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SPECIAL REPORT
Formulation Strategies 22 | Health and quality of key concern.
26
COVER STORY
A Smithfield education Smithfield Foods takes a proactive approach to showing the public the truth about how it does business, from farm to plate and beyond.
14 | Fight for Food Safety: Don’t give regulators a bone to pick 12 | Regulations & Legislation: Third-party ground beef testing
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U.S. Meat Export Federation economist Erin Daley Borror discusses export data from the first five months of 2011.
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SPECIAL REPORT
Injection and Marination 38 | Meat products enhanced through an injection process can have better taste and shelf life.
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September 2011
Tech
Volume 225 Issue 9
Editorial Board
eb
The National Provisioner’s Editorial Board comprises highly respected experts associated with the meat and poultry industries who assist the editorial staff in bringing you insightful, relevant information. When you see this logo, you are reading content contributed by an Editorial Board member. Tim Biela AFA Foods
H. Russell Cross Texas A&M University
Dan Emery Meaningful Solutions
WORKER SAFETY | 48
Safety is everyone’s responsibility
John E. Johnson
Superior Farms employees have a vested interest in a safe workplace.
JBS
CONTRIBUTING THIS MONTH Leigh Ann Johnston Tyson Foods Huston Keith
SUSTAINABILITY COLUMN
PROCESSING TECH
PACKAGING TECH
70 | Protein
84 | The expecta-
74 | Leigh Ann
processors are taking the “waste” out of wastewater more efficiently.
tions of sustainability in packaging have changed, says Chip Bolton, our newest expert columnist.
Johnston offers tips on the development of a sustainability program.
Keymark Associates
Lynn Knipe Ohio State University
Gary McMurray Georgia Tech Research Institute
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Kurt Vogel University of Wisconsin - River Falls
“Our new Vemag stuffer performs exactly as promised.” “At Maglio Sausage Company, we make a variety of sausage products – each with a very distinct look, bite and taste that our customers have enjoyed since 1947. When it was time to upgrade and automate our production line, we decided to look at Reiser and Vemag. We knew Reiser was well-respected throughout the industry and found them to be a company built on integrity. We were pleasantly surprised at the performance of the Vemag Stuffer during our tests. The Vemag was the only system that could consistently replicate the same look, bite and taste of our existing products. “With the Vemag stuffer, inline grinder, linker and link cutter, we now have the flexibility and reliability we need from our equipment. We’ve also discovered Reiser’s service and support to be second to none. For Maglio Sausage, partnering with Reiser has been a very pleasant experience.” Anthony L. Maglio Maglio Sausage Company, Philadelphia, PA
Product photography courtesy of Perretti Photography.
Maglio Fresh Foods is a third generation company, with two generations shown (left to right): Gerald McNelis, Anthony L. Maglio and Anthony J. Maglio Jr.
Reiser 725 Dedham Street, Canton, MA 02021 • (781) 821-1290 Reiser Canada 1549 Yorkton Court #4, Burlington, ON L7P 5B7 • (905) 631-6611 www.reiser.com Leading the food industry in processing and packaging solutions.
Editor’sJournal
Engage the consumer
I
’m a big fan of two things. Well, I’m a fan of many others, but these two are pertinent to this month’s discussion, so I’ll limit myself. First, you listen to your customers. In any business, without them, there is no business. For the meat and poultry industry, it’s a little different in that there are customers and consumers, both of whose demands need to be heard. Second, as some of you know from my visits to your facilities and our off-the-cuff chats, I’m a big fan of Flat Iron steaks. We all should know the Flat Iron by now, so I don’t think I need to go into the history and attributes
of the cut. This leads me to my issue — as a consumer. My local supermarket’s meat department has disappointed me yet again. About a year ago, the meat department began selling Flat Iron steaks for a very reasonable price. I was thrilled, but concerned, as there was little information or reason for anyone NOT familiar with the cut to pick it up. So I stocked up whenever I shopped, and good thing, as over the last month or two, the Flat Irons have disappeared. This having happened before with other products, I decided to speak to the butcher. She said she would be happy to order some for me, but I was disappointed to hear her say she had not tried the Flat Iron. I advised her to try it, and then sample the product and show my fellow shoppers how to cook it. I was certain, I told her, that Flat Irons would sell if these working- and middle-class folks knew what it was and what to do with it. She promised she would try the cut next time, but I don’t have high hopes for the sampling and educational concept. I’ve never seen this supermarket do it, but any time I’ve seen it in other stores, customers are snapping up whatever samples are being offered (and often buying the product immediately afterward). My supermarket meat department has taken out other products that my family and I have come to love in the past, I can only guess because they didn’t meet sales expectations. A simple solution might be better engagement with the customers. Shoppers are “afraid” of approaching the butcher nowadays (if the butcher is even visible and not in the backroom) — they need to be “enticed” to try something and talk to someone about it. We all know how great these products taste, so why not enthusiastically sell that very thing? Coupled with a little bit of education in this “Food Channel” world we now live in, maybe products would stand a better chance of making it in different markets. If supermarkets won’t engage shoppers, meat and poultry processors should step up and take the reins. A little personal interaction with shoppers has to go a longer way than a simple coupon stack next to the product or in the Sunday paper. And I’d be first in line to stump for the Flat Iron.
