American Meat Institute boss to step down
J. Patrick Boyle, who is currently CEO and president of the American Meat Institute (AMI), has revealed that he will leave his post at the end of 2013. The organisation’s longest serving president was hailed by industry heads for his dedication to driving improvements in all aspects of the industry, from food safety to worker welfare.
Boyle was instrumental in leading the AMI to petition the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to introduce regulations requiring nutrition labels on meat and poultry products and requiring that meat and poultry plants implement HACCP-based food safety controls.
He also led the redevelopment of the AMI Foundation, which strives to reduce and eliminate the pathogens E.coli O157:H7 and listeria in meat products, and has made a significant contribution to improving food safety through research and education.
Boyle and his team were some of the earliest adopters of the animal welfare approach developed by Temple Grandin, who is a professor of animal science at Colorado State University. His organisation developed the Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines for the Meat Industry with Grandin in 1991 and has since developed a world-leading animal welfare audit programme.
He also encouraged the AMI Board to make key issues non-competitive, such as food safety, animal welfare, worker safety and the environment, enabling the industry to take a collaborative approach to improving industry standards in these areas.
AMI chairman Nick Meriggioli, president of Kraft Foods/Oscar Mayer, said: “Under Patrick’s twenty-four years of leadership, AMI has been an influential voice for the meat and poultry industry successfully addressing numerous public policy challenges. He has led AMI’s efforts that have enhanced the safety of our products, the protection of our workers, the welfare of our animals and the preservation of our environment.”
Boyle added: “It has been an honour and a privilege to lead this great industry for more than two decades. With the organisation in a sound position to meet the challenges of the future and given the many accomplishments of the last two decades, this year seemed like an appropriate time for me to move onto another phase of my professional life,”
