05/15/06 Food Marketing`s Big Show

Food Marketing's Big Show. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. There are many facets to the production of food products. From the growers and research people to picking up the product in the grocery store the end result is to get the buyers attention. Every year the Food Marketing Institute presents one of the largest food trade events in the world at Chicago's McCormick Place with attendees from 133 nations. This year's event was held last week and according to Claudia Peters, marketing vice president with FMI PETERS: There are about 35,000 attendees from 104 countries from Angola to Yemen and of course the United States. Well the Food Marketing Institutes' FMI Show is the largest and most comprehensive international food industry event in North America. So the world's top wholesalers and retailers come together to learn the latest tools for expanding market reach, keeping business on the cutting edge and certainly meeting the demands of busy consumers. 200 thousand pounds of food is donated each year to the greater Chicago Food Depository following the show. That's enough food to fill 25 tractor trailer trucks and provide meals for 150,000 people in Chicago. Kim Galeaz - a Dietitian Consultant to the Pork Checkoff - participated in the FMI Show. She says convenience remains a key trend for the pork industry. GALEAZ: I saw some pork items that I think are cutting edge. You've got pork roast shoulder that was with some vegetables in a container that was refrigerated. You didn't even have to stop and think about what to cook together. The vegetables, the pork was just right there, you just heat it up. It was that simple. And I think too that there are some new packaging types that are going to be coming out. I saw some Tyson pork products that had some new packaging for some fresh pork items that would really extend the shelf life for you as the consumer and in the supermarket. According to Galeaz - bacon was widely featured in the retail food show in Chicago - including bacon that`s easier to use and prepare. GALEAZ: The bacon is becoming more easy to use. Obviously there's the kind you can cook, the old traditional bacon. But what we like today is something much faster whether it's just pop it into the microwave and cook it or my favorite, I love those new packages of the already cooked bacon strips. And not even that, you've got bacon crumbles and bacon pieces for your salads or your casseroles that are already chopped up and crumbled up for you so yes, bacon is becoming excessively convenient. And I think that just really shows that people want things to fit their lifestyle, they want things that are easy and convenient for their daily meals. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.