stone <strong>Meat</strong>s. Inc.<br />

REGION V (NM, TX, OK)<br />

Nick Nickelson, CIT <strong>Food</strong>s<br />

John Soules, Jr., John Soules <strong>Food</strong>s, Inc.,<br />

Jarrod Stokes, San Angelo Packing<br />

Trevor Caviness, Caviness Packing<br />

8 www.nmaonline.org<br />

REGION VI (ND, SD, NE, KS, SASKATCHEWAN)<br />

Shawn Buchanan (09) - All American <strong>Meat</strong>s<br />

Mike Hesse (09) - Beef Products, Inc.<br />

John Miller (09) - Farmland <strong>National</strong> Beef<br />

Steve Sands (08) - Premium Protein Products<br />

introductions<br />

NMA’S BOARD OF DiRECTORS<br />

The <strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong>’s leaders are selected for their integrity, experience and<br />

caring, their vision and courage to lead, and their conviction to implement the policy of the<br />

organization to these ends.<br />

REGION VII (MD, KY, VA and all states South and East of<br />

Region Five)<br />

Sharon Beals, Tyson <strong>Food</strong>s<br />

Dane Bernard, FPL <strong>Food</strong>, LLC1<br />

Brad Howard, Suzanna’s Kitchen<br />

Francois Leger, FPL <strong>Food</strong>, LLC<br />

Greg Miller, PM Global<br />

REGION VIII (All States North of MO, KY, VA and East of<br />

Region Six)<br />

Tim Biela, American <strong>Food</strong>service<br />

Michael Coleman, Taylor/Excel<br />

Jim Malex, Sioux Preme Packing<br />

Don Mehesan, Rosen Diversified<br />

ASSOCIATES<br />

Fred Baque, Newly Wed <strong>Food</strong>s<br />

Gina Bellinger, <strong>Food</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> Net Services<br />

Kelly Green, Birko Corporation<br />

Tom Murray, DCS Sanitation Management, Inc.<br />

Roger Reiser, REISER, MA<br />

Bob Savage, HACCP Consulting Group<br />

HONORARY DIRECTORS<br />

Phil Bauer, CA<br />

Cal Faello, CA<br />

Ben Goehring, CA<br />

Wayne Keener, WA<br />

Frank Kirk, CA<br />

Leonard, Litvak, CO<br />

STANDING COMMITTEES<br />

Beef Committee<br />

Executive Committee<br />

Education Committee<br />

Associate Advisory Committee<br />

<strong>Food</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> & Regulatory Inspection Committee<br />

Government Relations Committee<br />

Marketing Committee<br />

Membership Committee<br />

Nominating Committee<br />

Processed <strong>Meat</strong>s Committee<br />

Strategic Planning Committee<br />

Workplace Issues Committee


coverstory<br />

<strong>Food</strong> <strong>Safety</strong>:<br />

Ensuring Our <strong>Food</strong><br />

Supply is Safe in<br />

2009 and Beyond<br />

Numerous recalls in 2008 left the public<br />

demanding safety and the politicians<br />

promising to deliver<br />

By Lauron Early<br />

OUR FOOD SUPPlY IS SAFE bECAUSE OF ThE hARD WORk<br />

the industry does to make it that way. However, events like those<br />

which happened last year have tried consumers’ faith in the<br />

food supply system and, as a result, new bills have been introduced into<br />

the legislature to protect consumers. In 2009, we can expect even more<br />

changes to be made to ensure the safety of our food supply.<br />

Tainted products grab consumers’<br />

attention<br />

in the beginning of 2008, consumers<br />

were still suffering from memories of the<br />

Topps <strong>Meat</strong> Co.’s recall, which was one of<br />

the largest beef recalls in u.S. history. it<br />

happened in October 2007 when hamburger<br />

patties were found to be contaminated with<br />

the E. coli bacteria strain O157:h7. The<br />

recall eventually ballooned to affect 21.7<br />

million pounds of ground beef, forcing the<br />

company to close its doors.<br />

This recall was soon followed by the<br />

Westland/hallmark <strong>Meat</strong> Company recall<br />

in February of 2008. This Class 2 recall<br />

became the largest beef recall in history with<br />

143 million pounds of beef being recalled<br />

after an undercover video of animal abuse<br />

taking place at the plant was released by<br />

the humane Society of the united States.<br />

Officials were informed that the meat plant<br />

did not consistently carry out inspections of<br />

cattle which were not able to walk before<br />

being slaughtered—also known as “downer<br />

cattle.” Cattle that cannot walk are banned<br />

from the food supply. This recall also ended<br />

with Westland/hallmark <strong>Meat</strong> Company<br />

closing its doors.<br />

A few months later, in June 2008, there<br />

was another ground beef recall due to a<br />

possible E. coli O157:h7 contamination.<br />

Then, in August 2008, the entire food<br />

industry suffered a major blow, which caused<br />

consumers to not only doubt the safety of<br />

our meat supply but our food supply as<br />

a whole, when the Salmonella Saintpaul<br />

outbreak occurred. it was initially linked to<br />

tomatoes, but upon further investigation,<br />

was linked to jalapeño peppers and serrano<br />

peppers instead. This series of events cast a<br />

shadow on the agriculture industry and food<br />

inspection system for months.<br />

<strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> 9


New bills to ensure safety<br />

The enormity of these recalls caused such public outrage that<br />

it spurred political action in the form of a number of bills being<br />

introduced into legislation. The first was introduced in January 2008<br />

and was included in The Farm Bill. it introduced an Agriculture<br />

10 www.nmaonline.org<br />

coverstory<br />

Policy and Public health Study that will require the General<br />

Accounting Office to assess whether u.S. agricultural policies have an<br />

impact on health, nutrition, overweight and obesity, and diet-related<br />

chronic disease.<br />

The Farm Bill also called for research into the development of<br />

methods and practices of animal husbandry that ensures the judicious<br />

use of antibiotics. in addition, it added a provision that would create<br />

public “reportable food registries” that would record all incidences<br />

whenever there is a “probability of such foods causing adverse health<br />

consequences” in humans. This means an establishment will have<br />

to notify the united States Department of Agriculture (uSDA) if it<br />

has reason to believe that an adulterated or misbranded product<br />

has entered commerce and requires that establishment to prepare<br />

and maintain written recall plans. The Secretary can then use that<br />

information to identify the food, issue an alert, and engage in any<br />

“other food safety authority of the Secretary to protect the health and<br />

safety of humans and animals.”<br />

Following the Westland/hallmark recall, Congressman Tom udall<br />

(D-MN) introduced a bill to amend the Federal <strong>Meat</strong> inspection<br />

Act and Poultry Products inspection Act to authorize the Secretary<br />

of Agriculture to issue mandatory recalls of meat and poultry. The<br />

“unsafe <strong>Meat</strong> and Poultry Recall Act” stated that if the Secretary of<br />

