The beef industry fighting back against negativity surrounding so-called "meat glue." The American Meat Institute, a Washington-based trade group that includes Cargill Inc. and Tyson Foods Inc., released information showing how transglutaminase is used in dairy, seafood and baked goods, as well as in beef for texture or to bind cuts together. The group argues transglutaminase is an enzyme that has been sold for almost two decades and has inaccurately been nicknamed meat glue for "shock appeal," reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story
Beef Products Inc. will close three of its four plants after sales dropped and did not recover following the consumer backlash. The company will close plants on May 25 in Amarillo, TX; Garden City, KS; and Waterloo, IA. Its South Sioux City, NE plant will continue to operate at a reduced capacity, reported Reuters.
A banner year is expected for California king salmon. After four years of closures and shortened seasons, the California king salmon is back. The commercial season opened May 1, about three weeks after sportfishing began, and not since 2005 has there been this much anticipation over the local bounty that should be in stores within a few days