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Regulations&Legislation
Prepare for more, not less, third-party ground beef testing By Dennis Johnson
T
he sampling of raw ground beef for E. coli O157:H7 at customer locations has become a fact of life. Beyond FSIS sampling of previously inspected ground beef being reground at inspected establishments, there are increasing “third-party testing” activities. These include state governmental samples of raw ground beef that has left the official establishment and customer sampling of incoming product as part of verification activities. Since even the very best establishment can have isolated contamination, the increased sampling may result in positive E. coli O157:H7 findings. If there is a positive finding, FSIS will consider whether a recall of all product implicated by the sample is appropriate, including product shipped to other locations.
In the case of third-party testing, FSIS will use the criteria in Directive 10,000.1 to determine whether the positive E. coli O157:H7 result is valid. If so, a recall could occur. This year there has already been one recall based on a customer’s downstream test and another based on a state’s test of product reground at retail. Accordingly, establishments selling raw ground beef should take action now to minimize the scope of product potentially implicated by such samples; in addition to all the steps they are currently taking to minimize the presence of the pathogen. In determining product implicated, FSIS looks to: common source (same lot of raw materials used in a positive batch that were also used in other batches) and cross-contamination (contamination of product contact surfaces). To limit product implicated, the establishment should control use of raw materials and develop support to subdivide a production day. On control of raw materials, the focus should be on minimizing the number of lots in each batch that are covered by different certificates of analysis. In addition to minimizing the numbers of batches a lot is used in, care should be taken to avoid carrying over combos from the lot of raw material (or rework) to the next day. One note, if the raw material has been treated with a validated antimicrobial, such as boneless lean beef from trimmings, use of these raw materials in multiple batches does not automatically link the batches. To subdivide the production day so that the time period is less than clean-up to clean-up, FSIS requires “microbiological independence between lots.” The best way to support independence is to conduct robust finished raw ground beef testing (samples drawn every 15-30 minutes, compositing
12
THE NATIONAL PROVISIONER | PROVISIONERONLINE.COM | SEPTEMBER 2011
into 1-2 hour lots). If routine robust sampling is not viable, an establishment may still be able to generate data to permit the microbiological independence of batches. Since 2002, various scientific publications and journals, such as Microorganisms in Food 7, have discussed the “comet effect;” that E. coli O157:H7 contamination will clean itself out of a grinder. Newer studies awaiting publication further support the comet effect. Although FSIS has recognized the comet effect, FSIS will soon require in-plant data to support the application of the comet effect to an establishment’s particular grinding system; specifically, that the system will clean out contamination. This data gathering need not be excessively onerous. Together with a laboratory, the establishment can conduct a simple study. First, take raw materials and inoculate with a marker (askFSIS lists recognized surrogates). Run the inoculated raw materials through the system followed by normal raw materials. By robustly testing the finished product, an establishment would be able to determine, in terms of production, how long it took to totally clear the contamination from the system. This data would be used to demonstrate when the system would clean itself out, thereby establishing a buffer around any batch testing positive in a third-party test. We predict more, not less, third-party testing of raw ground beef. The prudent establishment would take action to minimize the product implicated. Dennis R. Johnson is a principal with Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Bode Matz PC in Washington, D.C. Johnson has 30 years experience in food-safety law and regulation, representing large and small meat and poultry companies.
