Protein PACT Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Meat Institute’s packer/processor companies are encouraged to participate in the annual data reporting. All sizes of companies are welcome to participate. Single establishment companies have said the data reporting could take as little as one hour to complete if the individual providing the information is familiar with company processes.

Developed (2019-2022): Metrics were developed by Meat Institute member committees and a Protein PACT task force. Metrics went through a public comment period, were revised, then were reviewed, and approved by the Meat Institute Board of Directors Oversight Group of representatives (now known as the Protein PACT Board Committee), and unanimously approved for public release by the full Meat Institute Board of Directors.

Protein PACT metrics are member driven and member led. Metrics and resources to the metrics are reviewed annually between October – February. There is a task force for each focus area. The task forces consist of volunteer packer/processor subject matter experts with expertise as it relates to each focus area. After task force revisions, metrics are provided to each relevant committee that relates to each focus area for broader industry comment.

Example: Food safety professionals review the food safety metrics and resources. Then from the task force, metric revisions are shared with the Meat Institute’s Food Safety Committee for comment. If needed, based on Committee comments, the Food Safety Task Force may meet again before revisions are adopted and prepared for the upcoming reporting period.

If you’d like to be part of that process, contact Kristi Block.

Packer/processors are asked to report on the metrics they are able to. The Meat Institute uses the aggregated industry data to develop resources and educational content to assist members in driving continuous industry improvement.

When getting started, the suggested focus areas to begin with are Food Safety, Worker Safety, and then Animal Welfare. As an industry, we recognize that there is more clarity and industry knowledge/comfortability in these focus areas. Starting with these three areas, provides a good example of what to expect in the other focus areas.

For some companies, reporting on only Foundational (baseline) metrics that represent regulatory compliance might be what a company’s first year reporting looks like. For other companies, it might be choosing several focus areas and reporting fully on them (Foundational + Achievement metrics).

It is encouraged to report on Achievement metrics. The Achievement metrics build on the Foundational metrics driving continuous improvement in the industry (overarching goal of Protein PACT). The metrics are created with the intention that they push all companies forward in continuous improvement.

Remember: By 2030, the industry goal is for all Meat Institute packer/processor members to be reporting on all metrics.

If your company operates under a doing business as (DBA) or you have a subsidiary, it is up to the company to decide if all the information should be reported together or if the information should be reported separately.

If you decide to report separately and have multiple individuals who work at both the company and subsidiary, to have reporting access to both entities in the Protein PACT software the individual(s) verifying and reporting will need a unique email address (one for the primary company and one for the subsidiary) to be able to enter data.

Company data is only seen by those at the company with access to the reporting module – verifier, reporter, those given viewing privileges to company dashboard – and our reporting data software provider(s). At the end of the reporting season (September/October), company dashboards are released which show company information with that of industry aggregated data.

Aggregated industry data is shared with Meat Institute staff and others as administered by the Meat Institute staff.

Protein PACT is about industry wide continuous improvement through the development of data driven proof points. Its success depends on member participation.

Protein PACT metrics align industry customer surveys, industry best practices, and industry regulations. Having alignment creates a common approach for industry improvement that can be shared and easily communicated to meet the requests and questions of customers, investors, and consumers.

Beyond the industry benefit, participating companies receive access to a customizable dashboard with metric progress highlighting company standing with that of industry aggregate based on several filters. The dashboard provides the opportunity for a company to prioritize their own efforts and investments for continuous improvement to keep up with industry trends. Dashboards can be filtered by protein, company employee size, and customer segment.

The data reporting window is from May 1 – July 31 each year. Data reported on is for the prior Calendar Year. Example: For 2022 reporting, data would be from calendar year 2021.

Contact support@piestar.com or Kristi Block, Meat Institute Strategy Director at kblock@meatinstitute.org.

In 2022, Meat Institute contracted CatSquared and the software platform Piestar to begin data collection on the Protein PACT metrics.

Cat2 is a MES Software provider for the food manufacturing space with the goal of designing smart-factory solutions that design continuous improvement for food processors.

