Annual Meat Conference adds special 'BSE Update' session to program

The 2004 Annual Meat Conference offers meat processors and retailers tangible strategies to improve their bottom lines and turn products into profits. Now, the industry's premier meat merchandising and new product showcase has added a special session, BSE Update.

This session is targeted at understanding the challenges posed by the recent BSE case, as well as the new regulations that affect meat cutting procedures and certain beef product availability. It will provide the latest scientific information and explore BSE's impact on consumer beef purchasing, consumption trends and ramifications for the retail and meat processing industries.

Hosted by Dr. Randall Huffman, AMI, vice president, scientific affairs, the session is part of the afternoon General Session and will be held on Sunday, March 14. AMC is scheduled from March 14 to 16 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tenn.

Of course, targeted information to help attendees better manage the business of meat merchandising is always the focus at AMC. Professionally structured sessions designed to increase bottom-line performance by capitalizing on market developments and emerging consumer trends are the conference's mainstay. For example, general session speakers include Richard Deems, Ph.D., a nationally known leadership expert, and Karen Post, the "branding guru" who will discuss the challenge of building brand name market presence.

Here are some additional highlights of the 2004 Annual Meat Conference:

Monday, March 15:
· On the Case: The Dynamics of Case Ready. A session dedicated to the pros and cons of merchandising case ready products. Hear experts give testimony, benefits and strategies.
· Consumer Trends: Get up to speed on the incredible impact of the "low-carb" phenomenon, as well as other pertinent nutritional trends and dietary fads. Protein is "in" as the key dieting solution. Get the skinny from nutritionists, market researchers and policy thinkers to put these high-powered nutrition trends to work for you.

Tuesday, March 16:
· Closing General Session: The State of the Retail Food Industry. Keynoter Michael Sansolo, FMI vice president, will offer an overview of supermarket industry dynamics -- including pricing, competition and the impact of new technology -- and outline economic expectations for the next three to five years. Sansolo will discuss key retailing benchmarks and analyze the effects of consumer attitudes about the economy and toward industry trends.

Other conference highlights include:
· The ever-popular Product Tasting Reception
· Nashville Store Tours
· Tech Fair Luncheon

The conference is sponsored by AMI and FMI.

American Meat Institute represents the interests of packers and processors of beef, pork, lamb, veal and turkey products and their suppliers throughout North America. The Institute provides legislative, regulatory, public relations, technical, scientific and educational services to the industry. Its affiliate, the AMI Foundation, is a separate 501(c)3 organization that conducts research, education and information projects for the industry.

Food Marketing Institute (FMI) conducts programs in research, education, Industry relations and public affairs on behalf of its 2,300 member companies - food retailers and wholesalers - in the United States and around the world. FMI's retail membership is composed of large multi-store chains, regional firms and independent supermarkets.

Early registration deadline is Feb. 6. For more information or to register visit www.meatconference.com.