Agriculture deems a meat product is in violation of this act and that<br />

there is a reasonable probability that human consumption of the<br />

meat product may present a health hazard to the public, then all<br />

appropriate persons that handled the product shall cease distribution<br />

of the meat product, notify all persons handling the product to<br />

immediately cease distribution of the product, recall the product, and<br />

in consultation with the Secretary, provide notice to consumers to<br />

whom the product may have been distributed to.<br />

Representative Jim Costa (D-CA), a member of the house<br />

Agriculture Committee, introduced food safety legislation a couple<br />

of months later called the Safe <strong>Food</strong> Enforcement, Assessment,<br />

Standards and Targeting Act of 2008. This bill amended the Federal


coverstory<br />

<strong>Food</strong>, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) to<br />

establish new procedures and requirements<br />

to improve food safety. The main provisions<br />

of the bill included the FDA having access<br />

to all records related to an article of food<br />

that it reasonably believes presents a threat<br />

of serious adverse health consequences or<br />

death to humans or animals. it also required<br />

the FDA to allocate its resources to inspect<br />

facilities according to the risk profile of<br />

the facility. The FDA would be required to<br />

inspect high-risk domestic facilities at least<br />

once a year and inspect shipments of food<br />

imported into the united States according to<br />

the risk profile of the shipment. So far, none<br />

of these bills have passed, but congress is<br />

getting closer to taking action.<br />

Meanwhile, in July, California signed into<br />

law a bill that prohibits “a slaughterhouse,<br />

stockyard, auction, market agency, or<br />

dealer from buying, selling, or receiving a<br />

nonambulatory animal.” it also prohibits,<br />

“a slaughterhouse from processing,<br />

butchering, or selling meat or products<br />

of nonambulatory animals for human<br />

consumption.” The law amends section<br />

599f of the California penal code, effective<br />

as of January 2009, to prohibit any<br />

California slaughterhouse, stockyard,<br />

auction, market agency, or dealer from<br />

holding a nonambulatory animal without<br />

taking immediate action to humanely<br />

euthanize the animal or, in some cases,<br />

provide immediate veterinary treatment.<br />

This bill would also prohibit a person<br />

from selling, consigning, or shipping<br />

a nonambulatory animal, or receiving<br />

such an animal for transport or delivery,<br />

to a slaughterhouse, stockyard, auction,<br />

market agency, or dealer. While somewhat<br />

duplicative of existing federal law, the<br />

passage of this bill indicated the mood<br />

following the Westland/hallmark recall. it<br />

was later followed by the passage of Prop.<br />

2, the, “Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty<br />

Act.”<br />

in August 2008, Senators Dick Durbin<br />

(D-iL) and Barack Obama (D-iL)—who is<br />

now our president—introduced two separate<br />

bills that they suggested would address<br />

the weaknesses exposed by the recent<br />

Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak. President<br />

Obama’s bill, “improving <strong>Food</strong>-borne illness<br />

Surveillance and Response Act of 2008”,<br />

would enhance surveillance systems by<br />

improving the collection, analysis, reporting<br />

<strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> 11


and usefulness of data. it established a<br />

working group of food safety experts to<br />

develop an annual report and a strategic plan<br />

to fix deficiencies in the surveillance systems<br />

setting up a grant program for state and local<br />

agencies to expand food safety capacity. it<br />

also provides for easier and more rapid tests<br />

for identifying pathogens, better informationsharing<br />

across agencies, and better efforts<br />

to recruit and retain a multidisciplinary<br />

workforce.<br />

12 www.nmaonline.org<br />

Senator Durbin’s bill, “The FDA <strong>Food</strong><br />

<strong>Safety</strong> Modernization Act”, requires domestic<br />

food facilities to write hACCP plans, the<br />

FDA to set commodity-specific standards<br />

for fresh produce, high-risk imports to<br />

be certified as meeting u.S. standards,<br />

and the FDA to set up an accreditation<br />

system for third party inspectors of food<br />

facilities. it also requires more frequent<br />

inspections, with specific time lines for<br />

high-risk facilities. All samples tested<br />

coverstory<br />

for compliance purposes would need to<br />

be conducted either by an FDA lab or<br />

a lab accredited by an FDA recognized<br />

accrediting body. Along with mandatory<br />

recall authority, the FDA could suspend<br />

a food facility’s registration if there is a<br />

reasonable probability a food would cause<br />

serious adverse health consequences or<br />

death. Again, neither bill was passed, but<br />

they show the evolution and direction of<br />

congress on these issues. With Obama now<br />

president, he may influence their further<br />

development.<br />

With a new president, administration<br />

and congress in 2009, food safety will be a<br />

top priority, along with bolstering the power<br />

of the regulatory agencies. This is especially<br />

the case with the implementation of the<br />

new <strong>Food</strong> Protection Plan, which outlines<br />

strategies for prevention, intervention and<br />

response, covers the full lifecycle of food<br />

by encouraging the building of safety into<br />

every step of the food supply chain, and is<br />

designed to address food safety and food<br />

defense for both domestic and imported<br />

products. Potential laws and plans like<br />

the one noted above were introduced into<br />

legislation as a result of the recalls in 2008<br />

and will shape the way we deal with food<br />

safety in 2009 and beyond.<br />

As a result our food supply will continue<br />

to be safer as time goes on due to hard work<br />

and stricter guidelines. ❙<br />

NMA filed in December a complaint<br />

in the U. S. District Court for the<br />

Eastern Division of California against<br />

Section 599f of Title 14 of the<br />

California Penal Code. At issue is<br />

hog fatigue. The law does not take<br />

into account that hogs are likely<br />

to suffer such fatigue, and they<br />

customarily will recover mobility after<br />

they rest, feed and drink water in<br />

the holding facilities at the inspected<br />

establishment.


featurestory<br />

A New Era?<br />

With a political spotlight on the meat industry it’s up to<br />

us to make sure that future policies fit our puzzle<br />

By Jeremy Russell<br />

ANiMAL WELFARE, FOOD SAFETY AND GLOBAL<br />

warming—the three legs of a stool known as the sustainable<br />

agenda. At its best, the sustainable agenda is an effort by industry,<br />

academia, government and non-governmental organizations to (as the<br />

Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program at uC Davis<br />

puts it) integrate “three main goals—environmental health, economic<br />

profitability, and social and economic equity.” At its worst, it looks more<br />

like the Prop. 2 ballot initiative that passed in California in 2008.<br />

Prop. 2 is the “Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act”. it<br />

requires that calves raised for veal, egg-laying hens and pregnant pigs<br />

be confined only in ways that allow these animals to lie down, stand<br />

up, fully extend their limbs and turn around freely. Violators face<br />

misdemeanor penalties, including a fine not to exceed $1,000 and/or<br />

imprisonment for up to 180 days.<br />

The initiative passed by a wide margin (63 percent). And although<br />

it will not be enacted until 2015, some members of the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong><br />

