USDA's proposed changes to HACCP have many processors
reeling.
D.C. FILE: While all eyes were on
Congress -- as work began on the Child Nutrition Act reauthorization
legislation and new bills such as the Meat Safety and Accountability Act
were introduced -- USDA hit the meat processing industry with something
more immediately pressing: proposed changes in its requirements for
HACCP and prerequisite programs.
A March 19 letter to meat
industry organizations from FSIS brought a decade of debate to a head
over how processors validate their food safety intervention critical
control points and the prerequisite programs they sometimes depend on in
lieu of CCPs.
With just a month to respond to the proposed new
rules (though that deadline was later extended to June 19), groups such
as the American Association of Meat Processors and the North American
Meat Processors Association went into high gear to galvanize their
members over concerns the rules might be overly burdensome and costly
for small and medium-sized processors.
"What they are asking is
extremely disconcerting," says AAMP Executive Director Jay Wenther. "And
it goes completely against the administration's 'know your farmer, know
your food' initiative," which is meant to support small, local food
producers.
At issue is how much is enough when it comes to
proving that a CCP or a prerequisite program is working. But it's a hard
case to make that new rules might cost too much or take too much time.
"What
doesn't get measured doesn't get done," warns USDA Under
Secretary for Food Safety Jerold Mande, who at a food safety conference
in Washington compared the current push to reform food safety to that
after Upton Sinclair's book "The Jungle" was published. Ouch.
It
remains to be seen how the proposed rules will look in final form, but
regardless, food safety expert and Kansas State Professor James Marsden
warns that processors can soon expect their retail and foodservice
customers to start asking for the same type of proof that their food
safety practices are working.
Legal liability
Q+A:
Attorney Shawn Stevens with Gass Weber Mullins LLC in Milwaukee has
defended some of the nation's largest meat processors in the aftermath
of a recall, often playing opposite foodborne illness lawyers like Bill
Marler. Meatingplace asked Stevens this question:
What is
your advice for a company that finds itself implicated in a foodborne
illness case?
The instant a food company learns that its
product may be associated with an emerging outbreak, it should directly
engage federal, state and local health investigators. Proactive
engagement is not only essential to help solve the immediate public
health issue but, more importantly, to ensure that the investigation is
conducted appropriately. Such oversight is critical for numerous
reasons.
First, public health officials are increasingly being
asked to investigate and solve a growing number of overlapping outbreaks
at any given time. With limited resources to conduct investigations
properly and methodically, we have found that federal and state
investigators will sometimes prematurely adopt and embrace incorrect
assumptions about the source of an outbreak.
And, whether
explained by inadequate resources, limitations in time or a lack of
individual expertise, once an incorrect hypothesis is embraced, it
becomes very difficult for public health officials to admit possible
errors, set aside potential bias and identify alternative sources.
Second,
the level of proof necessary for FSIS to associate a product with an
outbreak has been lowered in recent years. In the past, FSIS was
unwilling to link any outbreak with a meat product until it had an
epidemiological association and a positive sample from product (still in
its original packaging).
Today, however, an epidemiological
association alone is sufficient. Surprisingly, this is true even though
experts would agree that association does not in all cases equal
causation. Thus, although more and more outbreaks are being
epidemiologically associated with presumed sources, the fact remains
that many of these associations are not being adequately tested and
confirmed before being announced to the public.
The moment any
association is suspected, a food company should:
1.
Actively engage public health officials to address their immediate
questions and concerns.
2. Learn as much as possible about
the status, scope and direction of the investigation.
3.
Aggressively identify the full range of both potential cases and
alternative sources.
4. Politely but forcibly challenge,
where issues are identified, developing assumptions and hypotheses.
5.
Persuasively demonstrate, where possible, that its product is not
likely involved.
From our experience, investigators tend to be
more open and, frankly, more thorough when all parties are actively
engaged and at least someone -- even if only emblematically -- is
looking over their shoulders.
▲ Doors opening: The
United States and Brazil have agreed to settle a dispute on U.S. cotton
subsidies that includes the possible re-entry of Brazilian beef and pork
products into the United States. Washington agreed to pay $147 million
per year to assist Brazil's cotton growers while also initiating the
removal of barriers on Brazilian beef and pork.
▼ Doors still
closed: While the United States and Japan agreed to continue
discussions about Tokyo's import restrictions on U.S. beef, Japan
Agriculture Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu was quoted in early April as
saying he "has no plan to ask the government's food safety commission to
review U.S. beef." Japan still limits imports of U.S. beef to product
from cattle younger than 20 months of age.
Good sports
With
the weather warming up and consumers heading outside to play, it's only
fitting that many meat and poultry processors are using sporting events
and venues to market their products.
Cargill is offering four
different Schweigert brand hot dogs at the Minnesota Twins' new stadium,
Target Field. One of the varieties, the pork and beef Original Twins
Dog, is made from the same recipe as the franks served in the team's old
Metropolitan Stadium.
