Food Safety: - National Meat Association
Food Safety: - National Meat Association
Food Safety: - National Meat Association
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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 />
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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 />
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©2008/2009 Matrix Group Publishing. All rights<br />
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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
Single Source<br />
Solution Provider for all<br />
your <strong>Meat</strong> Industry Jobs<br />
Introducing the <strong>Meat</strong> Industry CareerLink - a premier online destina-<br />
tion for trade and professional jobs in the meat industry including<br />
academia, government, advocacy, research, transportation, manufacturing<br />
and production. Jobs posted on CareerLink are attracting:<br />
• 213 page views on average<br />
• qualified entry-level college graduates<br />
• resumes from job seekers with advanced degrees (over 50%)<br />
With high employee turnover in the industry it’s important to provide<br />
members with an option that allows them to save money by concentrating<br />
their job postings on a site that is dedicated to attracting qualified professionals<br />
who specialize in serving the needs of the meat industry. We<br />
invite you to give us a chance to meet your needs.<br />
Post your jobs in one place and save!<br />
http://nmaonline.org/resources/career-center<br />
EMPLOYER BENEFITS<br />
• FULL RESUME ACCESS<br />
• FEATURED PROFILES<br />
• COMPETITIVE PRICING<br />
JOB SEEKER BENEFITS<br />
• JOB AGENTS<br />
• CONFIDENTIAL POSTING<br />
• EASY DOCUMENT STORAGE
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