Last month, I spent the day in Washington, D.C. with other industry associations and the scientific working groups that we have put together to work on Appendix A & B issues.

AAMP has had a number of industry partners here in the U.S. that it works very closely with on matters of importance to our members, and this work serves to strengthen the meat industry here in America.

Here are some of the latest updates taking place from the regulatory and legislative arenas. AAMP continues to ensure that the voice of the small processor is heard in Washington.

It is hard to believe that 2018 is behind us, and 2019 is here in all its glory. AAMP membership saw growth again for the fourth year in a row. Our association also saw a lot of expansions in our efforts on behalf of the members.

AAMP, along with other industry groups and representatives from a working group of scientists, met with FSIS recently.

The American Association of Meat Processors, along with others in the industry, are making great progress in our work with FSIS to come up alternatives better suited to help small processors meet the regulatory requirements.

I want to update you on the progress of some of the regulatory matters that Nelson, AAMP's outreach specialist, and I have been working on. We just received the final version of the Foreign Materials Best Practices paper that has been a work in progress for a few years now.

As most of you know the compliance to the revised Appendix A and B has been delayed until March of next year (2019).

This delay now gives us time to continue conversations with FSIS about the validity of the Revised Documents and hopefully get some changes made to it.

As I listen to plant owners talk about the issues they have had in this area and I read the humane handling incidents information provided by FSIS, I have noticed a recurring theme in plants that have had multiple issues with mis-stuns.