A quirk in North Carolina law has derailed plans to construct several industrial boilers that would have converted chicken waste into steam for factories and other industrial applications.

The North Carolina Utilities Commission has rejected Peregrine Biomass Development’s plans to burn the poultry waste and make steam, because a 2007 renewable energy law only allows the use of poultry waste as a renewable resource if the waste is used to generate electricity.

The (Raleigh) News & Observer reported that Peregrine, based in Greenville, S.C., was considering four potential sites in this state to build facilities that burn poultry waste to make steam. The company was hoping to sell steam in Bertie, Craven, Halifax and Iredell counties, said the company’s president, Ralph Walker.

Walker said his company likely will ask the General Assembly to modify the state's energy law so poultry waste can be counted as a renewable resource for generating steam and boiling water.

Source: The News & Observer

Wisconsin processor recalls all meat produced this year

A temperature fluctuation noted during a routine smokehouse inspection has caused a Luxemburg, Wis., processor to recall all meat products produced this year. The voluntary recall affects all products sold by Otto’s Meats this year, and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection said that there have been no illnesses reported.

Jane Larson, DATCP public information officer, said the voluntary recall was prompted by a thermometer problem on a cooking unit, reports the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

"Because our inspectors were unsure of how long it was a problem, the plant wanted to ensure any product that could have been possibly undercooked was returned to the store," she said Monday.

Otto Knoche, owner, said that he was confident in the food quality produced by his company.

"We've been here 30 years. It is a precaution and I'm not worried about it because we know what we are doing," he said Monday. "We have everything documented, and we do our calibrations on the thermometers."

Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette

Cargill promotes “souped-up” suppers

Cargill’s fall 2010 retail ground beef promotion – which runs from Oct. 11 to Nov. 19 – highlights and complements an important trend for both consumers and grocery retailers: private label products. The Souped-Up Suppers promotion pairs Cargill’s ground beef with retailers’ private label soups to provide consumers with cost-effective, convenient and hearty casserole recipes.

The promotion is featured at more than 1,700 retail grocery locations across the country. Demonstrating the importance retailers are placing on marketing and selling their private label products, the Souped-Up Suppers program garnered one of the largest grocer participations since Cargill began offering ground beef promotions.

According to IRI Consulting and Innovation Group, private label programs are influential in winning loyalty with shoppers. This trend is echoed in data from the Food Marketing Institute, which shows that 66 percent of shoppers purchase private label products on a regular basis. Cargill’s promotions and marketing support closely track and address consumer demand and trends, leveraging the company’s awareness and knowledge of the latest shopper desires and preferences. It is one of many ways Cargill works with its customers to enhance their success.

“Cargill continues to provide support for its retail customers through consumer ground beef promotions. This fall, we’re promoting not only our products, but the retailer’s private label brand as well,” said Elizabeth Gutschenritter, Cargill brand manager. “We developed the Souped-Up Suppers promotion based on consumer trends and in response to retailer demand for customized promotions that help sell not only more ground beef but also other complementary products, especially their own. As we design promotions, it’s about listening to and being responsive to our customers, focusing on their business strategy and supporting those retailers from a marketing perspective as well.”

In-store Souped-Up Suppers materials encourage consumer interaction and include large posters, 90-degree signs, on-pack stickers and recipe brochures. Convenient and hearty meal recipes, featuring ground beef and retailers’ private label soups, allow consumers to “soup up” their mealtimes with selections including Creamy Italian Pasta Bake, Southwestern Cornbread Casserole and Beefy Biscuit Casserole.

The SoupedUpSuppers.com website offers store-branded ground beef coupons and access to other recipes featuring ground beef and soup as well as entry for a prize giveaway. The promotional prize giveaway allows consumers to enter to win a cart full of store-branded private label groceries, driving the winning shoppers back to the retail location.

To further support retailers in the promotion, Cargill is providing a variety of additional promotional tools including pre-written content for Facebook and Twitter, CDs containing promotional materials and web banners. In an effort to encourage employee engagement in the promotion and display of the point-of-sale materials at the individual store level, Cargill is offering an employee incentive sweepstakes in which participating retailers submit photos of the Souped-Up Suppers materials displayed in their store and as a result, meat department employees are entered into a random sweepstakes drawing.

