010829 Farmland Joins New Food Safety Venture

Veghel, Netherlands - Farmland National Beef Packing Company L.P. and DMV USA, part of DMV International, have entered into a joint venture agreement to manufacture and market activated lactoferrin, a new food safety technology that protects consumers from harmful bacteria that may be found in meat. The Farmland-DMV joint venture holds the worldwide exclusive rights to activated lactoferrin for use in food safety.

Lactoferrin is a protein found in milk and has been shown to be important in infant nutrition, nutrient transport and support of the immune system. Activated lactoferrin is a formulation of lactoferrin, patented by Dr. A.S. Narain Naidu, that has been shown to provide fresh meat with an added level of protection from pathogenic bacteria, including E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and Campylobacter, by preventing microbial attachment and inhibiting growth. The all-natural activated lactoferrin technology increases the effectiveness of lactoferrin by 100 to 1000 times and is currently under review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Initially the technology is planned for use on fresh beef.

The joint venture will open a new state of the art research and development laboratory in Pomona California, built expressly, to pursue additional uses for the technology including chicken, pork, fish and eventually fresh produce. Products processed with activated lactoferrin will be clearly labeled and trademarked so that consumers can easily identify meat and produce that include this additional food safety enhancement.

John R. Miller, Chief Executive Officer of Farmland National Beef, added, “Farmland National Beef is pleased to have DMV as a partner in the continued development and commercialization of activated lactoferrin. DMV brings a wealth of lactoferrin science and production experience to the business opportunity. We expect this technology to play an important role in improving food safety in the meat industry. Having DMV as a partner will accelerate our efforts to bring new food safety systems to consumers and the food industry.”

Cees de Jong, Group Director, DMV International, stated, “DMV is very happy to be working with Farmland National Beef. We conducted extensive technology validation work prior to entering into this agreement and are confident that this invention represents a significant step forward in lactoferrin technology. The combination of DMV's lactoferrin experience and Farmland's knowledge of the beef industry, branding and premium beef marketing is a perfect marriage. We are very excited about being able to improve the safety of meat and address consumer concerns about food safety with the activated lactoferrin technology.”

DMV International markets among others hydrolysates, bioactive peptides and bioactive protein such as lactoferrin. DMV International is one of the world's largest producers and marketers of lactoferrin and has developed extensive patented production technology for lactoferrin. It is part of The Netherlands based international dairy company Campina Melkunie, which has annual sales of Euro 3.9 billion.

Farmland National Beef Packing Company, Kansas City, Mo., is the only major beef packing company that is fully owned by producers. Its owners are members of U.S. Premium Beef, Ltd., a producer-owned beef-marketing cooperative, and Farmland Industries, Inc., the largest farmer-owned cooperative in North America. Farmland National Beef is the fourth-largest beef packing company in the nation with operations in Liberal and Dodge City, Kansas. The company, with annual sales over U$2.7 billion, processes and markets fresh beef, boxed beef and beef byproducts for domestic and international markets.

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