<strong>Association</strong> (NMA) have already received calls from concerned citizens<br />

who want to make sure the livestock are being protected. if people are<br />

more passionate than knowledgeable when it comes to animal welfare,<br />

it’s only because we’re living in an urban-controlled world. For city<br />

dwellers and suburbanites, the great realm of agriculture is so often the<br />

part of the map marked terra incognita.<br />

Prop. 2 in California is just an opening move by the opponents of<br />

modern agriculture. They will be taking their campaign to Washington,<br />

DC in short order.<br />

if you haven’t taken a look at the yesonprop2.com website, you<br />

might want to. it’s very telling. There are videos of confined animals,<br />

speeches by Wayne Pacelle of the humane Society of the united<br />

States and cartoons with dancing pigs singing catchy songs about farm<br />

animal freedom.<br />

There’s also a one-pager called, “The Facts,” which outlines<br />

arguments in support of the proposition. What are these facts? One is<br />

that it is “simply wrong” to keep animals in confinement, and if you<br />

give them more space it will not only make food safer but safeguard<br />

The Environment, as well. And it doesn’t matter that there are<br />

enough holes in those arguments for you to drive a combine through,<br />

because these are scary catch-all categories about which everyone<br />

these days has some concern.<br />

Even President Barack Obama was in on<br />

the action, introducing S. 3358, a bill, “to<br />

provide for enhanced food-borne illness<br />

surveillance and food safety capacity.” If<br />

you haven’t read through it, I think it can<br />

best be described as inoffensive, at least in<br />

comparison to some of the more extreme<br />

bills introduced in the last year.<br />

<strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> 13


<strong>Food</strong> safety is definitely one of those<br />

categories and its had Congress jumping up<br />

and down for more than a year. There have<br />

been multiple hearings in Washington, DC,<br />

tons of media coverage and more than a few<br />

bills introduced.<br />

Even President Barack Obama was in<br />

on the action, introducing S. 3358, a bill,<br />

“to provide for enhanced food-borne illness<br />

surveillance and food safety capacity.” if<br />

you haven’t read through it, i think it can<br />

best be described as inoffensive, at least in<br />

14 www.nmaonline.org<br />

comparison to some of the more extreme<br />

bills introduced in the last year. it doesn’t<br />

call for a single food safety agency, it<br />

doesn’t call for mandatory recall authority<br />

for uSDA, it doesn’t levy fines against<br />

producers or raise taxes on high-caloric<br />

foods. The key words in the Obama bill are<br />

“leverage and enhance” and basically the<br />

bill provides that the Centre for Disease<br />

Control and Prevention will work more<br />

effectively with state agencies to react faster<br />

to food-borne threats. it’s a complex bill<br />

featurestory<br />

with lots of components and sub clauses,<br />

but that is it in a nutshell. We could do a lot<br />

worse.<br />

With the new Congress that was elected,<br />

we can expect to see attempts at a lot worse<br />

being done. Senator hillary Clinton’s<br />

proposals, you may remember, included a<br />

<strong>Food</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> Administration and mandated a<br />

national tracing system so we can determine<br />

the origin of tainted food. it also included a<br />

call to action to “find, prosecute, and punish<br />

food production facilities that abuse animals<br />

and allow unsafe food to enter our food<br />

supply.”<br />

This attitude is representative of the<br />

political leanings of the new Democratic<br />

Congress. And nowhere is this attitude more<br />

apparent than in the wide-ranging response<br />

to environmental issues. The problem<br />

with these issues isn’t only that they have<br />

become so politicized, but also that they’re<br />

so broad and so vague. Nevertheless,<br />

Congress is almost without a doubt going<br />

to be taking action and meat production is<br />

certainly in the cross hairs.<br />

Back in September 2008, Time<br />

magazine ran a story about Rajendra<br />

Pachauri who is the head of the uN’s<br />

intergovernmental Panel on Climate<br />

Change. This is a Nobel-prize winning<br />

panel, but the advice was that to have the<br />

greatest impact on global warming, people<br />

should give up eating meat one day a week.<br />

Even Time wasn’t convinced, calling the<br />

advice a tactical mistake and pointing out<br />

that “relying on individuals to voluntarily<br />

change their behavior is nowhere near<br />

as effective as political change aimed at<br />

speeding the transition to an economy far<br />

less carbon-intensive than our current one.”<br />

in other words, we can’t rely on people to<br />

eat less meat; we have to force them to do it.<br />

At the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> we’ve<br />

made a decision that it’s time, now more<br />

than ever, to be proactive about these<br />

things. We have an opportunity to step up<br />

and develop policies, guidelines and best<br />

practices to address these issues. We can<br />

invite congressmen to our plants, feedlots<br />

and ranches to show them what operations<br />

really look like. And we can gather facts<br />

and disseminate them to decision makers<br />

so that they can make sound, science-based<br />

decisions. it’s going to be up to us to make<br />

sure that future policies are reasonable,<br />

equitable and conscionable. ❙


featurestory<br />

10 Things<br />

You Need to Know About<br />

Country-Of-Origin Labeling<br />

ten<br />

it’s worth remembering that Country-Of-<br />

Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements do not<br />

apply to covered commodities produced or<br />

packaged before September 30, 2008. But<br />

most of that product should be used up soon.<br />

nine<br />

The cost for enforcement is<br />

estimated to be approximately<br />

$9.6 million (total cost for industry<br />

and government is expected to be<br />

around $2.5 billion). To ease the<br />

transition and alleviate confusion, the united States Department<br />

of Agriculture (uSDA) has an official partnership with state<br />

departments of agriculture to assist with COOL retail surveillance<br />

responsibilities. Maybe soon we’ll be able to talk about what the<br />

actual costs of implementation have been, but for now these<br />

estimates stand.<br />

eight<br />

The uSDA has launched a<br />

Country Of Origin Labeling<br />

listserv. The service offers<br />

detailed information for both<br />

industry and consumers via<br />

e-mail. The new COOL listserv provides the benefit of reaching<br />

out to subscribers with immediate updates and helps retailers to<br />

more easily achieve compliance with COOL requirements in a<br />

cost-effective manner. To subscribe to the COOL listserv, go to<br />

www.ams.usda.gov/cool.<br />

seven<br />

The united States<br />

Department of<br />

Agriculture/Agricultural<br />

Marketing Service<br />

(AMS) initiated a sixmonth<br />

period of “informed compliance” before enforcing new<br />

mandatory COOL requirements for meat and produce. AMS is<br />

currently conducting industry education and outreach to ensure<br />

that people will come into compliance. it is also training its state<br />

cooperators. But the informed compliance period ends after<br />

March and starting in April, AMS will begin the retail surveillance<br />

for the balance of the covered commodities.<br />

six<br />

There is no standardized label. however, the<br />

meat origin can only be categorized under<br />

following the categories:<br />

• Category A, u.S. Origin;<br />

• Category B, Multiple Countries Of Origin;<br />

• Category C, imported For immediate Slaughter; and<br />

• Category D, Foreign Origin.<br />

The only language allowed on the labels to separate countries of<br />

origin will be “and” or the use of a comma. <strong>Meat</strong> from multiple<br />

