Search results: USDA meat

The USDA has established a new Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).

This has $19 billion to distribute to farmers, ranchers, and consumers.

Cutting through the rhetoric, the new program has two parts:

1. Direct Support to Farmers and Ranchers—$16 billion: for direct support and marketing costs.  [Note: producers say this is not enough].
2. USDA Purchase and Distribution—$3 billion: for buying fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, and meat products at the rate of $100 million per month, each.  “The distributors and wholesalers will then provide a pre-approved box of fresh produce, dairy, and meat products to food banks, community and faith based organizations, and other non-profits serving Americans in need.”  [Note: Fruit and vegetable producers say this is not enough].

In addition, the USDA says it will:

• Allocate $873.3 million to purchase a variety of agricultural products for distribution to food banks, as determined by industry requests, USDA agricultural market analysis, and food bank needs.
• Under previous acts, allocate $850 million for food bank administrative costs and USDA food purchases, of which a minimum of $600 million will be designated for food purchases, as determined by food bank need and product availability.

Comment 

• The bulk of this program goes to Big Ag—on top of the $22 billion or so Big Ag got in compensation for trade losses last year.
• The much smaller Purchase and Distribution program is to deal with the shocking problem of producers destroying foods while hungry people line up for food distribution from food banks overwhelmed by the demand.
• USDA is using this to reinstate its “harvest box” proposals as a means to replace SNAP benefits.
• USDA is not backing off from its other long-term strategy to do all it can to reduce SNAP enrollments and benefits, or from Trump Administration public charge policies that put anyone who is not a citizen at risk of never getting citizenship or of deportation if they apply for public benefits.
• These measures are expensive band-aids.  They do not address fundamental flaws in agricultural support programs.
• Maybe this crisis will at last cause Congress to start supporting sustainable, resiliant agriculture?  Hey, I can dream.

Here is everything else the USDA says it is doing

the USDA announcement also says what it is already doing  “to make sure children and families are fed during a time of school closures and job losses, as well as increase flexibilities and extensions in USDA’s farm programs to ensure the U.S. food supply chain remains safe and secure.”  What follows is a direct quote.

Feeding Kids and Families

• USDA expanded flexibilities and waivers in all 50 states and territories to ensure kids and families who need food can get it during this national emergency.
• USDA is partnering with the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, McLane Global, PepsiCo, and others to deliver more than 1,000,000 meals a week to students in a limited number of rural schools closed due to COVID-19.
• USDA authorized Pandemic EBT in Michigan and Rhode Island, a supplemental food purchasing benefit to current SNAP participants and as a new EBT benefit to other eligible households to offset the cost of meals that would have otherwise been consumed at school.
• USDA expanded an innovative SNAP online grocery purchase pilot program in Arizona and California, Florida and Idaho, and DC and North Carolina, in addition to Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, Oregon and Washington.

Actions to Ensure a Strong Food Supply Chain

• USDA is working to ensure the food supply remains safe and secure.
• USDA announced flexibilities to ensure food distribution for certain food products like dairy and eggs reach retail settings.
• USDA announced farm loan flexibilities, deferrals (PDF, 243 KB), and maturity extensions.

Whole of Government Response in Rural America

• USDA released The COVID-19 Federal Rural Resource Guide (PDF, 349 KB), a first-of-its-kind resource for rural leaders looking for federal funding and partnership opportunities to help address this pandemic.
• USDA opened a second application window (April 14, 2020 to July 13, 2020) for $72 million of funding under the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grant program.
• USDA Rural Development lenders may offer 180-day loan payment deferrals without prior agency approval for Business and Industry Loan Guarantees, Rural Energy for America Program Loan Guarantees, Community Facilities Loan Guarantees, and Water and Waste Disposal Loan Guarantees.
• USDA will use the $100 million provided for the ReConnect Program in the CARES Act to invest in qualified 100 percent grant projects.

For all the information on USDA’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic and resources available, please visit www.usda.gov/coronavirus.

In this strange era of social distancing, I am catching up on items of interest, this one on USDA’s Selected Charts from Ag and Food Statistics, published in February this year.

These cover the ag and food sectors, the rural economy, land and natural resources, farm income, production, food spending and prices,  food consumption, trade, and food security.

I love charts.  These are especially informative (and date from when USDA’s Economic Research Service was still functional).

Examples:

This is one reason why China is so important to our food economy.

And here’s why the current Coronavirus crisis will be so tough on the restaurant industry:

At a glance, we can see what dietary recommendations ought to be saying, although the grouping together of meat, eggs, and nuts is not particularly helpful in understanding what’s going on here.

The other charts—there are lots of them—are worth a look and have much to teach.  They make me even sadder about the loss of two-thirds of ERS staff when USDA moved the agency to Kansas City.

The USDA has produced four infographics on its purchasing practices for school meals.

