SEMA_________________________________

SOUTHEASTERN MEAT ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 620777; Oviedo, FL 32762 Phone: 407-365-5661

Food Defense Plan Survey

The fifth food defense plan survey was conducted August 2010. The facilities surveyed were expanded in 2010 to include processed egg products plants and official import inspection establishments. Overall, 74% of all establishments surveyed have a functional food defense plan (up from 62% in 2009). Very small plants rose 15%, small plants rose 10%, and large plants remained unchanged according to the USDA.

USDA defines a food defense plan as functional if measures are in place to address outside security, inside security, personnel security and incident response; the plan must have been tested in the last year and the establishment reviewed its plan within the past year.

In 2010, USDA made the voluntary adoption of food defense plans a performance objective. The target is for 90% of establishments to have a functional food defense plan by 2015.

Food borne Illnesses

CDC estimates that each year roughly 1 out of 6 Americans (or 48 million people) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from food-borne diseases. The 2011 estimates provide the most accurate picture yet of which food-borne bacteria, viruses, microbes (“pathogens") are causing the most illnesses in the United States, as well as estimating the number of food-borne illnesses without a known cause. Go to http://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/2011-foodborne-estimates.html, for more information.

FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act was passed and focuses on four key areas:

• Food-borne illness prevention
• Food-borne illness detection and response
• Food defense capabilities
• Overall resources

The new law gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the ability to initiate food recalls, requires the agency to conduct a minimum number of inspections of food processing facilities, and holds importers responsible for the safety of the food which they bring into the country.

Small farms and food facilities that do less than $500,000 in sales annually and sell most of their food locally would be exempt from most of the new regulations in the bill. FSMA does not apply to meat and poultry products.

2011 Standard Mileage Rates

The Internal Revenue Service issued the 2011 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2011, the standard mileage rate for the use of a car, van or pickup will be:

51 cents per mile for business miles driven

The standard mileage rate for business is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. Independent contractor Runzheimer International conducted the study.

A taxpayer may not use the business standard mileage rate for a vehicle after using any depreciation method under the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) or after claiming a Section 179 deduction for that vehicle.

Federal Minimum Wage

Currently, the federal minimum wage rate remains unchanged at $7.25 per hour. President Obama had advocated increasing the federal wage floor to $9.50 per hour by 2011 and indexing future increases to the inflation rate.

The minimum wage is the lowest amount that employers may pay employees for an hour of labor. Both the federal government and individual states are entitled to set a minimum wage but when the two differ, the higher wage applies.

Did you know ?????????

The celebration of the New Year is the oldest of all holidays.

Georgia Agribusiness Council

The Georgia Agribusiness Council (GAC) Executive Committee announced that Bryan Tolar, Douglasville, has been named President of the Council effective January 1, 2011. This appointment was made after former President Gary Black resigned from the position to pursue election of political office.

Bryan joined the Council in 1997 and has served through the years as the Member Services Representative serving GAC and AgriTrust of Georgia, Director of Marketing, Education and Environmental Programs for the Council, and the Vice President of Public Affairs.

NAMP Meat Buyers Guide

SEMA Members get $20 off the Meat Buyer’s Guide® through Jan. 7

SEMA members can take advantage of a special limited time offer to purchase the new Meat Buyer's Guide® (MBG) at the volume discount price of $50, which is $20 off the list price. This offer is only available through January 7th.

Members are invited to take advantage of this volume purchase program that SEMA coordinated with NAMP. There is no minimum order required. This offer cannot be combined with other offers. Members can purchase the MBG at http://shop.namp.com, and use the coupon code (meat) to get the volume discount.

For orders of 25 books or more, you also have the option of customized covers that display your company’s own name and logo on each copy. Call Urner Barry at 1-800-932-0617 to learn more.

What’s for Dinner?

Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the New Year by consuming black-eyed peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity. Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency.

FSIS Directives & Notices

USDA Announces Measures to Improve Humane Handling Enforcement (Dec 22, 2010)
New measures will better ensure the humane treatment and slaughter of all cattle presented for processing at FSIS-inspected facilities. See Also: FSIS Notice 74-10

FSIS Notice 74-10 (Dec 22, 2010)
Disposition of Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle

More at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/index.asp.

FSIS-ASK

Q: Will Canada accept FSIS Form 9135-3, Meat and Poultry Export Certificate of Wholesomeness for Canada on or after January 1, 2011?
A: Yes, CFIA will continue to accept the previous year form until February 28, 2011. Inspection Program Personnel are to discontinue use of FSIS Form 9135-3 from 2010 as soon as the 2011 forms are made available. The 2010 forms are not to be used after February 28, 2011.

Q: Under what conditions can "wyngz" be used as a fanciful term on poultry product labeling?
A: FSIS has a standard of identity in Title 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 381.170(b) (7) that defines a poultry "wing." The use of the term "wing" cannot be used on any poultry product unless it complies with this standard of identity. In comparison, FSIS allows the use of the term "wyngz" to denote a product that is in the shape of a wing or a bite-size appetizer type product under the following conditions in which the Agency considers its use fanciful and not misleading:
The statement may only reference the term "wyngz" (no other misspellings are permitted). All labels bearing the term "wyngz" need to be submitted to the Labeling and Program Delivery Division (LPDD) for sketch approval because it is considered a special statement that cannot be generically approved;

The poultry used is white chicken (with or without skin); "wyngz" is placed contiguous to a prominent, conspicuous, and legible descriptive name (e.g., "white chicken fritters") in the same color font; the smallest letter in the descriptive name is no smaller than 1/3 the size of the largest letter used in "wyngz”; a statement that further clarifies that the product does not contain any wing meat or is not derived only from wing meat (e.g., "contains no wing meat," "with no wing meat," "contains breast meat and wing meat") is placed in close proximity to the descriptive name and linked to "wyngz" by use of an asterisk. "Wyngz" referenced elsewhere on the package, e.g., on the front riser panel, would also need to be displayed with an asterisk linking it to this statement on the principal display panel.

SEMA Welcomes New Member

Nu Products Seasoning Company

74 Lois Court, S. Hackensack, NJ 07606
John Rymer, Sales
404.310.7646

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

New Year’s Trivia

"Auld Lang Syne" is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. At least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700's, it was first published in 1796 after Burns' death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scotch tune, "Auld Lang Syne" literally means "old long ago," or simply, "the good old days."

The tradition of using a baby to signify the new year was begun in Greece around 600 BC. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth. The use of an image of a baby with a New Years banner as a symbolic representation of the new year was brought to early America by the Germans.
Other traditions of the season include the making of New Year's resolutions, which also dates back to the early Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking. The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.

The first rooftop celebration atop One Times Square, complete with a fireworks display, took place in 1904. The first Ball Lowering celebration atop One Times Square was held on December 31, 1907.

The original New Year's Eve Ball weighed 700 pounds and was 5 feet in diameter. It was made of iron and wood and was decorated with 100 25-watt light bulbs.

May this New Year bring with it new hopes and new opportunities.
We wish you a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

From the SEMA Board of Directors and staff