ARLINGTON, VA –Following today’s announcement by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins of increased investment in food safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Meat Institute applauded her leadership and announced a new industry driven focus on food safety at the senior executive level.

“The Meat Institute appreciates Secretary Rollins’ bold investment and prioritization of tools to combat foodborne illness,” said Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. “At the same time, our members are leading an effort to ensure food safety remains a critical focus of the top executives of each company. The goal is to prioritize food safety in all operations from the C-suite to the consumer. We appreciate USDA’s partnership in reducing foodborne illness and we are eager to work with USDA on this shared priority.”

USDA announced it will hold listening sessions on strategies to reduce Salmonella illnesses. The Meat Institute looks forward to offering solutions and constructive recommendations. For more detail on USDA’s announcement go here.

Meat Institute Actions:

The Meat Institute’s Executive Board created a task force to re-emphasize food safety as a top priority for the Meat Institute and its members. The task force created a set of tools and templates for top company executives to use in governing and promoting a food safety culture within their companies.

The Meat Institute will offer programming and training on these tools for senior executives at the “Protein PACT Solutions Summit” in October. To learn more and to register go here.

Late last week, the Executive Board approved a food safety resolution reaffirming the industry’s commitment to food safety:

• WHEREAS, the Meat Institute Executive Board recognizes the importance of meat and poultry companies producing meat and poultry products that are safe and wholesome; and
• WHEREAS, the Meat Institute Executive Board recognizes the importance of ensuring consumer trust in the meat and poultry supply; 
• NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Meat Institute’s members and executive leaders are united in their commitment to ensuring that food safety is a key component of their respective company’s culture and will ensure that food safety remains a priority for the industry. 
• AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Meat Institute members will work together in a precompetitive manner, to uphold the highest food safety standards, advance science-based practices and protect public health.

The Meat Institute is also working on new industry guidance on Listeria control called the “Foundations of Listeria Control,” to be published in September.

A longtime proponent of food safety research, education and advocacy, the Meat Institute continues its work to prevent foodborne illness with its upcoming “Meat Industry Food Safety Conference,” September 9-10 in Kansas City, MO, followed by the “Protein PACT Solutions Summit” in Los Angelas, CA, October 8-10. In addition, the Meat Institute offers the “Advanced Listeria monocytogenes Intervention & Control Workshop” twice a year with the next held October 22-23, in Kansas City, MO.

About the Meat Institute

The Meat Institute represents the full community of people and companies who make the majority of meat American families rely on every day. The Meat Institute’s hands-on regulatory and technical expertise, proactive advocacy, unique convening power, collaboration within and beyond animal agriculture, and sector-leading continuous improvement initiatives drive relationships and resources that ensure meat continues to be a vital, trusted pillar of healthy diets and thriving communities for generations to come. To learn more, visit: MeatInstitute.org.