Meat+Poultry - September 2022 - SUPP21

Ground beef everywhere
The humble product is at the center of consumers'
plates and a profit center for processors
By Kerri Gehring and Jeff Savell
meatpoultry@sosland.com
T
he grinding of beef has been traced
back to ancient Egyptian soldiers
mincing steak under their saddles. Of
course, the Hamburg Steak or Hamburg
Sausage, which included minced or
shredded meat, seasoning and sometimes
breadcrumbs, originated in
Germany and is credited as the beginning of
what became known as Salisbury steak and the
precursor to ground beef. Today, many people
still use ground beef and hamburger meat
interchangeably when talking about raw, comminuted
beef, which is one of the most popular
and versatile of beef products.
Some of the common and easy-to-prepare
ground beef meals include hamburgers, tacos,
meatballs, lasagna, spaghetti with meat sauce,
meatloaf, chili and using ground beef as a pizza
topping. The affordability, ease and versatility
of preparation contribute to ground beef's popularity
in both foodservice and at retail markets.
Data collected by the National Cattlemen's
Beef Association (NCBA) revealed that over
50% of consumers stored extra packages of
ground beef in their freezers during the COVID19
pandemic of 2020. The retail demand for
ground beef remained high in 2021, and according
to Information Resources Inc. (IRI), ground
beef sales in 2021 totaled $11.9 billion. These
data confirm that the beef industry has done a
great job of identifying and meeting consumer
demands for types of ground beef.
CUES FROM CONSUMERS
Although it is all labeled as " ground beef, " the
number of choices in the ground beef section of
the retail case might be considered slightly intimidating
or overwhelming, because there is usually
more than one type of ground beef in a case. For
example, consumers may have to decide: (1)
which lean-to-fat ratio to purchase, (2) if they want
chubs, over-wrapped trays, bricks, or patties, (3)
if they want ground chuck, ground sirloin, ground
round, ground brisket, or ground beef, and (4) if
MEAT+POULTRY 2022 GROUND BEEF TRENDS + TECHNOLOGY
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they want ground beef from a branded program, or
one that has a special claim, like natural.
We recently completed a multi-university,
collaborative survey (funded, in part, by The
Beef Checkoff) of ground beef in self-serve and
full-service retail cases across 11 states to collect
data on available lean-to-fat ratios, primal-specific
grinds, packaging type, and brand
claims. We purchased products and subsequently
assessed
quality
The varieties of ground
beef available at retail is
perhaps only exceeded
by its versatility as a
main dish.
characteristics
like pH and
color, as well as texture profiles and other sensory
characteristics using compression and consumer
sensory panels. The findings of the project
will be published to provide a baseline for the
beef industry to use to track changes in ground
beef products over time and to help ensure that
ground beef continues to meet or exceed consumer
expectations.
It is estimated that Americans eat approximately
50 billon burgers every year, and Chicagobased
Technomic Inc., reported that burgers are
eaten at home or foodservice establishments at
least once per week by approximately 55% of
consumers. According to Statista, McDonald's
Meat+Poultry - September 2022

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