The National Pork Board and Beef Checkoff Program received unanimous approval from the Industry-Wide Cooperative Meat Identification Standards Committee (ICMISC) to introduce updated Uniform Retail Meat Identification Standards (URMIS) nomenclature for fresh beef and pork for retailers to use on pack. Changes to the beef and pork common names were the culmination of extensive consumer research which showed an opportunity for retailers to build consumer confidence in how to shop for and prepare beef and pork.
The revised nomenclature was previously reviewed by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and American Marketing Service (AMS), and retailers, packers and scale label companies were engaged in the process. The full list of the revised beef and pork common names are now available for retailers to integrate into their scale label programs on www.MeatTrack.com.
“We are pleased to have industry support to introduce new, simplified fresh meat names that will help consumers better understand the beef and pork cuts they see every day in the meat case,” said Jim Henger, senior executive director of B2B Marketing for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff Program. “Now that we have the feedback and approval from the ICMISC, retailers and packers can begin to implement the new names and labels to give them a competitive advantage and drive meat department sales.”
“This is a really historic event for the meat industry,” said Patrick Fleming, director of retail marketing for the National Pork Board. “This cross-industry effort to develop new common names was completely consumer-driven, and is something that we all recognize as critical to keeping meat on the center of the plate.”
Retailers can visit www.PorkRetail.org and www.BeefRetail.org for more information on the consumer research that shaped the new program and merchandising opportunities available once implemented.
For more information about your beef checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.
The ICMISC was established in 1973 to guide the management and maintain the integrity of the URMIS system. Membership is made up of retailers, packer/processors, government agencies, academics and allied industry representatives.
The National Pork Board has responsibility for Checkoff-funded research, promotion and consumer information projects and for communicating with pork producers and the public. Through a legislative national Pork Checkoff, pork producers invest $0.40 for each $100 value of hogs sold. The Pork Checkoff funds national and state programs in advertising, consumer information, retail and foodservice marketing, export market promotion, production improvement, technology, swine health, pork safety and environmental management.
The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.
Source: The National Pork Board and Beef Checkoff Program