Check out the January 2021 edition of The National Provisioner, featuring the 2021 Poultry Report, the meat snacking movement, spray chilling beef sides and much more!
Whole Foods Market recently announced it will phase out live-shackle slaughter from its chicken suppliers at all U.S. locations by 2026, becoming the first major retailer to follow the Better Chicken Commitment.
New packaging in the deli and lunchmeat category often is being driven by consumers’ lifestyle needs. For example, portable protein packs were created because consumers want to be fit and eat less while on the go.
A host of retailers and processors see innovation as the prevailing driver of packaging format changes in the future, says one veteran industry source.
For many years, I have closely tracked evolving U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) policy, the strengthening of USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspection and surveillance programs, the implementation of new technologies and the available data pertaining to the numbers of illness outbreaks and recalls.
A lot of work goes into a “clean label,” particularly with marinated proteins. To achieve the ever-popular clean label, processors have had to re-think more than marinades’ ingredient composition, functionality and chemical reactions, but also improve natural sanitation, injection equipment and filtering technology.
Chicken and turkey sales, like every meat category, posted impressive numbers for the 12 months ending Nov. 1, 2020, reports IRI, in Chicago. Chicken grew 12.7 percent in dollar sales to approximately $13.2 billion with volume sales up 8.3 percent.
Sales are on the upswing as consumers look for products that meet their indulgent, nutritional and emotional needs, and meat and poultry selections are an increasingly popular part of the mix, according to Mintel Group, a Chicago-based global market research firm.