Wisconsin’s meat industry will honor Four individuals for their lifetime contributions to the trade by inducting them into the Wisconsin Meat Industry Hall of Fame at a May 3 ceremony. They include an academic turned entrepreneur who built world class food safety labs, a pioneering business couple who founded two successful meat processing firms, and a broadcast promoter known as "The Beef Lady."

This year’s inductees include:

* Robert H. Deibel, emeritus UW-Madison professor of bacteriology, who made several landmark discoveries important to the safe production of processed meats during his tenure at the university, His research on food pathogens such as Listeria, C. botulinum and S. aureus uncovered new means for protecting the food supply. In 1979 he founded Deibel Labs for commercial microbial food testing. Deibel Labs now operates from 10 locations in the United States and one in Canada.

* Ken and Kris Bisarek, who met and learned their trade working at a meat processing business run by Kris’ family (her parents, Clarence and Lela Knebel, are among the original inductees into the Wisconsin Meat Industry Hall of Fame). The Bisareks purchased their first meat processing business in 1977, and later sold that to buy Bloomington Meats in Bloomington, where they racked up a number of impressive awards for their quality products. They sold the Bloomington business in 1998 but remain active by serving as industry leaders, helping other plants adopt food quality practices and supporting youth programs.

* Virginia S. Hazlett, who is recognized by television viewers in the Milwaukee and Green Bay areas as "The Beef Lady" for her broadcasts promoting Wisconsin meat products. For more than 30 years, Hazlett went on air to talk about the nutritional value of meat. She is well known for her ability to work with a wide range of people, her insatiable curiosity, her spirit of adventure, and her belief in the importance of youth and consumer education.

The Wisconsin Meat Industry Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place during the annual meeting of the Wisconsin Livestock and Meat Council, May 3, 2012. The induction luncheon will be at noon at the Sheraton Madison Hotel, 706 John Nolen Drive, Madison. Reservations can be made through Jeff Swenson, Division of Agricultural Development, Wisconsin DATCP, P.O. Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708-8911 for $35 per person.

Annual meeting registration form PDF found here: http://bit.ly/z37zQ2

Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison