UNITED STATES-SMITHFIELD ONLY USE AMERICAN PIGS.
Smithfield Foods Inc. will soon be able to certify that all of its products are "born in the U.S.A."
Canadian-bacon lovers, don’t worry: You’ll still be able to get your fill.
This month, Smithfield will phase out the processing of pigs not born and raised in the United States, spokesman Jerry Hostetter said Tuesday. He said he didn’t know when that would translate into the elimination of products from non-U.S.-bred pigs from store shelves.
The action, he said, grows out of a farm law passed last year requiring retailers to identify the country of origin of most meat products. It took effect in mid-March.
"We listen to our big customers, the big retailers, who indicated strongly that they wanted a U.S.-only label," Hostetter said. Smithfield will replace the non-domestic pigs, primarily from Canada, with more from the United States.
"It’s not a big issue for Smithfield," Hostetter said, "because we have never slaughtered that many Canadian hogs." He said Canadian pigs make up significantly less than 10 percent of the total and are processed primarily at Midwestern plants.
Smithfield, he said, slaughters about 31 million hogs annually.
The change will have no effect on consumers, Hostetter said, and little financial impact on the company. "You’re paying the same for Canadian hogs that you would for U.S. hogs," he said.
In case you’re wondering, this won’t affect Smithfield’s output of Canadian bacon, Hostetter said. That doesn’t refer to the country of origin, but to the cut of meat, usually from the loin of the pig, in the middle of its back.
