California Ag Network

Tag: poultry industry

  • Meat Institute: FDA Proposed GRAS Reforms Good First Step

    The Meat Institute said the proposed changes to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) generally recognized as safe (GRAS) regulations are a good first step but it will continue to work with the Administration to ensure reforms protect food safety, foster innovation and maintain an affordable food supply.
    “The Meat Institute supports updating the GRAS framework in a way that strengthens consumer confidence while preserving a science-based, risk-based regulatory system,” said Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. “We will work closely with FDA and FSIS to ensure reforms continue to protect food safety, support innovation, and preserve affordable meat and poultry options for consumers.”
    “Consumers deserve confidence that the ingredients in their food have been rigorously evaluated for safety — and an updated GRAS process can deliver that transparency without disrupting an abundant, affordable food supply.
    “GRAS reform should improve transparency, establish a consistent national standard, while recognizing the unique regulatory framework that governs meat and poultry, where FSIS relies on FDA’s safety evaluations to approve substances as safe and suitable,” said Potts. “Close coordination between the two agencies is essential to consistent implementation.”
    The Meat Institute will provide comments during the comment period including the following priorities for regulators to consider:
    Practical timelines. New requirements should include adequate implementation time for manufacturers to comply.
    Preserving longstanding safe uses. Reform should not disturb ingredients with an established safety record.
    FDA-FSIS coordination. Close collaboration between the two agencies is critical to consistent implementation across the food supply.
    The Meat Institute warns that without thoughtful implementation, reform could delay new technologies and ingredients that improve food safety, extend shelf life, reduce food waste, and help manufacturers meet evolving consumer expectations.
    “The Meat Institute encourages HHS and FDA to pursue GRAS reform through a transparent, science-based, and collaborative approach that provides regulatory certainty for industry while protecting consumers,” said Potts.
    — Story contributed by the Meat Institute

  • Meat Institute Marks 120 years with Evolution of Solutions Summit

    The Meat Institute announced the evolution of the Protein PACT Solutions Summit into the Solutions Summit, a broader conference experience designed to help protein industry leaders navigate today’s interconnected business, regulatory, workforce, technology and market challenges. The announcement coincides with the organization’s 120thanniversary milestone, underscoring both the strength of its history and its continued commitment to leading the industry forward.

    Taking place Oct. 7-9, at The Roosevelt in New Orleans, the Solutions Summit builds on the foundation of the Protein PACT Solutions Summit while broadening the conversation to address the full range of priorities shaping modern meat and poultry operations.

    “This change reflects growth, not departure,” said Julie Anna Potts, President and CEO of the Meat Institute. “For 120 years, our strength has come from listening to members, adapting to change and leading with purpose. The Solutions Summit is the next expression of that tradition, built for what today’s leaders need and where the industry is headed.”

    A Broader Scope for a More Complex Industry

    Sustainability and continuous improvement, cornerstones of the Protein PACT, remain central to the organization’s identity. The Solutions Summit builds on that foundation while reflecting the broader set of priorities members are navigating today, including workforce challenges, regulatory pressure, technology disruption, market volatility and rising expectations across their organizations.

    The Solutions Summit is designed to address these priorities in an integrated way through high-impact education, trusted regulatory insight and peer-driven knowledge sharing that equips both senior and rising leaders with perspective and practical solutions that drive real business value. — Story contributed by the Meat Institute

  • Meat Institute Releases Report on How Animal Ag Supply Chains Are Calculating Emissions

    The Meat Institute released a new report entitled,  “Greenhouse Gas Accounting: Emissions Factors Brief,” offering a closer look at how companies across the animal ag supply chain are currently measuring and reporting upstream greenhouse gas emissions.

    “This report is intended as a practical resource for companies throughout the meat and poultry supply chain to better understand how emissions data are developed, to ask clearer questions of data providers, and to build strategies that reflect their operational realities,” said Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. “The report also outlines current knowledge gaps and points to where practical guidance and coordination could help improve alignment throughout the supply chain.”

    The brief reflects input from Meat Institute packer and processor members through surveys, interviews and industry roundtables, along with review by independent experts. It focuses on the scope 3 emission factors used today for beef, pork and poultry, and highlights areas where approaches differ across data sources, system boundaries, and calculation methods.

    For the broader supply chain, the report shows that:

    — Reported emission factor values span a wide range across proteins, often due to differences in functional units, geographic assumptions and whether impacts such as land use change are included or reported separately.

    — Many companies reference the same core U.S. studies, but apply them in different ways based on their own sourcing regions, customers, and reporting needs.

    — Recent publicly available data for poultry remains limited, with most of the reported information coming from third-party tools rather than published literature.

    — Method choices — such as how methane is modeled or which Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment values are applied — can meaningfully affect reported results, even when companies are working from similar underlying data.

    This report is a product of the Meat Institute’s Sustainability Committee.

    — Story contribued by the Meat Institute