Also stepping up to the plate is Chelsea,
Mass.-based processor Kayem Foods, which is partnering with the Tampa
Bay Rays to distribute Kayem hot dogs and sausages at Tropicana Field.
Meanwhile,
Bubba Burger, the frozen burger produced by Jacksonville, Fla.-based
Hickory Foods, went full speed ahead on a new NASCAR sponsorship. Bubba
Burger is now the official burger of Virginia's Richmond International
Raceway, and the April 30 NASCAR Nationwide Series race there was
renamed the Bubba Burger 250.
ConAgra Foods meat snack brand Slim
Jim pinned down an agreement to serve as the presenting sponsor of
World Wrestling Entertainment's Wrestlemania XXVI and SummerSlam in
addition to Slim Jim being the "Official Meat Snack of WWE." As part of
the deal, WWE's Superstar Edge will act as Slim Jim's spokesman.
And
outside the world of sports, but still all in good fun, Jack Link's is
sponsoring the new official iPhone application for news satire
publication the Onion. The Onion also will launch several
new projects this year that are sponsored by the Minong, Wis.-based meat
snack processor, including a dedicated Onion News Network video app and
an "Eye On America" iTunes video playlist.
Says Jeff LeFever,
director of marketing for Jack Link's Beef Jerky, "The untamed spirit
that embodies the Jack Link's brand makes it a perfect match with the
Onion."
Home to roost
If the impact of
government-mandated increases in ethanol production on the meat industry
wasn't clear a couple years ago when corn prices climbed over $7 per
bushel, it is now.
Per capita consumption of all red meat and
poultry dropped more than 10 pounds from its peak in 2006 (221.7 pounds)
to 210.5 pounds in 2009 and, according to Jim Robb, director of the
Livestock Marketing Information Center, will decrease by 1 percent in
2010, to 208.1 pounds -- the lowest annual per capita amount since 1997.
Robb
notes that per capita consumption largely reflects industry
output, whereas demand is not only what people eat but also what they're
willing to pay for it. The problem, he says, is that both are going
south.
Producers have cut output to boost prices, while consumers
have adjusted their budgets during the recession. Meanwhile, production
cuts in foreign countries mean fewer imports, and increased exports
leave fewer supplies in the domestic market.
If that's not bad
enough, say livestock economists Steve Meyer and Len Steiner, there are
other considerations. They note that 85 million baby boomers are getting
older and will be eating less meat. Plus, younger people increasingly
are buying into initiatives such as "Meatless Mondays."
The
solution, Robb says, is building demand via an increased focus on
growing segments, such as Hispanics.
Protecting Ronald's
honor
Almost as identifiable with McDonald's Corp. as those
great big golden arches is the company's bright red-haired brand
ambassador Ronald McDonald. So much so that the company's "Chief
Happiness Officer" is now being targeted by Corporate Accountability
International, a coalition of health professionals, parents and consumer
advocates. The group wants McDonald's to give Ronald an early
retirement as part of its efforts to diminish the company's influence on
children during what they called a "fast-food-industry childhood
obesity crisis." McDonald's is sticking up for its 50-year veteran,
noting his commitment to charity work and teaching the importance of
physical activity and balanced food choices.
Wal-Mart
watch
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said in late March groceries
accounted for more than half of its U.S. sales in the fiscal year ended
Jan. 31. The Bentonville, Ark.-based company reported that 51 percent of
its revenues were generated by grocery sales, a 2 percent increase from
the year-ago period. This is no small coincidence. Wal-Mart is making
groceries -- and cheap prices on them -- the main draw for consumers
increasingly discretionary about products they need versus product they
want. To that end, the company recently launched a price rollback
program for all of its groceries to woo consumers away from
supermarkets.
Silver linings
The restaurant
industry still doesn't lack for bad news, but there appear to be some
silver linings amid the dark clouds. For example, according to
foodservice consultancy Technomic's annual report on the 500 largest
restaurant chains, McDonald's grew 2.9 percent, with sales estimated at
$30.9 billion. Subway continued to dominate Technomic's "other sandwich"
segment with 4.2 percent sales growth and total sales of $10 billion --
considerably better than the 0.8 percent growth posted by the other
sandwich chains collectively.
It's not surprising, then, that
both chains have been introducing new menu items recently. McDonald's
Canada debuted McMini chicken sandwiches across that country in early
April. And Subway jumped into the breakfast daypart at all of its U.S.
and Canada locations, launching four Fresh Fit Egg White Muffin Melts --
including the Western Egg & Cheese made with black forest ham, red
onions and green peppers.
Even the casual- and family-dining
segments, among the industry's poorest performers, are trying new
things. Outback Steakhouse -- known for decadent offerings -- debuted
several entrées with fewer than 500 calories. And Denny's introduced a
"$2 $4 $6 $8 Value Menu" to provide customers with affordable meals,
such as a pulled barbecue chicken sandwich, throughout the day.