• USDA Foods in Schools – This infographic summarizes nationwide USDA Foods purchases including the average cost per pound by food group and the breakdown of total spending and pounds received by food group.
• USDA Foods in Schools: Summary by Program – This infographic shows a summary of purchases from all three programs: USDA Foods Bulk for Processing, USDA Foods Direct Delivery, and USDA DoD Fresh. It is important to note that the USDA Foods Bulk for Processing section only includes items classified as a bulk product on the USDA Foods Available List.
• USDA Foods in Schools: State Overview– This infographic shows the average number of products ordered by States and the top five products by dollar value and volume. This infographic also displays the value of food orders by State.
• USDA DoD Fresh in Schools – This infographic provides an overview of USDA DoD Fresh purchases including a summary of the top five fruit and vegetables received and the total pounds purchased. It is important to note that the items available through USDA DoD Fresh may vary by State.

I took a look at the first one and got stopped cold by this:

Protein?  What’s that?  The answer:  meat, poultry, fish, eggs, peanut butter, and sunflower seed butter.

I also wondered what DoD Fresh was about.  It is an agreement between USDA and the Department of Defense to supply fresh fruits and vegetables to schools.

For school food aficionados, there is much information here in a readily accessible format.  Enjoy!

The USDA has issued a guide for meat and poultry sellers explaining what they need to do to claim that their products are non-GMO.  This, apparently, will do.

What, you may ask, are they to do if their products are GMO?  Here’s your answer.

That USDA is allowing the use of non-GMO rather than non-bioengineered must be considered some kind of miracle or oversight.

AgriPulse says producers want more guidance before trying to comply with whatever the biotech labeling law means.

I can’t wait to see if meat sellers use any of this.

No lab-based meat or dairy product is yet on the market, but lots of people are working on such things.  Here are some recent examples, starting with my favorite.

• • Grant offered to lab-grown kangaroo meat start-up: Australian lab-grown meat business has been awarded AUS$25,000 to help with its research into cell-cultured kangaroo meat products… Read
  • Kraft Heinz venture fund invests in startup making real cheese… without cows:   San Francisco startup New Culture – which is making animal-free dairy cheese with casein proteins made from microbial fermentation (instead of cow’s milk) – has closed a $3.5m seed round led by Evolv Ventures, a $100m venture fund backed by Kraft Heinz… Read
  • First products from Motif FoodWorks’ fermentation-based protein platform ready to launch in 2021:  The first three proteins from Motif FoodWorks’ fermentation-based food ingredient platform will be ready for launch in early 2021, says the company, one of a new breed of synthetic biology companies using microbes as microscopic factories capable of producing animal proteins… without animals… Read
  • Sustainable Bioproducts gears up for 2020 launch of consumer brand built around new-to-the-world protein source:  Sustainable Bioproducts – which is developing new-to-the-world protein-packed whole food ingredients from microbes – plans to launch a consumer brand to help familiarize Americans with a new fungal food source that could be used in everything from meat and milk alternatives to snacks… Read
  • Perfect Day gives fans first taste of animal-free dairy with limited edition ice cream release:  Perfect Day, a start-up producing whey and casein via microbial fermentation (minus the cows) is giving fans a first taste of its animal-free proteins via a limited edition release of ice cream sold directly to consumers via its website… Read
  • Clara Foods completes Series B, joins forces with Ingredion to commercialize egg proteins… minus the chicken:  What came first, the chicken or the egg? Clara Foods, a San Francisco-based startup producing egg proteins via microbial fermentation, has ditched the chicken in favor of yeast, and teamed up with ingredients giant Ingredion to develop and commercialize its animal-free wares after completing a Series B funding round… Read
  • ‘Cultivated’ meat could be the most-consumer-friendly term for cell-cultured meat, suggests Mattson/GFI research: The term ‘clean meat’ is confusing (and carries the tacit implication that regular meat is ‘dirty’), while ‘cell-based meat’ – a more neutral term favored by some startups – doesn’t poll well with shoppers. ‘Lab-grown’ is a food marketer’s nightmare. But ‘cultivated meat’ might just tick all the boxes when it comes to describing growing meat from animal cells, without slaughter, suggests new research. Read more  
  • Five startups form alliance to provide clear path to market for cell-based meat:  BlueNalu, Finless Foods, Forke & Goode, JUST Inc., and Memphis Meats have formed a coalition called the Alliance for Meat, Poultry & Seafood (AMPS) Innovation to carve out a clear path to market for cell-cultured meat, poultry, and seafood. Read more  
  • Selling plant-based and cell-cultured meat will be about ‘benefits for me’ says Hartman Group:  While ending factory farming and reducing GHG emissions are top priorities for start-ups such as Impossible Foods, most shoppers are primarily motivated by ‘benefits for me’ – be it taste and discovery, or health and wellness, when it comes to plant-based meat and dairy, according to a new report from The Hartman Group. Read more  
  • FDA and USDA shed more light on how cell-based meat will be regulated, but don’t weigh into naming debate… yet:  The USDA and the FDA have provided more clarity on who will be responsible for what when it comes to regulating cell-cultured meat, but have not – yet – offered their thoughts on appropriate terminology with which to describe it on food labels. Read more
  • Future Meat Technologies raises $14m to commercialize cell cultured meat: ‘We see a path to reality here, it’s not just something on a Power Point presentation,’ says S2G Ventures:  Future Meat Technologies is one of the few players in the nascent space to have shown how cell-cultured (a.k.a. ‘cultivated’) meat could move from the lab to an industrial scale, claims one of the lead investors in a $14m Series A round that will support the construction of a pilot scale production facility south of Tel Aviv, Israel… Read
  • MycoTechnology unveils texturized fermented vegetable protein for plant based meat applications: As the race to expand protein options for plant-based meats heats up, Colorado-based MycoTechnology has thrown its hat into the ring with a texturized version of PureTaste, a vegetable protein produced via the fermentation of pea and rice proteins with Shiitake mushroom mycelium (roots)… Read  
  • Future Meat Technologies raises $14m to commercialize cell cultured meat: ‘We see a path to reality here, it’s not just something on a Power Point presentation,’ says S2G Ventures:  Future Meat Technologies is one of the few players in the nascent space to have shown how cell-cultured (a.k.a. ‘cultivated’) meat could move from the lab to an industrial scale, claims one of the lead investors in a $14m Series A round that will support the construction of a pilot scale production facility south of Tel Aviv, Israel…Read

