Pasteurized for safety: electron-beam irradiation gains more retail and processor customers --...

Anyone with lingering doubts about consumer acceptance of irradiated meat products might want to check with supermarket shoppers who are embracing early introductions of ground beef treated with electron-beam pasteurization. Fresh and frozen irradiated packages of ground beef are now in the

"It's done very well," reports Jeanne Colleluori, communications specialist with the Rochester, NY-headquartered Wegmans. "We are gauging a lot of information from comments we receive from customers at our stores and through our main consumer affairs office. Our customers are telling us with their comments and purchasing habits that they are excited we are offering them this choice."

After exploring several other technologies and types of irradiation, Wegmans chose to work with the SureBeam Corporation, formerly owned by the Than Corporation of San Diego, and since July, an independent company based in Glendale Heights, IL. "When we met with SureBeam, and we had many meetings with them, we felt their company and technology fit the needs of the products we wanted to offer to our customers," recalls Colleluori. "It is a safe technology and uses electricity which most people can relate to. It is the most studied food technique in history and we're proud to help lead the way on this one."

SureBeam is counting on such expressions of support to expand the innovative technology to more retailers, food manufacturers, and processing companies. "There has been a ton of activity It's been a landslide with retail," says Mark Justin, vice president of retail marketing for SureBeam. "The success we have had with Wegmans and Kroger has been such a huge contribution."

As market research conducted by SureBeam and its retailers shows, consumers are generally accepting of beef treated with electron-beam pasteurization. Justin believes that the initial positive feedback will eventually lead to wide-scale use. "We already have several launches and rollouts coming in the next few weeks," he says. "Nobody is interested in testing anymore. We're in. full launch mode." To keep up with the demand, SureBeam has opened a $12-million service center in Chicago, a new service center in Vernon, CA, near Los Angeles, and a new research and processing facility at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX, in recent months.

Electron beam pasteurization, or e-beam as it is commonly called, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and USDA. The technology utilizes regular electricity rather than radioactive isotopes as an energy source to irradiate food products, a process that is less likely to affect the texture and taste of meat and poultry.

Since it was first used on frozen beef patties for Huisken Meats Inc. of Chandler, MN, two years ago, e-beam is now being applied to products available in thousands of grocery stores around the U.S. Huisken, acquired by the Sara Lee Corporation last year, continues to sell irradiated ground beef under the label "Be Sure," with a SureBeam logo. The SureBeam name and seal also appears on packages sold at Wegmans, as a way to inform consumers about the technology behind the process. "The SureBeam information is on the back and on the front of the label. It says 'Wegmans irradiated ground beef' in very large letters. We wanted people to know when they bought it what they were buying," explains Colleluori, adding that the chub packages of 80-percent lean and 90-percent lean fresh ground beef were a switch from the chain's traditional styrofoam tray packs.

The country's major ground beef suppliers increasingly are exploring the technology, according to Justin. Cargill's Excel Corporation of Wichita, KS, is treating some of the fresh ground beef it sells to Kroger at one of SureBeam's service centers. Excel is also preparing equipment and systems for eventual inline irradiation of frozen ground beef products in two of its plants by late 2002 or early 2003.

In addition to retail use, foodservice operators are also expressing interest in e-beam technology. The Dairy Queen chain, for instance, sold irradiated burgers on a pilot test basis at some of its franchises over the summer. Earlier this year, Kenosha Beef of Kenosha, WI, one of the country's largest suppliers of ground beef to the quick service restaurant (QSR) category, announced it will use SureBeam technology for its branded and private label ground beef.

Although consumers seem to be accepting beef treated with e-beam pasteurization, both SureBeam and its customers recognize the importance of continued educational efforts throughout the food chain. Justin points out the results of a University of California study, which showed that consumer education goes hand in hand with consumer acceptance. Colleluori of Wegmans agrees with that assessment. "Before we even launched the product, we put a very large number of Wegmans employees through a training program on irradiation," she says. "Everyone in the meat department and anyone else in a position to field questions from customers went through it, so our employees could answer customer questions." Wegmans also provides point-of-sale materials such as a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) cards and regularly highlights irradiated beef through its company website and in weekly newspaper circulars.

SureBeam, meanwhile, continues to educate its own retail and processor customers about e-beam technology. "We tell them that they will recover the cost and we are here to help them with the complexity," Justin explains. SureBeam is also helping with processing issues, offering a "SureTrack" information and documentation system that helps with traffic management and material handling processing for up to 40,000 pounds of product an hour.

Meanwhile, as summer grilling season moves into fall, Colleluori believes that consumers will continue to demand quantities of fresh and frozen irradiated ground beef. "We feel there will still be a market for it," adding that it is "only a matter of time" before most U.S. stores offer irradiated ground beef. "We think it is an important step in food safety for the entire public, and encourage other retailers to carry this type of product. Anything we can do to offer safe products to consumers should be first and fore-most."

Surebeam Corporation, phone (630) 635-9808, fax (530) 635-9819, e-mail info@surebeam.com, www.surebeam.com.