FightforFood Safety
Don’t give regulators a bone to pick By Shawn K. Stevens
G
enerally speaking, there are three types of hazards in a food-processing facility. They are physical, chemical and biological. A physical hazard is any extraneous object or foreign matter in a food item which may cause illness or injury to a person consuming the product. These foreign objects include, but are not limited to bones, metal fragments, plastics, stones, glass or personal items. Each year, companies across the nation are subjected to the stress and expense of recalls as a result of foreign materials finding their way into food products. The institution of effective interventions can greatly reduce the risk of the severe regulatory and civil pitfalls, which can result if foreign objects find their way into your products. Avoidance is not only important in terms of consumer safety, but can also do devastating damage to your brand through the publicity associated with recalls and injuries. Avoiding these incidents requires a frank, careful analysis of a company’s programs. Start by asking:What potential physical hazards exist within our products? Where might they come from? In the event that hazards are introduced, how can we ensure their removal? Each food product or processing facility faces its own set of unique risks and dangers. Once identified, these risks can be addressed through additional preventative measures, or by simply refining your existing Hazard Analysis Critical Control (HACCP) program. In many cases, the most effective measures are also the easiest. Metal-detection equipment, while costly, can ensure that your products are free of potentially dangerous metal shavings or other objects which can enter the food not only in your own establishment but in those of upstream suppliers as well.Working to keep contami-
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THE NATIONAL PROVISIONER | PROVISIONERONLINE.COM | SEPTEMBER 2011
nants off the processing floor is often as simple as ensuring that employees wear appropriate clothing and also keep personal items out of production areas. Physical hazards, unlike chemical or biological hazards, are unique in that their affects are unlikely to be widespread. Nonetheless, it is estimated that 8 in 10 injuries associated with foreign object contamination occur in children. Thus, even a single episode can have a lasting impact on the perceived safety and quality of a company’s products. Careful analysis, inspection and planning can help to ensure that, with respect to foreign contaminants or objects, no customer or regulator will ever have a bone to pick with the safety of your products. Shawn K. Stevens defends and counsels meat companies in foodborne illness matters throughout the United States. Mr. Stevens also assists industry clients with regulatory compliance, recall planning, crisis management and other issues in advance of and following major food-product recalls. Additional information about his practice can be found at www.defendingfoodsafety.com.
Underneath it all—clean. When it comes to food safety, no detail is too small—and every surface matters. That’s why for over a century, dairies and food processors around the world have trusted Diversey to deliver the cleaning, sanitation, and hygiene solutions they need. We’re creating safer handling procedures and spotless facilities to help our customers focus on what they do best. We’re Diversey, and we’re leading the world toward a cleaner, healthier future. Learn more at www.diversey.com or call 1-800-233-1000.
NewProducts National Steak and Poultry launches new center-of-the-plate items
AFA Foods reformulates, reintroduces frozen patty line
National Steak and Poultry introduces a new line of cash-andcarry products under the brand name Steakhouse CertiÀed. The line consists of seven new items including beef, chicken and pork for the center of the plate. Each item is packaged with the consumer in mind; bright, colorful labels including product pictures; convenient dinner portions and seethrough packaging. The new cash & carry line is targeted for consumers and part of the more-than-adecade-old Steakhouse CertiÀed brand that is well-established in the foodservice marketplace. The seven new items are a 7-ounce NY Strip Loin Steak with Savory Flavor, Asian BBQ Áavor or Steakhouse Peppercorn Áavor; a 10-ounce Boneless Beef Ribeye Steak, a 5-ounce Bacon Wrapped Sirloin Filet, a 6-ounce Boneless Beef Sirloin Steak, and a 6-ounce Chipotle Adobo Flavored Pork Loin Chop. Each portion is individually vacuum sealed to maximize shelf life. These consistently sized portions are presented in bright and colorfully labeled boxes which include product pictures and nutritional information.
AFA Foods has heeded its consumers’ calls for affordable beef burgers with the launch of MILLER Frozen Beef Patties. MILLER Frozen Patties have been reformulated, and each quarter-pound patty features quality beef blended with soy and special seasonings, that has been individually quickfrozen and packed in gusseted bags MILLER Frozen Beef Patties are now available in select grocery retailers nationwide. They come in 48-oz. packages and are sold for a suggested retail price of $6.99.
www.nationalsteak.com
www.afafoods.com
Oscar Mayer Sandwich Combinations give consumers another lunch option
Jimmy Dean launches mini turkey sausage breakfast sandwiches
Oscar Mayer announces the launch of its new line, Sandwich Combinations. With a fresh tasting deli sandwich, crunchy side such as Wheat Thins Crackers and sweet dessert such as Jell-O Sugar Free Mousse Temptation, this new lunchtime option is geared toward the professional on the go. Sandwiches are made with Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh turkey, chicken, or ham, Kraft 2% Milk Reduced Fat Natural Cheese, and served on a multi-grain thin sandwich bun, which is made with 8g of whole grain per serving. Oscar Mayer Sandwich Combinations are available in three varieties: Oven Roasted Turkey & Sharp Cheddar, Southwestern Style Chicken & Sharp Cheddar, Honey Ham & Swiss Cheese.
