MEAT+POULTRY - June 2015 - 90

THE INSIDER

OPENING DOORS

MEAT+POULTRY Managing Editor, Kimberlie Clyma, suited up for a behindthe-scenes tour of the chicken industry in Maryland in April. The National
Chicken Council and US POULTRY & Egg Association invited meat and
poultry trade and ag journalists, dietitians, retail nutritionists and bloggers
to the Eastern Shore for a crash course in chicken production, from farm to
fork, including a tour of a hatchery, a visit to a family-owned chicken farm
and a full-access tour of a chicken processing facility.
Tom Super, NCC's vice president of communications, explained why full
access was so important at the media summit. "I think it's absolutely critical
if you're going to talk about transparency, you have to walk the walk. We
didn't leave any part of the production off limits and there was no question
that went unanswered."

OVERherd
"You can't walk
in this building
without Larry
Pope chewing
your ear off
about Packaged
Meats..."
Kenneth Sullivan - EVP & CFO, Smithfield
Foods, during the April 14 call with analysts.

A BIG MAX IS BORN
Moshe Tamssot used McDonald's
"Create Your Taste" ordering kiosk in
Chicago to build a burger he named
"The Big Max." It contained 10 slices
each of bacon, white, pepper jack and
American cheeses, 10 servings each of
pickles, red onions, guacamole, tortilla
strips, lettuce, tomatoes, jalapenos,
grilled onions and mushrooms, mac
special sauce, mayo, spicy mayo,
sweet barbecue sauce, creamy garlic
sauce, mustard and ketchup.

MEAT+ POULTRY | 06.15 | www.meatpoultry.com

FRONT-LINE VIEW
Having been appointed president and
chief global growth officer with Tyson
Foods Inc. after its acquisition of
Hillshire Brands Company last year,
Sally Grimes realized the importance
of seeing first-hand all the steps of her
new company's diverse operations.
In her first month on the job, Grimes
traded her marketing hat for a hard
hat and smock as part of a farmto-fork tour of Tyson's operations,
something she says was invaluable
in her role. Seeing the end-to-end
operation one day, from a feed mill
in Arkansas to a processing plant in
Noel, Mo., gave her a sense of pride
and appreciation for the 125,000 team
members, including those on the
plant floor.
"As a marketer you need to go
deep on understanding all elements
of the creation of your portfolio,"
Grimes says.

BACON INGENUITY
During a tour of the SugarCreek
Frontenac, Kan., bacon plant this past
month, we were amazed to see the
variety of products and equipment
utilized in this 112,000-sq.-ft. facility.
Built in 1982 and employing more
than 520 workers, the plant processes
about 122,000 lbs. of raw and readyto-eat bacon strips and bacon bits
for many well-known retail and
foodservice customers each year.
Michael John II, operations manager,
pointed out that the facility's three
smokehouses, with a capacity of
about 20,000 lbs. of bellies each, were
designed and constructed in-house
by engineers with the company many
years ago and have successfully
delivered results in one of the critical
steps of the production process.
M E AT P O U LT RY@ S OS L A N D.CO M

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MEAT+POULTRY - June 2015

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