Packaging Solutions Taste waste After rolling out new bacon packaging, Smithfield sees more opportunities ahead BY BRYAN SALVAGE bsalvage@sosland.com without I t’s common knowledge the US meat case has experienced turbu- lent times this past year due to higher product costs, tightening supplies and a host of other reasons. As consumers continue holding tightly to their food budget purse strings, one thing has remained constant throughout this volatile time – consumers still love their bacon, insists Patrick Fleming, director of retail marketing for the National Pork Board. Recent statistics from SymphonyIRI Group, a Chicago-based market research firm, support this love is still in bloom. For the latest 52 weeks ending July 8, sales of retail refrigerated bacon totaled $2.5 billion – up 3.85 percent from the same year-ago period. Smithfield has increased consumerfocused marketing in the bacon category. 50 • Meat&Poultry • September 2012 • www.MeatPoultry.comhttp://www.MeatPoultry.com