In time for the busy back-to-school season, when mornings are more hurried and hectic, Jimmy Dean introduces a new addition to its lineup of Jimmy D’s breakfasts — Jimmy D’s Minis. Jimmy D’s Minis are an excellent source of protein, featuring hearty turkey sausage on a mini croissant, and they are microwaveable and ready to eat in less than two minutes. Two mini sandwiches make up one serving of Jimmy D’s Minis, which are packaged eight mini sandwiches per carton.
www.oscarmayer.com
www.jimmydean.com
16
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Ingredients&Formulations
Including nutrition By Donna Berry
s a parent of a picky eater, I have been secretly adding all types of veggies to my “famous” meatballs. When they are covered with red sauce and served with pasta, the spinach is barely detectable! But hiding nutrition is not the trend I am going to discuss; rather, it is the touting of the extras being added to prepared proteins that give the product an edge in the crowded marketplace. In adding everything from caramelized onions to smoked Gouda cheese to their products, gourmet burger, sausage and meatball formulators are getting creative through the inclusion of ingredients that add value in terms of eye appeal, flavor and often a touch of nutrition. I am not talking veggie burgers, rather the incorporation of fruits, vegetables and cheeses into red meat and poultry.This is not a new idea, but the ingredient selection and execution has definitely evolved from the pickle and pimento loaf that reached its peak in popularity during the first Great Depression.
A
One of the original players is Aidells Sausage Co., a 25-year-old gourmet sausage company that was recently acquired by Sara Lee Corp. The company is known for chicken sausage flavors such as Spinach & Feta, Artichoke & Garlic, and SunDried Tomato with Mozzarella Cheese, with all of them containing detectable bits and pieces of the characterizing flavors. Aidells also makes Teriyaki Pineapple Meatballs with real pineapple chunks. And Sabatino’s has a 180-calorie fully cooked Chicken, Spinach & White Cheddar Burger that is to die for. Kayem Foods Inc. created a chorizo sausage that puts the bodega butcher to shame. New al fresco Chipotle Chorizo with Mango is made from skinless chicken meat blended with chipotle peppers and 18
diced mango in a smoky adobo sauce. The chorizo joins other chicken sausage favorites such as Sweet Apple, Roasted Pepper & Asiago, and Sweet Italian. According to the company, the fully cooked sausages contain no artificial ingredients, have 70% less fat than traditional pork sausage and are gluten free. Not all such products are fully cooked. For example, Koch’s Turkey Farm LLC developed All-Natural Cranberry Turkey Burgers, which consist of turkey and diced dry cranberries. Sold frozen, these burgers require proper cooking. Because many of these products are based on poultry, this gives them a healthful edge to red meat products. The valueadded flavorful ingredients also often contribute to an improved nutrition profile
THE NATIONAL PROVISIONER | PROVISIONERONLINE.COM | SEPTEMBER 2011
Photos courtesy of Mintel
by reducing fat and calorie content. In particular, fruits and vegetables can displace fat, as well as reduce the need for added sugars and acidulants, which are often added to such comminuted foods for moistness and to round out the salt and protein flavors. The difference between these packaged products and the fresh items sold at the butcher counter, such as readyto-bake meatloaves stuffed with veggie and cheese combinations, or flattened steaks or chicken breasts rolled with a colorful garden of chopped produce, is that the fruits, vegetables and cheeses are selected specifically for this application. It’s not as easy as walking to the produce department and chopping up some fresh spinach leaves.
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[email protected] Ingredients&Formulations Suppliers offer fruits and vegetables that have been blanched, to retain color and integrity, as well as products that are individually quick-frozen in a manner to control free moisture. The latter eliminates excess water, which improves integrity in fresh, frozen and refrigerated applications. Such products can also be treated to various culinary cooking techniques prior to freezing.This includes caramelizing, fireroasting and grilling. Such cooking steps add flavor as well as color, as the sugars in the fruit and vegetable pieces can participate in the Maillard reaction, with the end result being charring or browning, as well as authentic grill marks.These cooking techniques, coupled with the addition of flavorful herbs and spices, often contribute flavor profiles that allow formulators to reduce added salt, which can positively improve the information on the nutrition panel. Cheese also complements many of these gourmet meat products. And similar to how fresh produce is not the best choice for a prepared and packaged product, nor is cheese right from the case.
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Donna Berry has a bachelor’s degree in food science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has been writing on food formulating for more than 15 years.
When functionality such as moisture content and melt needs to be controlled, as in the application of cheese to multi-component meat products, process cheese is often your best choice.The term “process cheese” represents a range of products with specific standards and allowable ingredients. Simply, process cheeses start out by blending a minimum amount of specified natural cheese with other ingredients including those with emulsifying properties, followed by a high-heat treatment. There are a variety of other ingredients and processes that can be included, depending on desired end product, which is usually a smooth cheese with varying levels of melt and firmness. Almost any natural cheese can be made into a comparable process version.