countries, Category B, and imported for direct slaughter, Category<br />

C, must list the imported for immediate slaughter country as the<br />

first country listed on the label.<br />

in general, abbreviations are not acceptable. Only those<br />

abbreviations approved for use under Customs and Border<br />

Protection (CBP) rules, regulations, and policies, such as ‘‘u.K.’’<br />

for ‘‘The united Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern<br />

ireland’’, ‘‘Luxemb’’ for Luxembourg, and ‘‘u.S.’’ for the ‘‘united<br />

States’’ are acceptable.<br />

five<br />

in ground beef products and all raw<br />

materials have to be of u.S. origin. if<br />

labeled “product of the u.S.”, ground<br />

beef products of multiple countries of<br />

origin labeling may list the countries<br />

in any order following “product of the u.S.” All documentation<br />

pertaining to these labels must be kept on file for one year.<br />

four<br />

Slaughterers’ origin declaration<br />

requires information obtained from<br />

producers. Affidavit and continuous<br />

affidavit with transaction records<br />

will suffice, as will the <strong>National</strong> iD<br />

system. The uSDA has authorized an examination of livestock to<br />

determine if any cattle are of foreign origin for labeling purposes.<br />

Suppliers’ labels only need to provide what the commodity is, the<br />

origin of the product, and company’s name.<br />

For commingling purposes, if you commingle products from:<br />

• Category A and B, you can label the product under<br />

Category B;<br />

• Category B and C, you can label it Category C along with any<br />

additional countries; and<br />

<strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> 15


•<br />

Category A and C, you can label the<br />

product under Category C and u.S.<br />

three<br />

All exporters are advised that if products<br />

are exported to any market, including<br />

Canada and Mexico, containing a label<br />

that indicates multiple countries of origin<br />

there is an extremely high risk of product<br />

rejection. For clarity, exporters should<br />

continue to label products for export<br />

with a country of origin designation of<br />

“Product of u.S.A.”<br />

two<br />

it’s important to<br />

remember that<br />

COOL covers<br />

only retail,<br />

unprocessed<br />

products.<br />

A processed food item, which is exempt<br />

from the rule, is defined in the rule as<br />

16 www.nmaonline.org<br />

“a retail item derived from a covered<br />

commodity that has undergone specific<br />

processing resulting in a change in the<br />

character of the covered commodity,<br />

or that has been combined with at<br />

least one of the covered commodity or<br />

other substantive food component (e.g.,<br />

chocolate, breading, tomato sauce),<br />

except that the addition of a component<br />

(such as water, salt, or sugar) that<br />

enhances or represents a further step<br />

in the preparation of the product for<br />

consumption, would not in itself result<br />

in a processed food item.”<br />

one<br />

And the<br />

number one<br />

thing to know<br />

about COOL<br />

is where to<br />

get your questions answered: AMS<br />

will answer questions e-mailed to<br />

cool@usda.gov. And the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong><br />

<strong>Association</strong> (NMA) is ready to answer<br />

questions at our emergency hotline,<br />

24-hours a day, 7 days a week: (510)<br />

763-1533. ❙<br />

featurestory<br />

To ease the transition<br />

and alleviate<br />

confusion, the united<br />

States Department of<br />

Agriculture (USDA)<br />

has an official<br />

partnership with<br />

state departments<br />

of agriculture to<br />

assist with COOL<br />

retail surveillance<br />

responsibilities.


meatxpo’09<br />

MEATXPO’09<br />

MEATXPO’09 is an equipment/machinery show that<br />

focuses specifically on the meat industry, plus a convention<br />

with roundtable sessions that provide interactive exchange<br />

on the most current industry issues. It is designed to give<br />

you access to some of the most influential industry people.<br />

More information will be available at the NMA website:<br />

www.nmaonline.org.<br />

Suppliers, plan to exhibit at this long-running<br />

trade show.<br />

Photos courtesy of the Las Vegas News Bureau/LVCVA/ Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.<br />

February 22-25, 2009<br />

Rio All Suite and Casino,<br />

las Vegas, Nevada


18 www.nmaonline.org<br />

meatxpo’09<br />

COMMITTEE MEETINGS<br />

The <strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> (NMA) is moving in a new direction. For its 63rd Annual Convention in 2009, the <strong>Food</strong> <strong>Safety</strong>, Beef and<br />

Workplace Issues committees will each be bolstered by the addition of a new forum. The forums will feature a roster of high-powered<br />

speakers that will bring their knowledge and experience to the committee, as well as other attendees of the meeting. The committee will<br />

convene later to discuss and develop NMA policies.<br />

Here’s the compete schedule of NMA committee meetings (the forums are below).<br />

Sunday, February 22, 2009<br />

2:30pm - 3:30pm ............ Membership Committee, Education Committee, Associate Advisory Committee<br />

7:30pm - 8:30pm ............ Executive Committee<br />

Monday, February 23, 2009<br />

5:00pm - 6:00pm ............. Marketing Committee<br />

Tuesday, February 24, 2009<br />

8:15am - 9:15am ............. Beef Committee, <strong>Food</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> Committee, Processed <strong>Meat</strong>s Committee, Work Place Issues Committee<br />

2:00pm - 4:00pm ............. Board of Directors Meeting<br />

4:15pm - 5:30pm ............ Government Relations Committee<br />

FORUMS<br />

A new addition to this year’s schedule, the forums will compliment certain committee meetings (see topics above) to allow time for guest<br />

speakers to address a broader audience on the issues important to that committee. The committee will then convene at a later time to craft<br />

NMA policy based on what they’ve learned.<br />

Sunday, February 22, 2009<br />

3:45pm - 4:45 pm ............ Workplace Issues Forum<br />

Science & Technology Forum<br />

Monday, February 23, 2009<br />

3:45pm - 4:45 pm ............ <strong>Food</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> Forum<br />

Tuesday, February 24, 2009<br />

7:00am - 8:00am ............. Beef Forum<br />

ROUNDTAblES<br />

The NMA will be hosting two days of roundtable seminars to educate and entertain attendees of MEATXPO’09. The following is our full<br />

schedule:<br />

Sunday, February 22, 2009<br />

5:00pm - 6:00pm ............ Science & Technology Roundtable ........................................ Meeting Consumer Expectations for Animal Drug Use<br />

Regulatory & Legislative Roundtable .................................................................................. What’s Ahead for FSIS<br />

Trade & Marketing Roundtable ..........................................................................................Customer Expectations<br />

Business & Industry Roundtable .........................................................................................Workplace Challenges<br />

Monday, February 23, 2009<br />

10:15am - 11:15am ......... Science & Technology Roundtable ...................................................................... The Proper Role of Micro Testing<br />

Regulatory & Legislative Roundtable ............................................................ Supporting Documents and Validation<br />

Trade & Marketing Roundtable .............................................................................................. Niche Market Focus<br />

Business & Industry Roundtable ................................................................................ Making the Most of Margins<br />

