Lean Trimmings and Herd on the Hill
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Lean Trimmings Edited by Lauron Early February 8, 2010 NMA’S 64TH ANNUAL CONVENTION BULLET SESSION Chaired by Robert Rebholtz, AB Foods WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010, 10:15am to 11:15am. The Bullet Session speakers are as follows: • Joe Swedberg is Vice President of Legislative Affairs for Hormel Foods. He oversees all of the company’s state and federal legislative activities. • Dr. Kenneth Petersen is the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Field Operations, Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). • John Nalivka is President and Owner of Sterling Marketing, Inc., an agricultural economic research and advisory firm located in Vale, Oregon. • Cara Gerken is Vice President of Consulting Services at IMI Global, Inc. and helps IMI’s customers develop identification, traceability and quality verification programs. She also recently received accreditation through the Safe Quality Food (SQF) program. • Terry Stokes is President & CEO of Innovative Food Strategies. He retired as CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in January 2009. • Joseph Sarachek has over 15 years advising distressed and special situation companies and their creditors. He is currently Partner of Thunder Ridge Beef, a firm specializing in kosher markets. NMA OFFICES CLOSED The NMA offices will be closed for the remainder of this week, while NMA staff attend the 64th Annual Convention in Indian Wells, CA. In the event of an emergency, the answering service – (510) 763-1533 – will be able to reach staff at all times. NMA’S 64TH ANNUAL CONVENTION KEYNOTE SPEAKERS NMA’s Thursday luncheon speaker is Larry Pope, CEO of Smithfield Foods. Pope will share his experiences at Smithfield and what it takes to be a leader of one of the nation's leading pork processors. Jeffrey M. Ettinger, Hormel President & Chief Executive Officer, is the guest speaker at the Annual Meeting on Saturday. Ettinger will speak on his history with the company and its success in the value-added packaged foods sector. Also, FSIS Administrator Al Almanza will be speaking at the NMA Board of Directors meeting. JOBS! Where are the jobs that the Administration is looking for? We would suggest that there are good jobs waiting to be filled in the meat packing and processing industry! Despite incredible advances in technology and equipment in recent decades, the work in meat harvesting and processing facilities continues to be highly labor intensive, and most of the line work does not require higher education beyond regular school requirements. More and more firms are using basic training technology before the new worker goes on to the floor, and there are less and less workers with knives and saws. However, workers have to be trained on the use of mechanical equipment, including fast-moving belts and chains, and they are required to wear protective equipment as necessary in the specific environment. It’s hard work, often long hours, in less than ideal surroundings, such as cold and damp work sites, and it often requires employees to stand, rather than sit, most of the work day. But it is honest work producing meat and meat products for fellow Americans, pays a basic wage, offers opportunity for advancement, and many firms offer basic supporting benefits. While the U.S. continues to import meat from other countries, the overwhelming quantity of meat consumed in the U.S. is produced and processed in the U.S. Even more, the medium-sized firms in the meat industry are probably the best chance for employment at this time, since they are known in their communities and are more diversely located than the very large firms. If you know some young people looking for a job, suggest they check out possibilities in their local community at meat firms. NEW SITE TO WATCH OVER HSUS The Center for Consumer Freedom will be launching a new site that will act as a watchdog over the Humane Society of the United States. Called HumaneWatch.org, the site will consist of a blog, document library for online use, a list of HSUS personnel, and a way to browse HSUS-affiliated organizations. No views will be censored on this site and anonymous contributions will be welcome. Please visit www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/h/4094-get-ready-for-humanewatch for announcements, which include information about a new P.O. Box and a dedicated e-mail address for tips and submissions. CALIFORNIA REQUIRES GHG REPORTING California food and beverage processing plants are being required to report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are part of the state's new Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32). In fact, the first reporting deadline has already passed and a second one is quickly approaching. According to the law industrial facilities which release more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in a one-year period are required to report to the California Air Resources Board (ARB). ARB projects that a facility using more than 471,520 MMBtu of natural gas would exceed the threshold. Information and steps to successful reporting are detailed on the ARB website in the Board's "Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Instructional Guidance for Operators" at http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/reporting/ghg-rep/ghg-rep-guid/ghg-rep-guid.htm. NMA MEMBERS LAUNCH CASE READY PROGRAM NMA members Superior Farms and Niman Ranch have launched an all natural case ready program. This program will utilize Niman Ranch’s high quality gourmet natural beef and pork along with Superior Farms’ case ready packaging capabilities. The initial product line will include three beef items, two pork items, and will be completely retail-ready, as reported by National Provisioner. NIFA AWARDS GRANTS TO ANIMAL RESEARCH USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced on February 2nd that it has awarded $24 million in grants to study animal heath, reproduction, breeding, genetics and nutrition. The agriculture animal industry plays a crucial role in the success and growth of the nation's economy, accounting for 42 percent of forecast U.S. agricultural receipts in 2009. NIFA awarded these grants through four program areas of the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI): Animal Reproduction Program; Animal Genome, Genetics, and Breeding Program; Animal Growth and Nutrient Utilization Program; and Integrated Solutions for Animal Agriculture Program. AFRI funds research, education, and extension grants and integrated research, extension, and education grants that address key problems of national, regional and multi-state importance in sustaining all components of agriculture. NMA’S HACCP