THE NATIONAL PROVISIONER | PROVISIONERONLINE.COM | SEPTEMBER 2011
There are, however, some lowermoisture natural cheeses that have been successfully added to meat products. For example, Gorgonzola, which is a type of blue cheese, has a sharp, salty flavor profile. Its smell is pungent, its texture crumbly and a little goes a long way. Most cheeses in the blue family take a longer time to melt than other natural cheeses, and the melt is slightly grainy, making them a natural complement to many value-added prepared proteins. The same is true for hard cheeses, such as Asiago, Parmesan and Romano, which are extremely low in moisture (less than 3%) and do not readily melt and run out of the protein when it is cooked. Feta and some Mozzarella cheeses also tend to be slower melt cheeses that do not run. Because an infinite number of ingredient combinations exist to add eye appeal, flavor and nutrition to your gourmet protein, this category of prepared meat products is likely to continue to boom in the next few years. Maybe I should get into the meatball business.
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FormulationStrategies
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New launch activity in ready-meals category addresses nutrition and quality trends. By Olivia Sant’ Angelo, Innova Market Insights The global market for ready meals is estimated to be worth between $50 billion and $75 billion a year, according to definition and the types of product included. The largest markets are, perhaps not surprisingly, in North America and Europe, which combine to account for three-quarters of sales value. However, the Asian market is also now quite substantial and showing generally much higher growth rates than the developed markets in the West. Although frozen foods make up the largest part of the market in countries such as the U.S. and Germany, chilled meals have emerged as a major force to be reckoned with over the past 25 years or so, as chill-chain distribution has developed internationally. There is also a significant market for canned and ambient lines in some countries. The U.S. has not only the largest readymeals market in the world in value terms, reflecting both population size and the 22
highly developed state of the processed and convenience-foods market, but also one of the highest per-capita consumption levels, at more than 22 pounds. The UK ranks just behind the U.S. in ready-meals per-capita consumption terms, at just under 22 pounds, but market value is obviously much lower, reflecting the smaller population size, and the market structure is considerably different. The UK ready-meals market is now dominated by chilled meals, where sales are more than three times those in the frozen market. Moving to continental Europe, the market for ready meals tends to be much less developed, with chilled meals generally much less significant and many countries still having large and well-developed canned and ambient meal markets, particularly France and Spain. Innova Market Insights recorded a 4% rise in global launch numbers in the ready-meals category in the 12 months
THE NATIONAL PROVISIONER | PROVISIONERONLINE.COM | SEPTEMBER 2011
to the end of June 2011, although the total includes a wide range of prepared foods not necessarily regarded as ready meals in all cases. Pasta and noodle products accounted for the largest number of introductions, with prepared lines alone accounting for over one-fifth of total launches. Rice products were also popular, with 13% of the total, just ahead of main dishes with just over 10%. As might be expected, Europe had the largest number of ready-meals launches overall, reflecting the large number of countries and cuisines and the relatively highly developed convenience-foods market. Overall, Europe accounted for more than half of total ready-meals introductions recorded over the 12-month period, with Western Europe taking the vast majority of that. The diverse, dynamic and highly fashion-conscious Asian market accounted for
about 18%, just ahead of North America with 15%. A review of global launch activity recorded on Innova Market Insights over the 12 months to mid-2011 highlights key product trends, including ongoing interest in healthy options, more authentic-style ethnic recipes, more emphasis on natural, organic and locally sourced ingredients, and more interest in restaurant-quality products for in-home dining or home entertaining as an alternative to eating out. Convenience obviously continues to be the key platform, used by 80% of ready-meals launches recorded in the 12 months to the end of June 2011, yet nearly 38% of launches also used a health positioning of some kind. Particularly common were passive health claims (i.e.,“food minus”), such as low-calorie, natural, organic, etc., but also more active claims, such as vitamin- and mineral-fortified, added-calcium or with omega-3/DHA, or perhaps offering specific health benefits such as immune health, heart health, digestive health, etc. Rising interest in “naturalness” has been a feature of the food and drinks market as a whole in recent years, although it is much more challenging in some product sectors than others. Ready meals, with a highly processed image, might be seen to be a good example of this, although recent launch activity appears to indicate that it has taken on the challenge, with more than 17% of global launches marketed as being additive- and/or preservative-free and nearly 5% as natural, meaning more than one-fifth of total ready-meals launches were positioned as additive-/preservative-free, natural or both. This compares with more than 11% of launches positioned as vegetarian, 9% as ethical, nearly 8% as low-fat or low-calorie or both, and just under 7% as organic. The majority of launches on a vegetarian platform are in Europe, particularly Western Europe, with its share several percentage points ahead of its share of ready-meals launches as a whole. This was also the case for Asia, where more than one-fifth of launches recorded were positioned specifically on a vegetarian platform, while in the U.S. the converse was true, with just 10% of launches on a vegetarian platform, behind its share in ready-meals launches as a whole.