SPECIAlTY MEETINGS<br />

Monday, February 23, 2009<br />

2:00pm - 2:30pm ............. <strong>Meat</strong> From Down Under<br />

MEATXPO’09 bUllET SESSION<br />

Monday, February 23, 2009<br />

8:30am - 10:00am<br />

• Gary Weber, Bioniche<br />

• Eldon Roth, BPI<br />

• Steve Kay, Cattle Buyers<br />

Weekly<br />

• Felicia Nestor, <strong>Food</strong> & Water<br />

Watch<br />

• Dave Theno, Industry<br />

Consultant<br />

• JBS Swift & Co.<br />

• Kerri Harris, International<br />

HACCP Alliance<br />

More speakers to come!


meatxpo’09<br />

Tuesday, February 24, 2009<br />

11:00am - 11:30 am ........ Animal Handling<br />

Tuesday, February 24, 2009<br />

1:00pm - 1:30pm ............. Biofuels<br />

Wednesday, February 25, 2009<br />

11:00am - 11:30 am ........ Lobbying Resource<br />

kEYNOTE SPEAkER,<br />

WESlEY bATISTA<br />

JBS Swift & Company President and<br />

CEO Wesley Batista is our keynote speaker<br />

at MEATXPO’09. He will be speaking on<br />

February 25, 2009 during the Annual<br />

Meeting.<br />

Batista became the President and Chief<br />

Executive Officer of JBS Swift & Company<br />

in July 2007. He began his career in 1987,<br />

holding a number of different positions<br />

within the organization. Most recently,<br />

before becoming President and CEO of JBS<br />

Swift & Company, he was responsible for all<br />

domestic and export sales.<br />

For the past fifteen years, Batista<br />

has been the Chief Operating Officer<br />

(COO) of JBS’s beef operations in Brazil<br />

and Argentina. Due to his determination<br />

and intuitive spirit, this business has<br />

experienced an average growth of 30<br />

percent a year, resulting in the largest beef<br />

producer and exporter in Latin America.<br />

Immediately following the consummation<br />

of the business transaction, Batista became<br />

the President and the CEO of Swift &<br />

Company (USA and Australia). His strategic<br />

insights in running a successful business<br />

allowed him the foresight to quickly<br />

reorganize the JBS Swift & Company<br />

organizational structure for future success<br />

and growth.<br />

Batista was responsible for the<br />

successful JBS business strategy, allowing<br />

the company to grow through acquisitions,<br />

and expanding its reaches to many<br />

countries such as Argentina (Operations),<br />

Europe and Middle-East (Trading) and<br />

the USA (Beef and Pork Operations, Beef<br />

Jerky Operations and Distribution). He<br />

continues this strategic thinking through an<br />

entrepreneurial spirit and he is not afraid<br />

to face new challenges, think outside the<br />

box and take risks to proactively maneuver<br />

through the market. His father, Jose<br />

Batista, has also been invited to speak and<br />

will attend, schedule permitting.<br />

MEATXPO’09<br />

SPONSORS<br />

Access Business Group<br />

BIRKO Corp.<br />

Ecolab Inc.<br />

<strong>Food</strong> Quality/Wiley-Blackwell<br />

<strong>Food</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> Net Services<br />

FPEC Corp.<br />

In Brazil Batista is one of the most<br />

respected executives in the meat industry<br />

Handtmann<br />

<strong>Meat</strong> & Poultry Magazine<br />

<strong>Meat</strong>ingplace Magazine<br />

<strong>National</strong> Provisioner<br />

REISER<br />

Silliker, Inc.<br />

State Compensation Insurance<br />

Fund<br />

and is already gaining this same recognition<br />

within the U.S. and Australia.<br />

<strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> 19


meatxpo’09<br />

Preliminary Agenda<br />

Sunday, February 22<br />

7:00am - 1:30pm ............Golf Tournament (ticket required) ................................................................................................................off site<br />

2:00pm - 6:00pm ............Registration ....................................................................................................................................Pavilion Lobby<br />

2:30pm - 3:30pm ............Membership Committee ........................................................................................................................Miranda 5<br />

Education Committee ............................................................................................................................Miranda 6<br />

Associate Advisory Committee ...............................................................................................................Miranda 8<br />

3:45pm - 4:45pm ............Work Place Issues Forum ......................................................................................................................Miranda 7<br />

3:45pm - 4:45pm ............Science & Technology Forum ................................................................................................................Miranda 8<br />

5:00pm - 6:00pm ............Science & Technology Roundtable Seminar ............................................................................................Miranda 1<br />

Regulatory & Legislative Roundtable Seminar .........................................................................................Miranda 3<br />

Trade & Marketing Roundtable Seminar .................................................................................................Miranda 2<br />

Business & Industry Roundtable Seminar ................................................................................................Miranda 4<br />

6:15pm - 7:15pm ............Welcome Reception (cash prizes) ................................................................................................... Pavilion 10-11<br />

7:30pm - 8:30pm ............Executive Committee .......................................................................................................................................tba<br />

Monday, February 23<br />

6:30am - 8:00am ............Coffee Service ................................................................................................................................Pavilion Lobby<br />

6:45am - 5:00pm ............Registration ....................................................................................................................................Pavilion Lobby<br />

7:00am - 8:15am ............Issues Over Breakfast ....................................................................................................................Pavilion 10-11<br />

8:30am - 10:00am ..........General Session .............................................................................................................................Pavilion 10-11<br />

9:30am - 4:00pm ............Spouse Tour (ticket required) ......................................................................................................................off site<br />

10:15am - 11:15am ........Science & Technology Roundtable Seminar ............................................................................................Miranda 1<br />

Regulatory & Legislative Roundtable Seminar .........................................................................................Miranda 3<br />

Trade & Marketing Roundtable Seminar .................................................................................................Miranda 2<br />

Business & Industry Roundtable Seminar ................................................................................................Miranda 4<br />

11:30am - 3:30pm .........EXHIBITS GRAND OPENING .............................................................................................................Pavilion 1-7<br />

11:30am - 3:30pm ..........Consultants Corner ............................................................................................................................Pavilion 1-7<br />

12:00pm - 1:00pm ..........Exhibit hall lunch ................................................................................................................................Pavilion 1-7<br />

2:00pm - 2:30pm ............Specialty Meeting ..............................................................................................................................Pavilion 1-7<br />

2:30pm - 3:30pm ............Wine Tasting .....................................................................................................................................Pavilion 1-7<br />

3:45pm - 4:45pm ............<strong>Food</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> Forum ............................................................................................................................ Miranda 7-8<br />

5:00pm - 6:00pm ............Marketing Committee ............................................................................................................................Miranda 6<br />

6:15pm - 7:15pm ............PAC Social ....................................................................................................................................................TBA<br />

Tuesday, February 24<br />

6:00am - 8:00am ............Coffee Service ................................................................................................................................Pavilion Lobby<br />

6:45am - 5:00pm ............Registration ....................................................................................................................................Pavilion Lobby<br />

7:00am - 8:00am ............Beef Forum ...................................................................................................................................... Miranda 7-8<br />

