WASHINGTON -- The recently re-established National Hot Dog and Sausage Council here has launched a consumer campaign to address parental concerns of feeding hot dogs and sausages to their families.
ting habits of children.
The council expects to make a reproducible version of the consumer brochure, along with art designed for copiers or offset printing, available to retailers and meat processors by May.
A division of the American Meat Institute Foundation, Arlington, Va., the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council was reformed last year, after a two-year hiatus, to offer marketing and issue management support to retailers and meat processors.
The industry was seriously challenged last year by the publication of a scientific study that questioned the safety and nutritional value of hot dogs.
"We know that retailers are on the front lines with consumers when hot dog and sausage safety and nutrition are called into question by the media," said J. Patrick Boyle, president and chairman of the American Meat Institute Foundation.
"We want to make sure that retailers are armed with the information they need to tell good news about our products and to reassure concerned consumers when media reports evoke concern," Boyle said.
