Salt played an important historical role in preserving meats before refrigeration by using curing and smoking techniques to extend shelf life. Currently, Pilgrim's Pride offers some chicken products with reduced or no salt as alternatives to traditionally salted items. The speaker aims to discuss Pilgrim's Pride product options, the history of salt usage in meat preservation, and alternatives to traditional salting methods to spark conversation around health considerations.

1. Nutrient Essentials
Sodium and the Healthy Plate
The scope of my comments will be limited to the production of meat items, specifically,
chicken products. I want to touch briefly on the history of salt usage in the meat industry
(probably nothing that you are unaware of), alternatives that we are aware of, some of
the products that Pilgrim’s pride currently has in the market and finally a few
observations that might spark a little lively conversation as we get into the panel
discussion later.
I. History - Preservation
With respect to history, salt played a very important part in the preservation of meat in
the years before refrigeration was readily available. Curing with salt and nitrate was used
to extend the shelf life of all types of meats to prevent spoilage, particularly from large
animals that could not be readily consumed over the course of just a few days. Curing
an