8:15am - 9:15am ............Beef Committee ....................................................................................................................................Miranda 1<br />

<strong>Food</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> Committee .........................................................................................................................Miranda 2<br />

Processed <strong>Meat</strong>s Committee .................................................................................................................Miranda 3<br />

Work Place Issues Committee ...............................................................................................................Miranda 4<br />

9:30am - 1:30pm ...........EXHIBITS OPEN ...............................................................................................................................Pavilion 1-7<br />

9:30am - 1:30pm ............Consultants Corner ............................................................................................................................Pavilion 1-7<br />

11:00am - 11:30am ........Specialty Meeting ..............................................................................................................................Pavilion 1-7<br />

<strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> 21


22 www.nmaonline.org


meatxpo’09<br />

Preliminary Agenda continued<br />

12:00pm - 1:00pm ..........Exhibit hall lunch ................................................................................................................................Pavilion 1-7<br />

1:00pm - 1:30pm ............Specialty Meeting ..............................................................................................................................Pavilion 1-7<br />

2:00am - 4:00pm ............Board of Directors Meeting ......................................................................................................... Miranda 5-6-7-8<br />

4:15pm - 5:30pm ............Government Relations Committee ..........................................................................................................Miranda 5<br />

6:30pm - 9:00pm ............Annual Gourmet Sausagefest (ticket required)..................................................................................Pavilion 10-11<br />

Wednesday, February 25<br />

6:30am - 8:00am ............Coffee Service ................................................................................................................................Pavilion Lobby<br />

7:00am - 2:00pm ............Registration ....................................................................................................................................Pavilion Lobby<br />

7:30am - 9:45am ............Annual Meeting .............................................................................................................................Pavilion 10-11<br />

10:00am - 1:00pm .........EXHIBITS OPEN ...............................................................................................................................Pavilion 1-7<br />

10:00am - 1:00pm ..........Consultants Corner ............................................................................................................................Pavilion 1-7<br />

11:00am - 11:30am ........Specialty Meeting ..............................................................................................................................Pavilion 1-7<br />

11:30am - 12:30pm ........University Students Cook-off ...............................................................................................................Pavilion 1-7<br />

12:45pm - 1:00pm ..........Cash Giveaway ..................................................................................................................................Pavilion 1-7<br />

1:00pm - 1:30pm ............Margarita Farewell ..........................................................................................................................Pavilion Lobby<br />