Piestar is a software provider that simplifies the collection and reporting of key performance indicator data and provides meaningful year-over-year reporting insights for its customers.

Meat Institute followed a thorough process including a request for qualifications from nearly 30 different data management firms followed by a request for proposals from firms that were deemed to be qualified to provide data management services. Meat Institute received a total of eight proposals which were reviewed by Meat Institute staff, consultants with a background in data management and software implementation and members. Following multiple rounds of presentations on the software, implementation and security protocols, the reviewers unanimously agreed that the firms selected were the best choice for the Protein PACT data management system.

Data security was a core element of the data management firm review process. The data security protocols of the software system provided by Piestar were thoroughly reviewed by external cybersecurity experts with the law firm Ice Miller as well as member cybersecurity experts participating in the Meat Institute’s cybersecurity committee. Both agreed the data security standards were strong and protective of member data. All data entered in the system will be stored on a secure third-party server and Meat Institute will only receive aggregated industry data and not be able to connect any data to an individual company.

As an added security measure, Meat Institute will require that all members appoint one individual as the data verifier to manage company access and company information in the system. The verifier can appoint other staff within a company to report data.

The system was tested by Meat Institute members during a pilot stage. Meat Institute staff also participated in the pilot and had their own testing period.

For companies enrolled and reporting, visit theproteinpact.meatinstitute.org or go to meatinstitute.org, Focus Areas select Protein PACT and click Report Now.

Not Yet Reporting? Contact Kristi Block. To get started, be prepared with the first and last name, job title, and email address of the individual who will be the Verifier.

Current Meat Institute membership as a packer/processor is also required. Part of the dues provides the resources to keep the software, metrics, and education resources and tools improving and up to date for the benefit of driving industry continuous improvement.

There are two roles created in the system.

1. The Verifier sets up and has administrative controls of company information. The verifier is responsible for final review and submission of data. Think of this role as the administrator for the company.
2. The Reporter(s) provides data to each focus area for company establishment(s) as assigned by the Verifier.

The verifier can:

• Add company information – establishment number(s), species processed, company employee size, customer market (retail, restaurant, foodservice, etc.)
• Add individuals to help report on focus area(s)
• Reviews all data entered
• Submits data
• Can have a reporting responsibility

There is only one verifier per company. Contact information for the Verifier must be received by Meat Institute staff before a company has access to the reporting modules.

Reporters submit information on metrics relevant to a specified focus area(s) and establishment(s) as assigned by the Verifier. The Reporter cannot change or add company information. There are no limits to the number of reporters reporting on a focus area or for the company.

Resources can be found on meatinstitute.org under Protein PACT. Meat Institute members will need to login to see the Resource Hub for reporting metrics.

Have suggestions for resources submit them to kblock@meatinstitute.org.

The Protein PACT reporting site can be accessed, and data submitted from a computer, tablet, or phone.

As a company, the Verifier may provide some internal guidance on how to interpret certain questions. Whomever is reporting on a focus area might document reasons for answering metrics a certain way.

Some companies have found it helpful to hold a meeting with all the reporters of a focus area as a group and review the metrics. This provides an opportunity for discussion over what a metric meant to the group and how it applied to the company’s internal procedures. It could also provide an internal roadmap of the continuous improvement plan for a company’s establishments.

If an individual is providing data to multiple company accounts, a unique email address is required for each company. This is a data security measure.

As the Verifier, only select the USDA Establishment IDs that are part of the Company being reported on. Once an establishment ID is selected another Company cannot select that establishment ID from the list. The address of each establishment ID is listed after it and is a great way to double check that the correct establishments have been selected.

If you are missing an establishment, email support@piestar.com. Provide the Support Team with the missing Establishment ID and they will work with you to get the establishments properly linked.

Establishments in Canada or Mexico can be reported on if they have a USDA Establishment ID or the equivalent.

If you are missing an establishment, email support@piestar.com. Provide the Support Team with the missing Establishment ID and they will work with you to get the establishments properly linked.

