Formed by the merger of the American Meat Institute Foundation (AMIF) and the North American Meat Association’s Meat Research and Outreach Foundation in 2015, the Foundation for Meat and Poultry Research and Education seeks to build on the rich legacy of its predecessor organizations. The unified Foundation focuses on helping the industry meet future challenges.
The Foundation’s rich history dates back more than 70 years. In 1944, the American Meat Institute (AMI) established the first AMI Foundation, complete with a commercial laboratory, on the University of Chicago campus in Chicago, Illinois. From 1944 until the late 1970s, the Foundation invested millions in research projects examining meat processing, safety and nutrition for the industry. When the American Meat Institute moved to Washington, DC, in the 1970s, the Foundation was phased out. By 1992, the need for a solutions-focused research foundation became clear and the Institute relaunched AMIF.
In 1999, AMIF launched a multi-million dollar, multi-year Food Safety Initiative focused on reducing Listeria monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7 in meat and poultry products. In 2004, the research priorities were expanded to include Salmonella. The scope of the E. coli research priorities was broadened in 2006 to include additional Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.
Since 1999, more than $9.5 million in research grants have been awarded for projects that show promise in advancing food safety.
Over the course of 2015, the Foundation was restructured and redefined to broaden its scope of influence and direction. The changes include expanding priorities and activities to account for existing and emerging issues as well as outside funding sources, and inviting meat and poultry industry stakeholders to serve on the Board of Directors.
Today, the Foundation provides research grants to universities, private institutions, non-profit organizations and other foundations. Research findings, knowledge and best practices are disseminated through briefings, workshops and other industry communication efforts.