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Maximizing the Value of the Round
All segments of the beef industry have reaped the benefits from the successful introduction and marketing of beef value cuts developed during Phase I and II of The Beef Checkoff-funded Muscle Profiling Project. This is as it should be, since many segments of the industry have invested time and funding into making these new cuts successful. The payoff has been increased satisfaction among customers who now enjoy more great-tasting steak and roast options that are easy to prepare and often moderately priced. In addition, foodservice volume sales in 2007 equated to 174MM (Flat Iron: 90MM, Petite Tender: 47MM and Ranch: 37MM.) Without full collaboration within the industry, these value-added cuts could not have efficiently made their way into the marketplace, either foodservice or retail.
With full commitment to this successful strategy, the Beef Innovations Group, with funding from The Beef Checkoff, invited a variety of industry representatives to a June 2008 meeting to brainstorm and identify the opportunities found in Phase III of the Beef Values Cut project, Maximizing the Value of the Round. The goal of the meeting was to pinpoint those muscles in the round that are undervalued relative to the whole carcass and guide the future direction of the project.
The meeting was hosted by the Food & Agricultural Products Center at Oklahoma State University. Companies and organizations in attendance were:
• Outwest Meat Company, US Foodservice
• Hormel
• Topco & Associates
• Cargill Meat Solutions
• Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc.
• National Beef
• Certified Angus Beef
• National Steak and Poultry
• Reasors (Retail)
• National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
• Oklahoma State Beef Council
• Oklahoma State University Staff
As expected, the outcome of the meeting again validated the collaboration strategy. The group identified several muscles from the top round, bottom round and heel as having significant potential for added-value use. Through exploration of these muscles, several promising applications have resulted, including fajita meat, steak sandwiches, cube steak as well as roast beef. Further work will be conducted to determine other possibilities, including pre-cooked deli roast beef, country fried steak, premium special trim and determining if applications will work for both foodservice and retail. For further information on the Round Muscle Profiling project, please contact Steve Wald at swald@beef.org.
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