All focus areas will be aggregated to the Company per metric.

Each focus area except Nutrition Science will ask for how many of the establishments of the total number of establishments reported on to be entered.

Example: If I am responsible for reporting food safety metrics for 5 establishments. On the first metric of my 5 establishments, 3 establishments meet the metric. I report 3.

If there are multiple reporters assigned to a focus area, this information will be added together to represent the Company.

Example: My colleague is reporting on food safety metrics for his 3 establishments. On the first metric of his 3 establishments, 3 meet the metric. He reports 3. I am reporting on 2 establishments, 1 meets the metric. Therefore, final collection data would read that of 5 establishments, 4 establishments met the first metric.

Nutrition Science and Community Wellness are the only focus areas that report from a Company, as one whole entity, perspective. Community Wellness is not scored/measured. The information provided under Community Wellness is solely for the use of Meat Institute staff to best represent and advocate for the industry.

No, a company reporter can only see the data that they have input. The Verifier can review and see any data reported (once marked complete) by each company reporter and see any information the verifier is reporting on, if applicable.

If you do not see any modules/focus areas/forms on the left column, contact your company verifier. It is likely that establishments under the focus area were not yet assigned to you.

For most text boxes, there is no maximum. If the text box allows for a single line of text, 250 characters is the max.

As a Reporter, you can right click and select print. Then select, Save as pdf or print. Any metrics with data already provided should appear.

This is one option to save an actual hard copy or a digital hard copy for internal records. This might be a good option if you are reporting on a focus area and need to gather feedback from several individuals before inputting the data.

Another option is to download the metric pdfs for this year found on the MeatInstitute.org under Metrics & Targets.

As a Reporter, you can right click and select print. Then select, Save as pdf or print. This is one option to save an actual hard copy or a digital hard copy for internal records.

Another option is to download the metric pdfs for this year found on the MeatInstitute.org under Metrics & Targets.

If this is your first-time logging into the Piestar software to report Protein PACT data, password reset will not provide you with login information. As part of the data security measures your information must be verified. If you know your company verifier, you may contact him or her and ask that they add you.

As a Reporter, at the bottom of each form there are two buttons. If you select SAVE, the data is saved and the icon in the left-hand sidebar will change to a burnt orange flag. Only the individual saving the data will be able to see the saved data. If you select Mark as Complete, the data is submitted and the icon in the left-hand sidebar will change to a green checkmark and your total progress completion percentage will go up, and the company verifier can review the data entered.

If you are the Company Verifier and you select Mark as Complete in the Verification form. This will submit the data and the software will begin to analyze and aggregate the information submitted.

Note: Until the data is 100% Mark as Complete, anyone who has saved but not marked complete will continue to receive notifications to submit data until the data reporting ends or until the individual has reached that 100% Marked Complete.

Longitudinal data will not be available to a company until a company has at least two years of providing data. Overtime, a trend line will appear on the company dashboard showcasing those internal changes as it relates to meeting a metric and how those changes reflect the aggregate of the industry responding.

The first Protein PACT reporting period was in 2022.

Yes, most of the metrics for this first year of reporting are slaughter related. However, there are still some metrics that a processor can answer. For each focus area, we suggest assigning at least one individual to report on metrics that are applicable to your business. If there are metrics you would like to see included, the evaluation form would be a good place to suggest such metrics.

The Animal Welfare Goal
As an industry, members of the Meat Institute set a 2025 Animal Welfare goal that 100% of members who handle animals will pass third party animal transport and handling audits.  AND All members will require all suppliers to implement mandatory employee training and follow species-specific standards for animal care.

To help the industry meet this goal, a task force of the Animal Welfare Committee has put together some example policy templates. There is a template for establishments/companies that handle live animals and a template for establishments/companies that are further processors only. View this Meat Institute (Member Restricted) pdf

If your information is connected to multiple companies, you will receive an error message in the verification form that asks you to contact support. Please contact support as this is one of our data security elements.