MEATXPO’09 is the perfect chance to network<br />

with industry experts! Don’t miss out!<br />

<strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> 23


24 www.nmaonline.org


meatxpo’09<br />

<strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> 25


26 www.nmaonline.org


meatxpo’09<br />

NATIONAL MEAT ASSOCIATION<br />

MEATXPO’09<br />

February 22-25, 2009<br />

Suppliers’ Exposition & 63rd Annual Convention<br />

Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino<br />

Las Vegas, Nevada<br />

EXHIBITOR INFO – Rio Pavilion 1-7<br />

MOVE-IN<br />

Friday, Feb 20 By appointment only<br />

Saturday, Feb 21 8:00am-5:00pm<br />

Sunday, Feb 22 8:00am-5:00pm<br />

Monday, Feb 23 6:00am-8:00am<br />

EXHIBIT HOURS<br />

Monday, Feb 23 11:30am-3:30pm<br />

Tuesday, Feb 24 9:30am-1:30pm<br />

Wednesday, Feb 25 10:00am-1:00pm<br />

*hours are tentative and subject to change<br />

MOVE-OUT<br />

Wednesday, Feb 25 1:15pm-8:00pm<br />

Thursday, Feb 26 8:00am-2:00pm<br />

<strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> 27


30 www.nmaonline.org<br />

news&views<br />

Meet NMA’s Newest Asset<br />

An Interview With Norm Robertson<br />

Q<br />

Can you tell us a bit about your<br />

career in FSIS?<br />

answer - Sure. i began my career as a<br />

Slaughter <strong>Food</strong> inspector in Vernon, California. i got<br />

promoted to an off line processing position in 1993 and<br />

then to a Consumer <strong>Safety</strong> inspector position in the Long<br />

Beach Circuit in 1994. in 2001, i was selected as one of<br />

two individuals to be promoted to be a Consumer <strong>Safety</strong><br />

Officer (CSO) in the Alameda District. After working for<br />

almost two years as a CSO i was selected to be a Frontline<br />

Supervisor (FLS) and finally as the District Case Specialist.<br />

But i’m excited to be here now. And i hope by joining<br />

NMA, i will be able to have a more active role within the<br />

meat industry than i would have been able to with the<br />

agency.<br />

Q<br />

What direction do you see FSIS<br />

policy going currently?<br />

answer - While the regulations developed<br />

in the past decade have been explicitly performance<br />

standard based, the direction over time appears to be<br />

reverting more toward a command and control role, much<br />

as it was in the past. Multiple issuances from FSiS called<br />

“compliance guidelines” and “guidance documents”<br />

are becoming de-facto policy without the benefit of the<br />

rulemaking process.<br />

Q<br />

NMA welcomed Norm Robertson as<br />

its new Director, Regulatory Issues<br />

in October of 2008. Prior to joining<br />

NMA, Robertson was the District<br />

Case Specialist for the USDA’s <strong>Food</strong><br />

<strong>Safety</strong> Inspection Service (FSIS) in<br />

the Alameda District Office.<br />

What major hurdle do small and<br />

very small plants have in this<br />

current climate to satisfy FSIS<br />

expectations?<br />

answer - Agency policy, both regulatory and that<br />

policy which is provided as guidance, is clearly pushing in<br />

the direction of doing more microbiological testing at<br />

all steps of the processes. At the same time, the Agency<br />

is requiring all testing data be available and subject<br />

to the interpretation of in-plant and other inspection<br />

personnel who may not understand what the results<br />

represent, regardless of the purpose of the testing.<br />

This creates a double-edged sword for small and very<br />

small plants trying to do the right thing. They may<br />

be creating unnecessary—and unjust, in some cases—<br />

trouble for themselves.<br />

QWhat is an example of<br />

one important business<br />

practice a small or very small<br />

establishment should put in<br />

place given the current regulatory<br />

climate.<br />

answer - Much of what is being expected by FSiS<br />

currently is not based in the regulatory requirements,<br />

but is rather based on some type of de facto policy. it<br />

is important that industry take a united stand when<br />

actions initiated by FSiS are not based in regulatory<br />

policy. You’ve got to appeal decisions when appropriate<br />

through the appeal process. Any decision made by<br />

FSiS can be appealed. Appeals should be viewed as a<br />

positive process by both parties, because this is most<br />

often how policy becomes clarified to the point of<br />

being understandable.<br />

QWhat is the one piece of advice<br />

you would give to small and<br />

very small establishments<br />

to help them navigate the<br />

sometimes dangerous waters of being<br />

a Federal <strong>Meat</strong> and Poultry producer?<br />

answer - The best advice i could give would be<br />

to get assistance when needed. Small and very small<br />

plants often struggle to find and retain staff with the<br />

necessary expertise in science-based food safety systems,<br />

microbiology and regulatory management. The best<br />

first step in overcoming this hurdle is to join forces with<br />

other small and very small establishments and become<br />

a member of an industry trade organization that can<br />

provide assistance whenever needed. Of course, my first<br />

choice would be <strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong>. ❙


news&views<br />

Meet Our Leaders in Washington<br />

April 21-23, 2009<br />

YOu’RE iNViTED TO JOiN<br />

a distinguished group of<br />

meat industry leaders in<br />

Washington, DC this April.<br />

We’re planning a full schedule!<br />

We’ll visit with the united States<br />

Department of Agriculture (uSDA),<br />

with staffers from the house and<br />

Senate, and with many other worthy<br />

speakers. As always, we’ll also<br />

host a reception on Capitol hill,<br />

arrange for meetings with individual<br />

congressional representatives and<br />

hold a fundraiser event.<br />

Remember, visibility in national<br />

politics is everything—don’t miss this<br />

chance to make an impression on<br />

the new administration.<br />

Send your RSVP to jeremy@nmaonline.org ❙<br />

<strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> 31


32 www.nmaonline.org<br />

news&views<br />

NMA Scholarship Foundation<br />

Announces 2008 Recipients<br />

ThE NATiONAL MEAT ASSOCiATiON (NMA)<br />

Scholarship Foundation announced the names<br />

of the seven undergraduate students chosen as<br />

recipients of scholarship grants for the 2008-09 academic<br />

school year. The awards will be presented at the NMA<br />

<strong>Meat</strong>xpo’09 Suppliers’ Exposition and 63rd Annual<br />

Convention Feb. 22-25 in Las Vegas, Nevada.<br />

NMA Scholarship Foundation President Ron Gustafson<br />

is pleased to announce the winners for this year:<br />

•<br />

•<br />

•<br />

•<br />

•<br />

•<br />

•<br />

DeBenedetti Scholarship:<br />

Emily Arkfeld, university<br />

of Nebraska<br />

NMA Scholarship Grants:<br />

James Brown, Montana<br />

State university<br />

Lee Christensen, iowa<br />

State university<br />

Dominic Disanti, Colorado<br />

State university<br />

Cheyenne Dixon, Colorado<br />

State university<br />

Michael harrell,<br />

California State<br />

Polytechnic university<br />

of Ponoma<br />

Garrett Skarr, iowa<br />

State university<br />

The NMA Scholarship<br />

Foundation is administered<br />

by the Directors of the NMA<br />

Scholarship Foundation. These<br />

$2,000 to $2,500 merit-based<br />

awards are presented annually to<br />

undergraduate students majoring<br />

in Animal Science, Poultry<br />

Science, <strong>Meat</strong> Science and related<br />

Agricultural Sciences with an<br />

orientation toward the post harvest<br />

processing of meat and poultry food<br />

products. Students are encouraged to<br />

apply for one of the following NMA awards:<br />

• One (1): Frank DeBenedetti Memorial<br />

Scholarship ($2,500)<br />

• One (1): Edie Schmidt NMA Memorial Scholarship<br />

($2,000)<br />

•<br />

•<br />

One (1): Al Piccetti NMA Memorial Scholarship<br />

($2,000)<br />

One (1) or more: NMA undergraduate Scholarships<br />

($2,000 each) ❙<br />

For more information on this Foundation go to page 35.


<strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> 33


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news&views<br />

Get to Know the NMA<br />

What is the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong><br />

<strong>Association</strong>?<br />

The <strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> is a<br />

non-profit industry association that has<br />

served the meat industry since 1946.<br />

The <strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong>’s<br />

(NMA) mission<br />

To be proactive and responsive<br />

in serving members—individually<br />

and collectively. NMA members are<br />

committed to safe food, high-quality<br />

production, excellent service and supplies,<br />

and, most remarkably, to each other. And<br />

they all know where to turn for first-rate,<br />

responsive assistance.<br />

What does NMA do?<br />

NMA provides a variety of services,<br />

from one-on-one regulatory assistance to<br />

legislative representation, to its members.<br />

As well as hosting a variety of<br />

informative events, the association<br />

publishes a weekly newsletter, an annual<br />

membership directory, and a series of<br />

other resources.<br />

it speaks on behalf of its members<br />

on regulatory and business issues, in<br />

Attend the QA 101 one and a<br />

half-day symposium covering<br />

the fundamentals of quality<br />

assurance in the meat industry<br />

March 31 - April 1, 2009<br />

kansas City, Missouri<br />

QA 101 attendees will have the<br />

opportunity to spend time with some of the<br />

industry’s top experts in the field of quality<br />

assurance. The American <strong>Meat</strong> Science<br />

<strong>Association</strong> QA 101 Task Force will take<br />

you on an educational journey designed<br />

to equip you with the tools you need to<br />

monitor and maintain the quality of your<br />

products.<br />

courtroom filings, in Washington and via<br />

press releases.<br />

Who are NMA’s members?<br />

<strong>Meat</strong> packers and processors,<br />

equipment manufacturers and suppliers<br />

all belong to NMA. The association has<br />

members throughout the united States, as<br />

well as in Canada, Australia and Mexico.<br />

Visit www.nmaonline.org for a full list<br />

of NMA members and their websites.<br />

Who can I call for help?<br />

NMA’s emergency hotline is available<br />

for NMA members 24 hours a day at<br />

(510) 763-1533.<br />

Who are the NMA’s partners?<br />

NMA partners with leading academics<br />

and outstanding consultants to enhance<br />

its member services.<br />

how does the NMA help the<br />

industry?<br />

The NMA provides responsive,<br />

resourceful and reliable service to its<br />

members and, in so doing, is recognized<br />

as a leader in the industry.<br />

QA 101 is a brand new program<br />

from AMSA written by a team of industry<br />

and university meat scientists with<br />

strong backgrounds in quality assurance<br />

applications.<br />

Program topics will include:<br />

• Introduction to QA Philosophy<br />

• Product Quality Principles<br />

• Collection and Use of Data<br />

• Regulatory Issues<br />

• Preparing for Audits<br />

• <strong>Food</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> Concerns<br />

