International Pork Quality and Safety Concerns

 

Benefits of Exports

• The U.S. exported 8.17% of production in 2001 * Net exports increased by 3.21%
•  The change in net exports in 2001 was worth $590.6 million to producers’ incomes
•  Exports added, on average, $6.03 to every hog slaughtered in 2001
•  Exports permit more of the hog to be used — without exports, many variety meats would be worth little or nothing
• Exports help diversify our markets so our dependence on any one country for growth in pork consumption is reduced.

 

Key Markets – Percent of U.S. Pork Exports

Source: USDA 2001 data as compiled by USMEF

 

 

What’s Impacting Consumer Confidence

•  BSE in UK
•  E-Coli 0157 in the United States and Japan
•  “Bird Flu” in Hong Kong
•  Nipah Virus Outbreak in Malaysia
•  Dioxin/PCB contamination of Belgian feeds/livestock products
•  French sewage sludge scare
•  Listeria contamination of ready-to-eat meats
•  Confirmed spread of BSE to Germany, France, others
•  FMD in Europe/Japan/ Korea
•  Clenbuterol poisonings in Asia
•  Discovery of BSE in Japan
•  Japanese meat labeling scandals
•  Pesticide Contamination of “organic” feedstuffs in Germany

 

What’s Impacting Consumer Confidence

•  Government mishandling of these crises has created a credibility gap
•  Consumers just don’t know who to trust – And activists messages resonate
•  Creates pressure to go overboard in creating systems and regulations
  • Ignore risk assessment
  • Judge all foods according to lowest standard
  • Mistrust anything new/Yearn for traditional farms
  • Politics takes precedence over science

 

Major Consumer Market Barriers

• Japan: Pork eaten frequently; seen as nutritious, healthy, easy to prepare. But 55% of consumers have never purchased imported pork and 56% of respondents said they WOULD NOT consider buying imported pork.
• Korea: Pork eaten 1.2 times per week at home; awareness of US is 30.8%. But only 6.3% of respondents have knowingly purchased imported pork and 93.7% of respondents WOULD NOT consider purchasing imported pork.
• Mexico: Pork regarded as a “second class meat”- high cholesterol/fat, cause of serious illness/death; Eaten because of its taste. 61% would eat pork more often if they were assured it was cleaner, safer, more nutritious.

 

Pork Quality Issues

 

Japanese Consumer Perceptions of Pork by Origin

*Indicates result is significantly higher than the U.S. The U.S. is significantly higher than domestic and Kurobuta for attribute “Inexpensive”. Source: USMEF

 

Live Animal Weight and Carcass “break”

Source: National Pork Board
*Source: Danske Slagterier – calculated from average carcass weight using dressing yield of 73.4%

 

 

U.S. & Japanese-style Carcass Yield Test

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pork Kidneys

•  slashed vs. unslashed;
•  small box
•  premium for certain USDA plants

 

Pork Ears

•  square-cut
•  no canal/no hair
•  15 kg. Box
•  premium for certain USDA plants meeting China specs

 

Pork Tongues

•  100% tip-on
•  skinless, rootless
•  15 kg. Box
• premium for certain USDA plants meeting China specs

 

Pork Hearts

•  whole or small cut only
•  6 kg. Box
•  neatly packed
•  5% premium for plants meeting China specs

 

Pork Tails

•  long tails only

 

What should we be doing?

•  Benchmark our industry against our competitors — technologically, economically and politically.
•  Increase the export/international focus and content of our undergraduate meat science curriculums.
•  Expand the export focus in our pork research programs.
•  Develop production and processing systems to customize products or improve quality and yields while maintaining our cost competitiveness.
•  Vigorously defend a rigid science-based approach to risk assessment and the application of new technologies to pork production and processing.

 

John Cravens
Director of Foreign Market Development and World Trade, National Pork Board
John Cravens is Director of Foreign Market Development and World Trade for the National Pork Board. He is responsible for the managing the checkoff-funded market development programs for all international markets. This includes responsibility for the U.S. Pork Seal program and all activities conducted on behalf of the pork industry by the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

 

Prior to becoming part of the National Pork Board staff on July 1, 2001, Cravens was Director of Foreign Market Development and World Trade for the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). He held that position since joining NPPC in October 1997.

 

Cravens has extensive experience, having worked in a number of different sectors of the U.S. meat industry including fresh, processed and canned meats. Most recently before working for NPPC, he served as the Director of Pork Programs for the U.S. Meat Export Federation. Previously, he served as Director of Research and Development for the American Lamb Council from 1993 to 1996 and worked for the Loveland Foods division of Continental Grain Company from 1985 to 1993

 

A native of Indiana, Cravens now lives in Loveland, Colorado. He received a B.S. degree in food science from Purdue University and an MBA from the University of Colorado.

 

Updated October 5, 2001