NAMI aims to shed light on processed meatsThe North American Meat Institute (NAMI) has released a new infographic detailing the nutirion, safety and valued of processed meat and poultry products, challenging consumers on how much they actually know about the products.

According to NAMI, data reviewed by the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee showed that followers of the Mediterranean diet consume twice as many processed meats as included in U.S. Department of Agriculture food patterns.

“Mediterranean diet followers’ processed and cured meat consumption shouldn’t surprise us when you consider Spanish serrano ham, Italian prosciutto, French charcuterie, Greek loukaniko and the many other cured and processed meats that are staples of their diet,” said NAMI President and CEO Barry Carpenter. “Meat and poultry products are nutrient dense foods that satisfy hunger and help control weight. Processing meat and poultry so that it can be more readily consumed – and consumed in styles and flavor profiles that people around the world savor – helps ensure that people can make these products part of their healthy balanced diet.”

The new infographic also details the many choices available within the processed meat category.

 The new infographic can be found here