American Heart Association Certification Program

September 4, 2012 The Beef Checkoff

Use the reputation and powerful brand awareness of the American Heart Association to create a competitive point of difference. Now your shoppers can feel ever better about choosing beef – the American Heart Association has certified extra-lean beef cuts that meet its criteria for saturated fat and cholesterol*. This certification allows participating retailers to display the American Heart Association's powerful Heart-Check mark on fresh beef packages, promoting beef's role in a healthy diet and driving nutrition-conscious shoppers to the meat case.

U.S. Drought May Put More Pork On Dining Tables

September 4, 2012 K.T. Arasu, Reuters

The price of U.S. hog futures relative to cattle has tumbled to its lowest in nearly nine years as the worst drought in half a century lifted grain prices to record levels and increased herd liquidation.

Pig Wings: Creating Demand In A New Category

Americans love chicken wings. Last year they ate three billion pounds of the sauce-covered poultry products. Buffalo Wild Wings, a Minneapolis-based restaurant chain that specializes in wings, has a market cap in excess of $1 billion. Great Sea, my favorite wing place in Chicago, makes Korean-style wings that are so addictive they have wall of fame for most wings consumed by one person in a sitting. (The record is 90.) Americans also love pork. So why not combine those two loves and create an innovative new type of food: Pig wings?

Nielsen Perishables Group Creates First Ever Syndicated Reports For All Fresh Departments

August 31, 2012 Nielsen Perishables Group

A total-store perspective is essential to understand and manage complementary and competitive fresh products, and to identify opportunities for growth and innovation. The Nielsen Perishables Group developed Syndicated Fresh Reports to understand and measure the complete fresh food business (meat, produce, deli, bakery and seafood departments), enabling fact-based decisions and enhanced analytical power.

Harris Teeter To Eliminate Gestation Stalls From Pork Supply Chain

August 31, 2012 The Humane Society

Harris Teeter Supermarkets has announced new commitments to improve animal welfare in its supply chain, including the elimination of gestation crates from its pork supply. The company has more than 200 locations and annual sales above $4 billion.