Huisken Meats is First in Nation to Offer Electronically Irradiated Beef Patties

Minneapolis-St. Paul Chosen as Initial Rollout Market for New Era in Food Safety

Chandler, Minnesota, May 16, 2000: Huisken Meats announced today that it will begin supplying the nation's first frozen beef patties to be electronically irradiated with Titan Corporation's patented SureBeam™ technology. Initially, the electronically irradiated beef patties will be available only in the Minneapolis-St.Paul market, but within a few weeks, the product will be available to customers across the country.

The SureBeam™ technology, developed by Titan Corporation, uses a process designed to decrease the incidence of food-borne illnesses caused by E.Coli, Listeria, Campylobacter and Salmonella. While the package is required to include the word "irradiated", the process uses no radioactive materials to kill the food-borne pathogens. Similar to the technology used in microwave cooking, the SureBeam™ process uses ordinary electricity to irradiate frozen beef patties after they have been processed and packaged. As a result, harmful bacteria are killed instantly, enhancing the food's quality and extending its shelf life without changing its taste or texture.

"Our company carefully researched the most common methods of food irradiation and selected the SureBeam™ process because it doesn't use any radioactive materials and is the most viable option for increasing the safety of our frozen beef patties, " said Cliff Albertson, Sales Manager at Huisken Meats. "With the endorsement of organizations like the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization, the American Dietetic Association and many other health related organizations around the world, we know the SureBeam™ process will give our customers an added measure of confidence and safety for their families," added Albertson.

Huisken Meats has provided a variety of delicious meat products for consumers across the United States. The company manufactures and markets a broad line of high quality meat snacks under the Trail's Best and Happy Trails brands, as well as frozen beef patties under the Huisken and RG's brands. Huisken Meats also private labels products for many of the nation's largest food distributors and grocery chains. The third-generation, family-owned business employs over 400 people at manufacturing facilities and offices in Chandler, MN and Sioux Falls, SD.