SEMINAR HACCP plans are often forced to be rewritten because managers have failed to update their outdated HACCP plan from the previous years. NMA staff deals with this on a weekly, if not daily, basis with members experiencing trouble with FSIS because their programs have not been updated in recent years. Though the HACCP regulations have not changed, the policies derived from those regulations are revised and updated on a continuous basis. This is especially true with E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes policy. HACCP plans are intended to be organic programs, changing over time, and should be modified as needed to address in-plant findings and in correspondence to the agency’s evolving policy interpretation. NMA along with the HACCP Consulting Group will host a Basic HACCP Workshop in Ontario, CA. Our English seminar will be held April 8-9 and the Spanish seminar will be held April 29-30. Registration forms can be found under the events section of our website at www.nmaonline.org. BIODIESEL CONVENTION The National Biodiesel Board Convention is taking place on 2/8 – 2/10 in Dallas, TX this year. It could be an important show because the EPA is expected to release the rules and regulations that will obligate the oil industry to start buying renewable diesel fuel this year. The obligation is expected to be 800m gallons in 2010 and 2011, which is more than twice the domestic consumption of biodiesel in 2009. Although the obligation could continue to drive up feed prices, animal fats are a biodiesel feedstock with a very low carbon footprint and this may create some opportunities for meatpackers to improve their profitability by either selling their fats at a higher price or capturing the full value of those fats by converting them into biodiesel onsite. Not such good news for the rendering industry, however, that refines edible fats. More information is on maximizing the value of meat byproducts is available online at http://r3biofuels.com. Herd On The Hill VILSACK ANNOUNCES USDA’S PLANS FOR FOOD SAFETY Last Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced several new initiatives to assure the safety and quality of food purchased by USDA for the National School Lunch Program and other food and nutrition assistance programs. These initiatives are a combined effort of five USDA agencies: AMS, the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), FSIS, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). • AMS will implement new food safety purchasing requirements for its beef suppliers as a result of a review of the beef purchase program conducted by FSIS and ARS. • ARS and FSIS will provide technical assistance to AMS for School Lunch and other Federal nutrition assistance programs. • In addition to the reviews by FSIS and ARS, AMS has asked the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to review the ground beef purchasing program. By the summer, NAS will conduct a thorough evaluation of the scientific validity of the current AMS technical requirements. • AMS will increase information sharing with other agencies in order to better monitor vendor performance and identify potential food safety issues in the process. Vilsack also announced on Friday that the USDA will develop a new, flexible framework for animal disease traceability in the United States, and undertake several other actions to further strengthen its disease prevention and response capabilities. USDA’s framework will only apply to animals moved in interstate commerce, be administered by the States and Tribal Nations to provide more flexibility, encourage the use of lower-cost technology, and be implemented transparently through federal regulations and the full rulemaking process. More information regarding these initiatives and the framework for animal disease traceability can be found on the USDA’s website at www.usda.gov. AMS’S GROUND BEEF PROGRAM BRIEFING AMS will hold a briefing for ground beef contractors and subcontractors on recently announced changes to USDA’s ground beef purchase program on February 10th at 12:00pm EST. This briefing will provide participants with an overview of the program specifications, program changes, implementation timelines and an opportunity to ask questions. More information regarding this briefing can be found at www.nmaonline.org/pdf/Ground_Beef_Briefing.pdf. NMA’s 64th Annual Convention attendees with an interest in the school lunch purchasing program are invited to Valencia room 1 and 2 at 9:00am PST to listen to this teleconference alongside AMS staff. FSIS DIRECTIVE 9500.3 FSIS issued FSIS Directive 9500.3, “Label Verification Procedure for Imported Products.” The Directive provides Import Inspection Personnel (IIP) instructions for performing label verification procedures (LVP) when re-inspecting imported meat and poultry products. The OFW memo regarding this Directive can be in the members-only section of our website at www.nmaonline.org. The Directive can be viewed at on the FSIS’s website at www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FSISDirectives/9500.3.pdf. VERIFICATION PROCEDURES OF CATTLE FOR EU’S BEEF QUOTA The Agricultural Marketing Service’s Audit, Review and Compliance Branch (ARC) published the “Verification of Cattle and Beef Carcasses for the European Union High Quality Beef Quota” document on its website on January 29th. This document outlines the procedure to verify that cattle and beef carcasses have met requirements of European Union High Quality Beef quota as defined in the European Commission Regulation No. 620/2009, Annex 1. This document can be viewed at www.ams.usda.gov/arcaudits. CONTROL OF LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES SEMINAR NMA is pleased to announce that it will be partnering with the University of Nebraska, Lincoln to hold our “Control of Listeria monocytogenes on Ready-to-Eat Meat and Poultry Products” at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. The seminar will be held Thursday, March 11, 2010, and the instructors will be Dr. Harshavardhan Thippareddi and Dr. Dennis Burson. The seminar will give participants insights on how to deal with Listeria monocytogenes from a regulatory, sanitary, and intervention standpoint. Other areas of interest will be: developing a valid sampling plan, identifying the root cause, validation and verification of intervention strategies, corrective actions, and preparation considerations for an FSA. The registration form for this seminar can be found in the NMA website’s “Events” section. Space is limited, and early registration is suggested. We would appreciate registrations to be sent in by February 23. For further information, please contact Sat Bal, sat@nmaonline.org, or Jen Kempis, jen@nmaonline.org. . |
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