Web Trainings for Retail Meat Employees Launched
compiled by Kindra Gordon for Angus Productions Inc.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Feb. 3, 2012) — A web-based educational program to train retail meat employees has been launched in an aim to better serve consumers and boost beef sales. The training program is designed to help improve knowledge about today’s beef and how it’s produced.
Called “Better Beef Sales,” the education program consists of a series of six web-based training modules for retail meat counter employees. Topics covered in the videos include: types and quality of beef offered today; sustainability of today’s beef; animal welfare practices; beef-improvement technologies; and ways retailers can add value to the meat case.
“We want to make sure retail employees and consumers understand how their beef is produced and how these wholesome, quality products end up on our dinner tables,” says Carrie Thomas of the new program. Thomas is account manager for food chain affairs for Merck Animal Health which has partnered with NCBA and the Beef Checkoff Program to launch Better Beef Sales.
These organizations recognized the need for more training of meat-counter employees after Merck Animal Health conducted a series of consumer panels. The panels found that consumers identify the staff behind the counter as experts. Thomas said the need for training was quickly confirmed during retailer discussions.
“We conducted four panels in two cities. One of the key take away messages from those meetings was consumers still identify the person in the “white coat” behind the meat counter — the ‘butcher’ — as the beef expert,” says Thomas. “And, we want them to be beef experts. To do that, we need to arm them with information about today’s beef supply and how it’s produced.”
Today, when making beef purchases some consumers take into account how animals were raised, sustainability, animal welfare and a whole host of practices employed by cattle-farm families and ranchers. Questions on those topics aren’t always easily addressed by the individuals responsible for putting beef on people’s plates — retail meat-counter employees. This new initiative is intended to bridge the knowledge gap between the consumer and their food, with retail employees playing a critical role in bridging that gap.
To learn more about the Better Beef Sales retail education program, visit beefretail.org.
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