Source: Cargill

Hormel, Culinary Institute of America expand training program

The Culinary Enrichment and Innovation Program (CEIP), a collaboration between The Culinary Institute of America and Hormel Foods Corp., will welcome 16 new students to the program on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010, at the CIA’s Hyde Park campus. Members of this CEIP Class of 2012, with representatives from 12 different states, will begin their 18-month journey of culinary excellence following the graduation of the inaugural class earlier this year. CEIP is the only professional development program to offer advanced management training specifically designed for skilled chefs.

“As CEIP grows, reaching deeper into the industry and involving more chefs through personal experience and word-of-mouth, we anticipate that our alumni will truly represent the future leadership of the American culinary world,” said Ron DeSantis, C.M.C., director of CIA Consulting and co-founder of CEIP.

The program’s objective is to teach an elite group of professional chefs how to identify, practice and master the necessary skills for culinary leadership and innovation. Consisting of four academic and experiential modules, CEIP covers a range of topics, including global flavor traditions; the ethical responsibilities of healthful, flavorful food preparation; leadership and innovation; and menu R&D as a collaboration of culinary arts, consumer behavior, food science and management. CEIP participants gather for three intense days every six months, disconnecting from their daily responsibilities as senior level chefs and immersing themselves in lectures, homework, hands-on kitchen work and one-to-one dialogue with fellow chefs and visiting guest lecturers.
The CEIP Class of 2012 includes chefs from eight commercial and eight non-commercial foodservice establishments, representing colleges and universities, healthcare, food management services, fine dining, quick service and fast casual operations.

The CIA Certified Master Chefs who created the educational modules, including Victor Gielisse, D.B.A., C.M.C., C.H.E. and associate vice president of the CIA’s Business Development, and DeSantis, have integrated experiences that serve to change perceptions and initiate conversations on the chefs’ own roles as leaders. Over the course of the program, the chefs will tour local sustainable farms and discuss best working relationship practices, prepare a gourmet four-course meal with only a trace of salt and a hint of butter, converse with well-known entrepreneurs, and role-play executive positions such as vice president of operations for a foodservice establishment in need of innovation.

“The goal is for these chefs to begin to think differently about every aspect of their work, so that they will bring a new level of vision to their organizations and to the industry at large,” said Dennis Goettsch, vice president of marketing for the foodservice division of Hormel Foods and co-founder of the program.

Created by the CIA and Hormel Foods, Hormel Foods has underwritten the development of the curriculum and sponsors the tuition for each of the participating students.
“We wanted to invest in the future of the culinary arts, helping prepare today’s best and brightest chefs for leadership in the field,” Goettsch said.

Source: Hormel Foods Corp.

Perky Jerky picks Petty as partner

Richard Petty Motorsports announced today a new addition to its sponsor family. Perky Jerky has entered into a multi-year deal with the team as its official jerky. In addition to the company’s partnership with the team, Perky Jerky has also been named the official jerky of the 2011 DAYTONA 500 and all International Speedway Corporation race tracks. Through this partnership, race fans will have the opportunity to sample Perky Jerky at all NASCAR events held at ISC tracks throughout the country. Perky Jerky will also be served as the exclusive jerky at all the vending and concession stands at every ISC venue.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Richard Petty Motorsports to expand our great group of sponsor partners,” said Foster Gillett, managing partner and team owner. “Perky Jerky is a new brand that sees the value of a NASCAR partnership and it is certainly exciting to have them enter into the motorsports arena with our team.”

“We are very pleased to be able to bring a new sponsor into the mix,” said team owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty. “We have a lot of good momentum going into next season and adding Perky Jerky is a big part of that.”

”We welcome Perky Jerky into the ISC family of partners and are thrilled to provide them the ideal platform to reach millions of race fans all season long,” said ISC Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Daryl Q. Wolfe.

“Richard Petty is The King of NASCAR and Perky Jerky is the premier beef jerky on the planet, so our brands are a natural fit and we’re proud to be the newest member of the Richard Petty Motorsports team,” said Brian Levin, founder and chairman of the herd at Perky Jerky. “Together, we’re looking forward to turning millions of NASCAR fans into perky-loving jerks.”

Source: Perky Jerky