ACME STICKS GROUND-BEEF SAFETY LABEL ON THE PACK

ERIC THORSEN

MALVERN, Pa. -- Acme Markets here, a division of Boise, Idaho-based Albertson's, has become the latest retailer in the industry to use on-pack labels that emphasize for customers the proper handling and cooking of ground beef.

The initiative, called the Acme Food Safety Information Campaign, was launched last month with the purpose of teaching consumers to cook ground beef to 160 degrees Fahrenheit in order to kill any bacteria that may be present in the meat.

According to Walt Rubel, Acme's director of government and community affairs, the food-safety initiative was an update of past efforts, which primarily relied on food-safety brochures to educate consumers.

"It was time to update the program and re-emphasize it," said Rubel, adding that new information and technology to assist consumers in proper handling and cooking had become available. "It's part of our overall food-safety program."

The program passed through the development stage shortly after Acme, with units in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland, added leak-proof, modified-atmosphere packaged ground beef to its meat department six months ago.

"Case-ready ground beef -- in many ways -- is less likely to have contaminates," he said, noting that it is handled much less between the processor and the stores, reducing the number of chances of contamination.

Rubel added that in addition to its food-safety benefits, case-ready provides a consistent fixed-weight product. He declined to comment further on Acme's plans to incorporate case-ready ground beef in the meat case.

Presently, the retailer merchandises its traditional shrink-wrapped packages of ground beef, which are still ground in-store, side by side with case-ready product. Fairbank Farms, Fairbank, N.J., supplies the retailer with both case-ready and fresh-ground beef.

The new on-pack, blue day-glow labels, which appear on both product lines, indicate proper food-safety and cooking procedures, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture's safety recommendations that urge customers to use meat thermometers to accurately measure temperature.

T-sticks, and recently added electronic meat thermometers, are also merchandised throughout Acme's meat department, said Rubel.

The informational brochures have been retained as part of the updated effort, and are located in a lucite rack by the meat case. They detail the program, as well as the safe-handling procedures for ground beef. The brochures, as well as T-sticks, also accompany ground-beef items merchandised in small drop coolers located near the front door of the store.

The safety information campaign has been further publicized periodically through the retailer's circulars and in newspaper ads, re-emphasizing the importance of properly cooking ground beef. Employees, as well, are continuously learning about proper food-safety practices by attending food-safety classes, said Rubel.

This latest effort by Acme is a reflection of an ongoing industry effort to educate consumers about food safety. Many retailers have developed, or are in the process of developing, programs aimed at providing customers with product and food-safety information.

Last year, Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, N.Y., in conjunction with the Washington-based Food Marketing Institute, became the first among retailers to implement a labeling program aimed at customers purchasing ground beef. Other operators who have introduced similar programs include Bashas' Markets, Chandler, Ariz.