Poultry was generally the most popular meat-based ingredient in ready meals, ahead of beef, and there has been ongoing activity across a whole range of formats and types, with a strong focus on ethnic lines, hand-held products and bowl meals. Microwave options continue to dominate, with popular new options including frozen steamer meals, such as ConAgra’s Marie Callender Flavor Steamer range
SEPTEMBER 2011 | PROVISIONERONLINE.COM | THE NATIONAL PROVISIONER
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FormulationStrategies designed specifically for steam-cooking in the microwave in five minutes or less using ConAgra’s proprietary tray-intray packs. The range includes Sesame Chicken, Chicken Teriyaki and Chicken Stir Fry with Vegetables. Marie Callender’s Home Style Creations line also uses innovative technology, designed with a built-in-strainer for cooking pasta in the microwave before mixing with sauces. Heinz, meanwhile, has been developing its frozen microwave breakfast line under the WeightWatchers Smart Ones branding, featuring reduced-fat and reduced-calorie options of traditional breakfast favorites, such as Stuffed Breakfast Sandwich, Ham & Cheese Scramble and English Muffin Sandwich. Rising interest in premium, superpremium and restaurant-quality meals has also been evident in the market, particularly in the more developed processed food markets in North America, Europe and Austral-Asia. However, in terms of
Figure 1 Top Positioning Categories for Tracked New U.S. Ready Meal Launches (Jan-Jun 2011)
Positioning Category No Additives/Preservatives Natural Allergy Free Traditional
Count (%) 23.5 16.0 16.0 15.5
Source: Innova Market Insights
launch activity, this has been less clearly visible in terms of product positioning globally, with just 4% of total launches positioned on a premium or indulgence platform, rising to nearer 8% for markets such as the U.S. and Australia. This relatively low level may simply indicate a focus on offering higher quality and more authenticity in standard lines, however. Despite difficulties in some parts of the market, product activity in ready meals seems to be continuing unabated in the
face of continuing demand for convenient meal solutions among time-pressed consumers. The downturn in consumer spending in many countries and increasing concerns over the health aspects of convenience foods may have a negative effect on the market in some countries over the next few years. Nonetheless, overall the market is well placed to take advantage of consumers cutting back on eating out and take-out, moving rather to a range of in-home options, including individual portion meals, family packs and upmarket options for in-home special meals and even informal entertaining. The author,Olivia Sant’Angelo,is a market analyst at Innova Market Insights,(www.innovadatabase.com) a leading supplier of new product and trend information in the food and beverage space.Innova Market Insights is organized by food industry professionals to rapidly record new product activity and identify the trends driving the industry today and in the future.For more information,contact
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CoverStory
A SMITHFIELD
education
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Dennis Treacy, senior vice president, corporate affairs, and chief sustainability ofÀcer for SmithÀeld Foods, and Don Butler, director of government relations and public affairs for Murphy-Brown. THE NATIONAL PROVISIONER | PROVISIONERONLINE.COM | SEPTEMBER 2011
Smithfield Foods takes a proactive approach to showing the public the truth about how it does business, from farm to plate and beyond. Story and corporate photos by Andy Hanacek, editor-in-chief Farm and field photos courtesy of Smithfield Foods o describe the interactions between the meat and poultry industry, activist groups and consumer media over the last few decades as “apprehensive” and “antagonistic” would be a kind gesture. The public side of the relationship has featured suspicion, overemphasis on bad-apple examples and often biased, misleading claims made by activists against the industry. It has been a dysfunctional existence built around mistrust and the ability of the loudest voices to get the most publicity. On the industry’s side of the equation, its own response, for a very long time, had been to shutter itself behind closed doors and react only when attacked. “[Many people thought], ‘If our procedures are working and we believe we’re doing the right thing, then let’s defend that,’” explains Dennis Treacy, senior vice president, corporate affairs, and chief sustainability officer for Smithfield Foods. “Well, that doesn’t work anymore.” Indeed, some protein processors are coming out of their shells and exploring new ways to inform the masses about their business. Just as companies want to be nimble in their operations from farm to fork, these processors have a level of flexibility in dealing with new media, from video to social media such as Twitter, Facebook, etc. Smithfield Foods — which had been attacked repeatedly through a variety of books, stories, movies and videos — realized this nearly a decade ago, transitioning itself to become a more transparent, more informative member of the new media conversation.
