Rodibaugh Addresses World Pork Conference on Health Aspects, Trends

Trends and health aspects of pork consumption in the United States were the focus of a presentation by USMEF’s chair-elect, Danita Rodibaugh, today at the World Pork Conference in Bonn, Germany.

“Research has shown that consumers focusing on convenience foods to fit time-challenged lifestyles are contributing to changes in the way that Americans consume pork,” said Rodibaugh. Citing National Pork Board research, she noted that 75 percent of consumers decide what to prepare for in-home dinner the same day, with 36 percent deciding “right before” preparing the meal.

“Consumers tell us that their priorities for serving a particular dish revolve around minimizing the amount of effort in preparation and planning, easy clean-up and choices that are enjoyed by everyone,” she said. The time consumers are allocating for dinner preparation is down from two hours 30 years ago to under 45 minutes today.

This fits with American consumers’ choices for at-home dining. Meals with pork are increasingly involving sausage (19.8 percent), bacon (18.1 percent), lunchmeat excluding ham (10.3 percent), with fresh pork and pork chops collectively accounting for just under 20 percent. Ham, including ham lunchmeat, accounts for 31 percent.

At the same time, Rodibaugh noted that fresh pork is a perfect fit for consumers who want tasty, low-fat dishes. Seven pork cuts are ranked as low in fat content as the two chicken cuts that are lowest in fat.

Educating consumers about the nutritional profile of pork – along with the great taste – is a priority of the U.S. pork industry’s new ‘Be Inspired’ campaign that is designed to boost pork consumption among dedicated pork consumers.

Rodibaugh told the audience that USMEF is actively encouraging international consumers and food service establishments to offer U.S. pork as a center-of-the-plate protein. A recent promotion in South Korea challenged five-star hotel chefs to create new recipes for pork butt, while a nationwide contest in Japan designed to promote use of U.S. pork butt in at-home cooking led to the creation of hundreds of new recipes.

Rodibaugh was joined at the conference by Philip Seng, USMEF president and CEO, who moderated a session on the subject of “Animal Health, Animal Welfare and Sustainability – All Questions Answered Yet?” The panel included Dr. Alejandro Thiermann of the OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) and president of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code Commission, and Andrea Gavinelli, head of the Animal Welfare Unit for the European Commission.

“It is a great credit to the International Meat Secretariat for bringing the global pork industry together in Bonn to discuss the pork industry's most vexing and most pressing issues,” said Seng. “Subjects covered included the overall economic situation, animal welfare, sustainability and major pork export markets such as China and Russia. Despite the bleak world economic situation, the pork outlook is very optimistic with expected increasing global pork demand and global pork production.”