CONTACT: NAMI: Sarah Little (443) 440-0029

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 19, 2021

WASHINGTON, DC - The North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) today welcomed the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) new national goal of reducing Salmonella illnesses by 25 percent and committed to continue working with USDA and other groups to achieve the shared goal of reducing Salmonella infections.

"As an industry, our goal is to produce safe products without exception," said Julie Anna Potts, President and CEO of the Meat Institute. "The industry has significantly improved efforts to reduce incidence of Salmonella, and we will continue to work with USDA to do all we can to detect and deter incidents of Salmonellosis, especially by coordinating with partners in the supply chain on best practices and research."

USDA today announced a national goal of reducing Salmonella illnesses by 25 percent.

Earlier this year, the Meat Institute launched the Protein PACT for the People, Animals and Climate of Tomorrow, an industry-wide effort to accelerate achievement of global development goals. Food safety is one of the Protein PACT's five key focus areas, along with health and wellness. Through the Protein PACT, NAMI will report on progress across 100 metrics toward ambitious goals for health people, healthy animals, and a healthy environment.

Learn more about the Protein PACT and the Meat Institute's draft sustainability framework here.

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About the Meat Institute: The North American Meat Institute is the leading voice for the meat and poultry industry. The Meat Institute's members process the vast majority of U.S. beef, pork, lamb, and poultry, and manufacture the equipment and ingredients needed to produce the safest and highest quality meat and poultry products. To learn more, visit www.MeatInstitute.org.

About the Protein PACT: The Protein PACT unites partners across animal protein in the first-ever joint effort to accelerate the entire animal protein sector's progress toward global sustainable development goals for healthy people, healthy animals, healthy communities, and a healthy environment. Protein PACT partners are establishing transparent baselines and benchmarks for our efforts, setting ambitious targets for continuous improvement, collecting data to verify and transparently report on progress, and launching comprehensive communications about animal protein's unique place in sustainable, healthy diets. To learn more, visit www.TheProteinPACT.org.