T
SEPTEMBER 2011 | PROVISIONERONLINE.COM | THE NATIONAL PROVISIONER
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CoverStory “Ag for years has been of the opinion that we need to educate city folks, and I’ve slowly but surely determined over the last 10 years that that is almost tilting at windmills,” Treacy says. “We’re not going to be able to get children that live in New York City to come to the farm; we’re not going to get kids in Seattle to understand that it’s OK to raise animals to eat.” “But what we do have with social media, YouTube and the Web is the ability to show the world what we do, not with the intent that they need a lecture and need to be educated, but with the intent of opening the doors,” he adds. Instead of joining conversations, Smithfield now starts many of them, using these new media vehicles to offer information to those who want it. “It gives us the opportunity to have two-way, real-time communication, which is different,” explains Don Butler, director of government relations and public affairs for Murphy-Brown, Smithfield Foods’ independent hogproduction company. “That’s a gamechanger.” Smithfield answers questions, concerns and complaints about practices and products, quickly and with honesty. “The majority of the calls are that they had heard something, and they’re mad about it,” he says. “They call up to chew me out about it, but almost always, I’m able to engage them, ask if we can have a two-way conversation, and those calls almost always end well.” Seeing is believing An approach focusing on individual attention to emails and phone calls has always worked well, Treacy says, but to really make an impact, Smithfield needed something more. “There are more than 300 million people in the United States, so when we get a call from a person who is not happy and we call them back, … we know they’re going to feel better about it and maybe tell 10 people about something that they learned,” he 28
Requests from SmithÀeld Foods’ customers spurred the company to embark upon an initiative to convert its entire sow housing to a group format, and SmithÀeld is well on its way through that transition.
When the quality of waterways was under question in the communities where SmithÀeld operates, SmithÀeld decided to test the water on a regular basis and publish the results with an independent third party.
explains. “But we need a better way; we need a way to reach a lot more people. The people who make books, movies and videos are reaching for the masses, and they tell one side of a story.” The answer was to create a more dynamic, wider-ranging media offering that could be accessed by anyone, who could then formulate their own opinions based on information from both sides of the coin. “We could provide objective evidence to customers or shareholders [on our processes and results] — people who really wanted to see factual information. But we didn’t really have a way to communicate that to people who were merely curious,” Butler says. “When you’re one-on-one with someone on the phone, it’s really not hard to convince them [of how] it is. But you can’t take the whole world through a farm.” So, a couple years ago, Butler approached Treacy with the idea to
THE NATIONAL PROVISIONER | PROVISIONERONLINE.COM SEPTEMBER 2011
create a video series called, “Taking the Mystery out of Pork Production,” which would show the entire hogproduction process at Murphy-Brown and be posted online. The project was quickly approved and fully supported by Smithfield and Murphy-Brown executives. In just more than a year, the entire video series was scripted (though none of the answers were scripted, Butler points out), shot, edited and produced, and it made its debut on YouTube, SchoolTube and the MurphyBrown Web site in March 2011. Butler says he wanted the video to have a realistic feel to it, rather than have it look as though actors were delivering scripted answers to easy questions. “We interviewed and filmed real contract growers and people who make real feed and drive real trucks — people I work with every day,” Butler explains. “We found out Temple Grandin was going to be in North Carolina at another event, so I called her up and
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CoverStory asked if we could come and talk to her on video for this series — I didn’t write a script for her either.” At presstime, the seven-part series had racked up more than 2,800 views (totaling the views of all parts) on SchoolTube, and nearly 26,000 views on YouTube in just under six months. Change as a catalyst Smithfield has an open, meaningful dialog with its customers — retailers and foodservice operators — and that will continue down the road. “They’re interested in educated answers and knowing the facts [about Smithfield’s sustainability programs],” Treacy says. “They’re also interested in people’s impressions of the industry, protecting their brand and making sure they’re not supporting a company that does bad things.” One current initiative brought about by an open dialog with customers was Smithfield’s decision to convert its farms to facilitate group sow housing. “It wasn’t consumer pressure or activist pressure — there was no pressure at all,” Treacy adds. “It came from interaction with our customers, who said, ‘Can’t you do this in a different
way. It seems to us, all things being equal, if you could, it would benefit all of us,’ and we decided to move forward with it.” Butler reports that by the end of the calendar year, the company will have converted approximately 30 percent of its total sow herd to group sow housing of one kind or another. Treacy makes it clear that Smithfield is not using any open-door policy to invite outsiders to alter the company’s strategies, or to bow to pressure from outside forces — Smithfield recognizes that it must be flexible in order to keep up with technology, regardless of its ability to spread its message to the public. “We’re going to continually change, and the public now, in this WikiLeaks world without secrets, is going to watch us change,” he says. “Sometimes they’ll demand change, sometimes we’ll change and get a reaction from them.” “Either way, we need to continually get better, and to Smithfield, that means improving our efficiencies, improving our bottom line — and we’ll make no apologies for that because it’s what we do for a living — making animal health better, making environmental impacts much less,” he says.
