Checking in on the Checkoff
October 26, 2007
This week: WHAT HAS THE CHECKOFF’S RESEARCH PROGRAM AREA DONE FOR ME LATELY?
RESEARCH, as defined in the Beef Promotion & Research Act, means studies relative to the effectiveness of market development and promotion efforts, studies relating to the nutritional value of beef and beef products, other related food science research, and new product development.
Research Opportunities - On Oct. 15, 2007, the checkoff’s FY 2008 Request for Proposals (RFP) was sent to prospective research scientists and posted, with research priorities, at for the Product Enhancement and Safety research programs. Proposals are due December 1, 2007 for safety and December 3, 2007 for product. Funding decisions will follow and projects will begin during the spring of 2008 and continue until the spring of 2009, when final reports will be due.
Just the Facts, Please –On a regular basis, national and state checkoff staff respond to inquiries from consumers, media and nutrition professionals about the health benefits of beef. With that in mind, the national human-research team provides concise, science-based materials to state beef councils to help them explain beef nutrition to these consumer audiences. Four new Human Nutrition Research Fact Sheets cover the topics of beef lipids, hearth health stearic acid and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). For copies of these or other fact sheets, visit
Safety First!–The Executive Committee of the checkoff-funded Beef Industry Food Safety Council (BIFSCo) recently completed its planning meeting for FY 2008 activities, including possible outreach to small and very small plants, and other safety research. Planning for the 2008 Beef Industry Safety Summit also got under way, and several working groups were formed to update current Best Practices documents and develop new ones on topics such as cold chain management and beef trimmings sampling.Please see for more information.
Risk Assessment - The checkoff’s safety-research team recently participated in a public meeting hosted by USDA-FSIS (Food Safety Inspection Service) and FDA regarding the prevalence and risk to human health of non-0157 E. coli.Checkoff-funded research has shown that non-0157 E. coli can be found on cattle hides and in trim and ground beef but that the type of E. coli found is rarely pathogenic to humans. Research has further shown that the interventions currently in place within the beef chain are effective in removing non-0157 E. coli. Agencies are assessing their next steps. For more information about the public meeting, go to
Instrumental Research –Development of a five-year plan for beef instrumentation technology research was the topic of a recent checkoff-funded meeting of producer leaders, USDA grading representatives, branded program staff and plant representatives. Presentations included current technologies, as well as technologies that are transitioning into application, and technologies still in development stages. Participants also worked in small groups to identify the focus for new instrumentation research, the relationship between customer satisfaction and tenderness, and the role of the Beef Checkoff Program in discovery and implementation of beef instrumentation systems. An executive summary of meeting resultssoon will be posted with other checkoff research materials at
Schooling Parents and Teachers – In Fiscal 2007, the checkoff funded market research with school professionals nationwide to determine the role of beef in the current school environment. While many of the findings supported continuation of traditional youth-education programs, results of this survey clearly indicated the need to connect parents and school personnel in addressing children’s health and nutrition challenges. This research provided the basis for thecheckoff’s just-released the Enriching Family Mealtimes Tool Kit, including background information on children’s nutrition needs and their link to academic success; eight new family-friendly beef recipes; mealtimes tips; advice and conversation starters; mealtime planning sheets; and leader presentations. To view the kit’s contents, visit
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