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BEEF GROUP IS ROUNDING UP MEAL SOLUTIONS

CHICAGO -- Retailers and suppliers aren't the only ones coming up with home meal solutions for the meat case these days.The National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Englewood, Colo., is directing a portion of its checkoff fund to the creation of new products using round and chuck, two cuts it perceives as underutilized, according to Mark Thomas, vice president for new marketing initiatives."We're looking

CHICAGO -- Retailers and suppliers aren't the only ones coming up with home meal solutions for the meat case these days.

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Englewood, Colo., is directing a portion of its checkoff fund to the creation of new products using round and chuck, two cuts it perceives as underutilized, according to Mark Thomas, vice president for new marketing initiatives.

"We're looking at one-stop, one-package meal solutions, meat and pasta or rice, and sauce, with a total preparation time of 15 minutes or less," Thomas told SN.

NCBA targeted round and chuck after determining that those two cuts are not currently living up to their potential.

"Middle meats in my opinion don't need any help," Thomas said. "Consumers want variety, and the beef carcass can deliver that if it is properly processed and marketed."

He believes that the right mix of restaurant-quality, convenient beef products will better serve consumers by reducing the time they spend planning, shopping for and preparing meals.

"We're also partnering with Visionary Design in Pennsylvania, looking at innovative ways of cutting the carcass and producing size cuts that are more in line with what you've seen in chicken," he added.

"There's one muscle in chuck, for example, that we could take separately and cut it differently, whereas right now a lot of it is going to ground beef, and that's just not adding value."

NCBA is exploring new ways of fabricating and delivering more conveniently for retailers, he explained. He sees NCBA's efforts as supplementing the product development of meat companies, many of whom have faced budget cutbacks.

"The goal is to provide convenience and versatility for smaller, more upscale households. We want to be a catalyst to help the industry stay on the ball in product development."

Following current consumer trends, the emphasis is on smaller portions of less expensive cuts that taste almost as good as more expensive ones. "There are ways to yield much smaller and more tender portions," Thomas said. "Go into any retailer and you can find top round or whole, bone-in rounds -- they're not convenient, and they won't eat like the better steaks.

"What we're talking about is adding value with a knife as opposed to formulations and grindings and processing technologies."

Several concepts have already been shown to large packers, and some have gone through pilots and plant testing, he said.

"We've patented some, trademarked some -- we are patenting an appetizer now that involves beef and bread crumbs, designed to compete against buffalo wings. You don't find many beef appetizers today."

Thomas said NCBA has also showed some of the new products to branded food companies that want to "get across the aisle."

"So, for example, if a pasta company wants to expand beyond the dry goods aisle, they have to do it with proteins, with center of the plate items, and this could work well for them."

Thomas said that although NCBA is currently engineered toward the dry grocery side, he could envision partnering with produce companies at some point.

Whoever the partners may be, the focus remains the same: make the retailer's life easier.

"Part of the barrier we face in the fresh meat industry is at retail. So the further we can back these things up in the channel and deliver conveniently to the retailer, the better off we'll be."