All the while, Smithfield will use the new media tools to show people what it is doing and how it is trying to do those things better — for everyone that the process touches. In today’s cynical world, it will take small steps first — but Smithfield believes that once the factual information from the company spreads further out to the masses, momentum will keep it rolling along through new methods. “People don’t believe us, they don’t believe the government, they don’t believe corporations, they don’t believe the media — they believe each other,” Treacy says. “We need to become one of the ‘each other’ by talking directly to people who have a concern or compliment. We have to react to them personally, because that’s what the world has become.” As such, Treacy believes Smithfield — and the industry in general — would be remiss to draw the proverbial line in the sand and hunker down to play defense. “New media is not a threat to us, it’s an enormous opportunity for us to tell our story, and for people to criticize what we do and have us interact with them for the first time,” Treacy concludes.
Leading the discussion Andy Hanacek, editor-in-chief of The National Provisioner, sat down with Kathleen Kirkham, sustainability coordinator for Smithfield Foods, to discuss some of the trends she sees Smithfield following in terms of being proactive and informing people through a variety of media.What follows is a Q&A with Kirkham: Hanacek: How would you describe your daily work duties, in your own words? Kirkham: On a general basis, what I do is take all the wonderful things Smithfield Foods does, and find a way to communicate them to the public. For example, sometimes I will represent the company at our Learners to Leaders or Helping Hungry Homes events. But [it also] translates into
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Kathleen Kirkham, sustainability coordinator for SmithÀeld Foods, spearheads the company’s efforts to inform the public about SmithÀeld’s processes, strategies and actions through a variety of media.
THE NATIONAL PROVISIONER | PROVISIONERONLINE.COM | SEPTEMBER 2011
communicating our messages to the public via social media. [The rest of my job is] different every day, but the one ongoing responsibility is social media. Hanacek: So, in a sense, you do a lot of public-relations type work, but with an extremely heavy slant toward social media? Kirkham: I hesitate to call it public relations though, because that has the connotation of spinning things to benefit the company, and that’s one of the things I’ve been impressed with about Smithfield is that we don’t spin things — we just tell it like it is. When I came on board, Dennis [Treacy, senior v.p., corporate affairs, and chief sustainability officer] told me, ‘If someone asks you a question, be honest and give them the truthful answer.’ That
public-relations connotation isn’t true here at Smithfield.
stuff, so we’re still in the beginning stages of it.
Hanacek: Discuss your approach to being proactive in getting the word out about Smithfield’s good news, as sustainability coordinator.
Hanacek: Which media tool do you believe has the most potential for Smithfield moving forward as a communicator?
Kirkham: In my experience, social media is about 90 percent listening, and only 10 percent talking. A lot of what I do is just watching what other companies are doing, what’s going on in the social scene. I do think we are pretty progressive. I haven’t seen too many other food companies utilizing this stuff in a very positive way. It’s free, you post things and people will listen to it. But, in saying that, we have a long way to go. We just started this program a year ago, and it takes a while to build a repertoire of all your
Kirkham: That’s easy — it’s video. I was researching the other day for a presentation I was giving, and I found out that YouTube is the world’s second-most popular search engine — Google’s No. 1 and YouTube is No. 2. I just found that to be shocking because it’s not Yahoo, a news site, or Wikipedia. It’s a site that’s all video and all user-generated. There’s no fact-checking or anything like that either — you’re finding things that some user just put up there. And that’s terrifying for a company like us, …
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CoverStory that that is where people are getting their information, because so much of it is inaccurate or outdated — so that’s where we need to go, to show folks how we really operate and the truth about modern food production.
after our reply is positive, thanking us for the information. So they’re really receptive to what we have to say, which was surprising to me, because I kind of expected them to just say, ‘Oh, go to Hell.” So that’s pretty cool.
Hanacek: How does Smithfield handle responding to complaints or incendiary comments? Maybe someone says they just watched an activist-produced movie and is angry at Smithfield for how it was depicted, for example — do you have a standard operating procedure or does your response vary?
Hanacek: Where do you see Smithfield needing to build to keep moving forward?
Kirkham: We definitely don’t have a standard procedure, because like I said before, we’re trying to just answer people’s questions, so it will depend on what the question is. … We always answer someone the first time — if it’s the first time we’ve heard from someone,
we’ll talk to them. And usually if someone were to refer to a particular movie, I’d ask them for their email address and tell them I’d love to send them more information about that. We try to take the conversation offline, especially on Twitter since it allows only 140 characters, and it’s hard for us to state our case in that limited space. Traditionally, I’ll take it offline. On Facebook, I might take it to a Facebook discussion, as opposed to talking about it on the Wall. The surprising thing about it is, I would guess 70 or 80 percent of the responses we get
Kirkham: I can tell you that we are moving our [Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)] report online. We’re building this new Web site scheduled to launch in November, and it will house our CSR report and be an interactive site that will be updated all the time. … Realistically, I’d love to see even more frequent reporting. I think regularly updated information would be valuable, and we’re consistently moving in the direction of increased transparency.
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