CONTENTS 40 McCullough Kelly-Willis educates consumers about the craft of butchery. Cover: Principe Foods recently opened a new 325,000-square-foot facility dedicated to the production of highquality Italian meats and charcuterie. Source: Joel Crews/Sosland Publishing Co. 08 COMMENTARY Cost consciousness 10 BUSINESS NOTES 14 WASHINGTON Stretching line speeds 18 COVER STORY Principe Meats' new plant 30 INDUSTRY OUTLOOK Beef blues in 2024 34 INGREDIENT ISSUES Less-sodium school menus 40 SMALL BUSINESS Chicago Meat Cooperative 46 USDA UPDATE Updating poultry contracts 4 MEAT+POULTRY | 01.24 | www.meatpoultry.com 52 FOOD SAFETY Salmonella control 58 PACKAGING SOLUTIONS Poultry packaging 66 SANITATION SOLUTIONS JBS' in-house initiative 74 CONFERENCE PREVIEW Meat Conference 2024 80 PE T FOOD PROCESSING Hill's new greenfield facility 86 L ABOR 88 C ALENDAR 90 GIVING BACK 92 NAMES IN THE NEWS 94 SHOWCASE 95 CLASSIFIEDS 97 ADVERTISERS 98 THE INSIDER Erica Shaffer/Sosland Publishing Co.http://www.meatpoultry.com