Food safety is our number one objective. In the last five years, the size of our testing staff and our testing costs have increased nearly fivefold. In the last four months, with cow prices at 15-year lows, we've used virtually no imported beef. When we do, it's usually New Zealand or Australian cow or grass-fed beef. The pendulum has swung back away from ultra-lean burgers.
Clients are now interested in adding fat to fill the flavor profile of the product.
Beef and pork groups and the National Live Stock and Meat Board have found piggybacking checkoff dollars on sandwich promotions, such as Subway's steak and cheese sandwich push, provides some of the best economic returns for producer dollars. They annually serve over 1.3 billion hamburgers. Once dogged by a reputation for only poor quality beef from cull cows and imports, burger barns seem to have shaken the image. Their growth surge has come on the heels of quality control featuring mostly U.S. product, perceived value, customer service and speed. Sales have been accelerating at the speed limit ever since.