Smithfield Launches New, Fatter Pork Line
By Pork news sources
| Monday, January 17, 2005
Smithfield Foods is going back to the basics with its new line Preferred Stock fresh pork with increased fat content. The company has spent the last four years creating a more marbled breed of hog.
"This is more of pork the way it used to be - tastier, with a little bit of fat on it," said James Schloss, Smithfield’s vice president of marketing.
The move follows the success of smaller companies that have won spots on restaurant menus with more flavorful pork. This fatter, juicier product won’t replace lean pork, but will offer consumers a choice.
Schloss says that it took years to educate consumers and chefs on how to cook the lean pork, which dries out more easily. Some consumers just don't like the lean variety, and the Preferred Stock may appeal to them.
Smithfield has tested its new Preferred Stock fresh pork in supermarkets in San Antonio and Maine in the past few months.
Schloss did not have information on whether the product would hit the Midwest, or whether the hogs would be processed in Iowa.
Hogs producing the Preferred Stock pork will be a cross of Duroc and Large White breeds.
Newport News Daily Press/Des Moines Register
