Hatfield processes 1,500 products, from bacon to fresh loins, for supermarkets, restaurants and food service. All enhanced products are guaranteed fresh, said Jeffrey Bohmueller, product manager. They are supplied throughout the Northeast and overseas. In April, the company expanded its consumer-ready fresh pork program at a Springfield, Mass., processing facility. Global dimensions Pumped pork is here to stay, but nothing will replace superior carcass quality, which starts at the farm.
Some customers prefer nonpumped product.
Pa. Most of Hatfield s Japanese product stems from this commercial system. Babcock has built a reputation in Japan for tender, well-marbled pork with low purge and superior palatability. The first U.S. company to eliminate the halothane stress gene, Babcock furnishes select lines from its nucleus herd. Among other quality factors, lines are selected with DNA gene marker technology for superior marbling, meat texture and color, said Jim McPeak Sr., president of the breeding company. The company serves the emerging high-quality fresh pork segment and traditional commodity market, he added.