I’m always interested to see what food safety lawyer Bill Marler has to say about the latest lapses.  He often represents the innocent-but-unlucky victims of food poisonings.  All they were doing was getting something to eat or feed their kids.  They had no idea the food was contaminated with a deadly form of E. coli or Salmonella.

In a recent post, Marler reflected on the enormous progress made by meat producers in reducing pathogens in their products.  Marler explains:

From the Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak of 1993 until the 2002 ConAgra E. coli outbreak, at least 95% of Marler Clark revenue was E. coli cases linked to hamburger.  Today, it is nearly zero.  That is success.  To the beef industry – thank you for meeting the challenge…for now, hats off to you.

But, he points out, the meat industry must continue to act with vigilance, as demonstrated by the CDC’s recent safety warning about ground beef contaminated with toxic E. coli O103.

The CDC lists the statistics of this recent outbreak to date.

• Reported Cases: 177
• States: 10
• Hospitalizations: 21
• Deaths: 0

The recalls of ground beef have started.

• Grant Park Packing in Franklin Park, Ill., recalled approximately 53,200 pounds of raw ground beef products on April 24, 2019.
• K2D Foods, doing business as Colorado Premium Foods, in Carrollton, Ga., recalledapproximately 113,424 pounds of raw ground beef products on April 23, 2019.

Others may follow.

Meat producers: eternal vigilance, please.  Lives are at stake.

As for food safety in general: The CDC says foodborne illness cases are increasing.

During 2018, FoodNet identified

• 25,606 infections
• 5,893 hospitalizations
• 120 deaths

Note: these are fully preventable.

And food producers must make sure that they are fully prevented.

The Washington Post reports that the USDA has committed about $5 million of bailout funds to buy 1.8 million pounds of pork products from the Brazilian meatpacker, JBS.

The bailout funds were supposed to help U.S. commodity producers who lost sales because of the tariff disputes with China.

JBS is the biggest meat seller in the U.S. It employs 73,000 people here.

Maybe the USDA thought it was an American company?

Globalization in action…

This is a collection of articles on the Chinese market for meat from the daily industry newsletter, Global Meat News.

Special Edition: Focus on China
China has been the highlight of the international meat market this year in terms of re-igniting unexpected relationships for trade access and its continuous clashes with the US market. With the Asian sector ramping up its global position, will we see China dominate the meat market in years to come?

• China lift on British beef ban to ‘unlock UK agriculture’s full potential’: China has today (27 June) made a landmark decision to lift the ban on UK beef exports for the first time in 20 years… Read
• NAMI welcomes additional China beef export facilities: The US meat industry has welcomed US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) efforts to secure approval for 20 additional facilities that are now eligible to export beef to China… Read
• US pork could lose $2.2 billion a year due to China trade war: The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) has called for a swift resolution of the United States-China trade dispute, in the hopes of paving the way for increased US pork exports… Read
• China and France reach beef agreement: China has signed an agreement to import beef from France… Read
• USDA reassures farmers that Trump will resolve China trade war: The US Department of Agriculture secretary Sonny Perdue believes Donald Trump will defend national interests for farmers following the country’s ongoing trade war with China… Read
• Irish beef given China approval: Irish companies have been given approval to export beef to China… Read
• China poultry equipment sector to be hit by new Trump USA tariffs: America’s pork exporters will be counting the cost of new 25% tariffs announced on Saturday (16 June) by the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council of China, on US-made meat and poultry exports… Read
• Ukraine and China take steps towards trade deal for poultry meat: Representatives from the Ukraine and China have signed a document to promote mutual trade in poultry meat… Read
• China set to visit Brazil to inspect 84 slaughterhouse refrigerators: Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply has revealed that Asian veterinarians from China will visit the South American country at the end of May to review 84 slaughterhouse refrigerators… Read
• US beef sector unsettled by threat of Chinese duties: US beef industry representatives are voicing consternation over the Chinese Government’s announcement that the country is preparing retaliatory sanctions against beef exports as part of its escalating trade war with the USA… Read