Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 9/11/13


More school districts that a year ago had rejected lean finely textured beef (LFTB) in their lunch programs seem to have specified that the product is an option for the 2013-14 school year, based on data compiled by USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS).

In June, states began buying their commodities, including frozen ground beef and frozen ground beef patties, for the current school year. A review of contracts awarded so far for the school year — as posted on the AMS website — indicate that at least two states, and possibly four, are specifying “LFT (lean finely textured) optional” in their purchases that were not doing so last year.

Texas and Virginia are buying LFT optional loads, either in the form of 10-lb. chubs in 40-lb. cartons, or 95 percent lean patties — two forms of ground beef commodity purchases that are most likely to be used for school lunches. States buy the food and have it delivered from the processor to a distribution point; the contract information does not indicate the product’s intended use after that.

The news website Politico reported that Illinois and Pennsylvania also were specifying LFT optional ground beef purchases for the current school year, but that information could not be confirmed.

Keith Pozulp is president of Cherry Meat Packers in Chicago, a major supplier of commodity ground beef to USDA programs. He confirmed for Meatingplace that he has delivered loads with LFTB this year to Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, the three states that never stopped using LFTB in their school lunches. He also has delivered, or is contracted to deliver, ground beef with LFTB to Virginia and Texas. He has delivered ground beef with LFTB to a distribution point in Johnson City, Tenn., but that location may be holding product for distribution in nearby Virginia, he said.

As far back as a year ago, analysts said LFTB would return to the food chain. So far, the amounts have not been great enough to make a difference to companies’ top, let alone bottom, lines, Pozulp said.

In response to a request by Meatingplace, Craig Letch, director of food safety and quality assurance for Beef Products Inc., the country’s major supplier of LFTB, said in a statement, “USDA has repeatedly affirmed that lean finely textured beef is safe, wholesome, and nutritious 100 percent lean beef. With the successful use of LFTB by the AMS program over the last 15 years, we are confident that these states and school districts will enjoy both quality and cost improvements.”

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