•<br />

Shelf Life Issues<br />

For more information go to<br />

www.qa101.org.<br />

continued on page 36<br />

Donate today to the NMA<br />

Scholarship Foundation<br />

The NMA Scholarship Foundation<br />

encourages undergraduate students to<br />

pursue a degree in the animal, meat<br />

and food sciences. Since its inception in<br />

1995, the foundation has granted tens<br />

of thousands of dollars in scholarships to<br />

exceptional undergraduate students.<br />

The goal of the Foundation is to raise<br />

$1 million to create a self-perpetuating<br />

endowment that will fund scholarships<br />

well into the 21st Century. The earnings<br />

should provide more than 25 annual<br />

scholarships to animal, meat or food<br />

sciences undergraduate students.<br />

Remember, the students<br />

of today will be the <strong>Meat</strong><br />

Scientists and Industry leaders<br />

of tomorrow.<br />

The NMA Scholarship Foundation has<br />

a 501(c) (3) Tax Exempt Status. Your<br />

donation is fully tax deductible.<br />

For information contact:<br />

Jen Kempis<br />

NMA Operations Manager<br />

Phone: (510) 763-1533<br />

E-mail: jen@nmaonline.org or staff@<br />

nmaonline.org<br />

Fax: (510) 763-6186<br />

Mail: NMA Scholarship Foundation, 1970<br />

Broadway, Suite 825, Oakland, CA,<br />

94612<br />

Become a partner in the pursuit of<br />

higher learning! Sign up for a five year<br />

commitment or make an annual donation.<br />

All Founding Partners of the NMA<br />

Scholarship Endowment 5-year program<br />

will have their names inscribed on a NMA<br />

Scholarship Foundation Plaque, which will<br />

be displayed in the offices of the <strong>National</strong><br />

<strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong>.<br />

<strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> 35


36 www.nmaonline.org<br />

news&views<br />

Why should I belong to NMA?<br />

The NMA is the foremost industry<br />

association in helping members, and in<br />

the toughest times it provides unique<br />

one-on-one assistance.<br />

MEMbERShIP<br />

Everyone related to the meat<br />

industry has something to benefit from<br />

the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong>. Packers,<br />

processors and others with grants of<br />

inspection utilize the regulatory and<br />

technical assistance, as well as hACCP<br />

support and education, provided by<br />

NMA’s regulatory arm. Equipment<br />

manufacturers benefit from the<br />

contacts, advertising and excitement<br />

generated by the association and its<br />

tradeshow, MEATXPO.<br />

Consultants tap into the strong<br />

networking possibilities, clear directory<br />

and friendly inclusiveness that NMA<br />

provides. Academics and educators<br />

utilize our information services,<br />

our weekly newsletters and our<br />

website, while the NMA Scholarship<br />

Foundation helps students find<br />

funding to continue their education<br />

in meat science and related fields.<br />

As the global market expands,<br />

international companies turn to us as<br />

a contact point. We provide a network<br />

for all segments of the industry to<br />

come together, through our offices,<br />

workshops, conferences, conventions<br />

and expositions.<br />

<strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> members<br />

are committed to ethical standards and<br />

producing safe, quality products. ❙<br />

For membership<br />

information email<br />

membership@<br />

nmaonline.org or visit<br />

www.nmaonline.org for<br />

the various categories of<br />

membership.


uyer’sguide<br />

AUCTIONEERS, LIqUIDATORS AND<br />

APPRAISORS<br />

Kohler Industries ........................................ 37<br />

BEEF AND GROUND MEAT SPECIALISTS<br />

Beef Products Inc. ...................................... 28<br />

BEEF PRODUCTS<br />

Cargil <strong>Meat</strong> Solutions ................................. 11<br />

Harris Ranch .............................................. 38<br />

CASINGS AND PACkAGING<br />

Hovus Incorporated .................................... 12<br />

CHUB PACkAGING SySTEMS<br />

Packaging Technologies ............................ 22<br />

CLEANING AND SANITATION<br />

Birko Corp. ................................................ 24<br />

DCS Sanitation ........................................... 33<br />

CONSULTANTS / TESTING LABORATORy<br />

Deibel Laboratories .................................... 38<br />

CONVEyOR BELTS<br />

Jantz Canada ............................................. 26<br />

EqUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES<br />

Allen Guage & Tool Company ..................... 19<br />

FOOD SAFETy<br />

International HACCP Alliance ...................... 10<br />

FOOD SAFETy AND qUALITy SOLUTIONS<br />

Silliker ......................................................... 3<br />

FOOD TESTING SERVICES<br />

Michelson Laboratories Inc. ....................... 33<br />

HABAN SAWS<br />

Mound & Tool Company ............................. 33<br />

INSURANCE AND RISk SERVICES<br />

Kessler Advisors ........................................ 31<br />

INSURANCE AND WORkERS COMPENSATION<br />

State Compensation Insurance Fund .......... 36<br />

LABELING SySTEMS<br />

Yerecic Label ............................................. 16<br />

LEGAL SERVICES<br />

Olsson Frank Weeda Terman<br />

Bode Matz, P.C. ......................................... 4<br />

LINkING, PORTIONING, STUFFING, LINk<br />

CUTTING, CO-EXTRUSION, GRINDING<br />

Handtmann Inc. ...................inside front cover<br />

MARINATING EqUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES<br />

(INjECTORS AND MASSAGERS)<br />

Wolf-Tec Inc. .................... outside back cover<br />

MEAT PACkAGING EqUIPMENT<br />

FEMC ......................................................... 38<br />

MEAT PROCESSING<br />

Weiler & Company Inc. ........ inside back cover<br />

MEAT PROCESSING SCALES<br />

Weigh Tech Inc. ......................................... 14<br />

MEAT TENDERIzERS PACkAGING AND<br />

PROCESSING EqUIPMENT<br />

Ross Industries .......................................... 11<br />

NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION PROTEINS<br />

King <strong>Meat</strong> Inc. ............................................. 6<br />

OLD WORLD SAUSAGE PRODUCTS<br />

Evergood Fine <strong>Food</strong>s .................................. 24<br />

PACkAGING AND PROCESSING<br />

SiouxPreme ............................................... 37<br />

PAPER PRODUCTS<br />

Framarx / Waxstar ..................................... 10<br />

PREMIUM MEAT PRODUCTS<br />

Moran’s All Natural .................................... 23<br />

qUALITy WHOLESALE SAUSAGE AND<br />

SMOkED MEAT<br />

Zenner’s Quality Sausage Products ............ 38<br />

SANITATION SERVICES<br />

DCS Sanitation ........................................... 33<br />

<strong>National</strong> <strong>Meat</strong> <strong>Association</strong> 37


38 www.nmaonline.org<br />

buyer’sguide<br />

SEASONINGS AND INGREDIENTS<br />

Sentry Seasonings Inc. .............................. 37<br />

SMALL, MEDIUM AND LARGE PRODUCTION<br />

MEAT PROCESSING EqUIPMENT<br />

Risco USA Corp. ......................................... 20<br />

SPECIALTy FLOORING<br />

Kalman Floor Company .............................. 26<br />

SPECIALTy LIGHTING<br />

Rig-a-Lite .................................................. 10<br />

SUPPLIERS<br />

Morgan Ranch ........................................... 33<br />

USED AND RECONDITIONED EqUIPMENT<br />

Kohler Industries ........................................ 37<br />

M&M Equipment Corporation ..................... 36<br />

WALL PANELS (COATINGS), WALk IN<br />

COOLER PANELS, DOORS<br />

Extrutech Plastics Inc. ................................ 22<br />

WASHING AND PASTEURIzING SySTEMS<br />

CHAD Company ......................................... 22

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