SUREBEAM LEAVING RETAILERS IN THE COLD

ROBERT VOSBURGH

SAN DIEGO -- Supermarket companies selling irradiated ground beef are searching the horizon for a gamma ray of hope after SureBeam Corp., the nation's primary irradiator of ground beef, declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy and ceased operations last week.

The bankruptcy, amid allegations of mismanagement and an investigation by federal regulators, is seen by many as a temporary setback in a fledgling category that retailers have expressed keen interest in.

"We remain committed to the benefits of irradiation and safety," said Jeanne Colleluori, communications specialist for Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, N.Y. The 65-store retailer was the first in the country to offer irradiated fresh ground beef.

"We found this news very disappointing because it means we're not able to offer our customers a product they enjoy and that they've come to expect from us," she said.

Industry statistics show that the special niche category accounts for less than 1% of all ground beef sales, but retailers said they are working to find other sources.

"We are looking at different alternatives and determining what Stop & Shop's next steps are going to be," said Rick Stockwood, spokesman for Stop & Shop, Quincy, Mass. The Ahold USA-owned chain offered ground beef, ground chuck and ground chuck patties processed by SureBeam's electron-beam irradiators, three of which operated in the United States.

Jamie Miller, spokesman for 197-store Giant Food, Landover, Md., another Ahold USA banner, said customers have shown interest in the program.

"It's an option we've offered customers; in essence, a product that people in high risk groups or those concerned about foodborne illness can use as an alternative to regular ground beef," he said.

Even national protein processors like Tyson Foods relied on SureBeam to irradiate product for its Fresh Meats division, based in Dakota Dunes, S.D. Gary Mickelson, director of public affairs, said fresh irradiated product accounted for less than 1% of its total ground beef output.

"We're hoping a buyer will be found for [SureBeam's] Sioux City, Iowa, facility," he said, adding that trade customers were notified that there would be an interruption in irradiated ground beef supplies until a new provider could be contracted. Tyson rolled out a line of five different products in September 2002.

Another of the country's largest processors, the Excel division of Minneapolis-based Cargill, has been stymied by a lack of SureBeam supplies, according to spokesman Mark Klein.

"We've been looking at other technologies and companies, but it's not something you can switch over to immediately," he said.

Ron Eustice, executive director of the Minnesota Beef Council, Bloomington, Minn., told SN that he anticipates supply lines will fill in relatively quickly as other irradiation providers express interest in taking on business.

"There's enough support and excitement about the technology that this is going to move forward," he said. "It's not a complicated business, and the folks that are ready to move forward are companies that seem easy to work with."

At Wegmans, where irradiated ground beef sales have been better than expected, Colleluori said the retailer has put out informational signage describing the interruption in supply. Stores stocked one- and three-pound rolls in 80% and 90% leanesses, and pre-formed four-patty packs. They also offered branded, frozen patties but those, too, were Surebeam-irradiated items.

"We have already notified all of our stores, so employees were aware of the situation in case they had questions from customers," she said.

Against this backdrop, one firm just opened a combined cold storage and food irradiation facility in Milford, Pa. CFC Logistics, partially owned by Hatfield Quality Meats, has a gamma irradiator theoretically capable of processing 60 million pounds of ground beef a year, according to Jim Wood, president.

"We're in a position where we are doing more educating and explaining, which is natural for new customers," Wood said.

"A lot want to know the difference between E-beam and gamma irradiation, as well as what changes, if any, they would need on their labeling," said CFC's Sharon Turner, irradiation services manager, adding that E-beam technology has more of an ozone factor that could change the taste of food if misapplied, a potential pitfall that gamma production avoids.

"Bottom line, though, is that I'm telling them a 'dose is a dose,"' she said.