Nutrition studies often groups “red and processed meats” together, limiting researchers’ ability to examine meat subtype-specific dietary intake. A new open-source software package called PFclassify gives researchers a standardized workflow to classify and quantify unprocessed and processed meats into separate subtypes of pork, beef, chicken, turkey and other meat and poultry.
The software is described in a peer-reviewed study published in the J ournal of Food Composition and Analysis . Funding was provided by the National Pork Board and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff.
Previously, the National Cancer Institute developed a standardized method to separate processed meat intake from processed red meat and processed poultry. PFclassify builds on this by further separating the processed red meat category into processed pork, processed beef, other processed red meat, and the processed poultry category into processed chicken, processed turkey or other processed poultry.
“Pork and beef are frequently studied as part of a broader red meat category,” said Dr. Taylor Wallace, corresponding author on the paper and CEO of Think Healthy Group, LLC. “PFclassify gives researchers a standardized way to examine unprocessed pork, unprocessed beef, processed pork, and processed beef independently, which can support more transparent and higher quality dietary research.”
How researchers evaluated the software
Researchers demonstrated PFclassify using nationally representative dietary data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, or NHANES. The study included 11,816 people age 2 or older from the 2017-2020 pre-pandemic NHANES cycle for descriptive analyses.
At the broader-category level, PFclassify produced estimates of processed meat intake comparable with the classification method established by the National Cancer Institute , with the ability to separate further into processed meat subtypes. Differences between the approaches were less than 5% for meat-category composition and less than 0.5 ounce equivalents per day for absolute intake estimates.
Supporting future research
PFclassify provides an automated and reproducible workflow for red meat (e.g., pork, beef) and poultry (e.g., chicken, turkey) intake, to help improve classification accuracy of meat subtypes when researchers assess dietary intake data from NHANES and other datasets that use USDA food codes.
“By giving scientists an open framework they can apply, test and refine, PFclassify can make it easier to compare findings across studies and build a more detailed evidence base for nutrition research,” said Dr. Kristen Hicks-Roof, Senior Director of Human Nutrition, National Pork Board. She adds, “Ultimately, this work untethers foods that have fundamentally different nutritional values. In turn, this can help nutrition authorities and health professionals offer dietary guidance with far more precision than ever before.”
Software Availability
PFclassify, its documentation, example data, and the analytical code used in the study are available through the public PFclassify GitHub repository .
About the National Pork Board
The National Pork Board has responsibility for Pork Checkoff-funded research, promotion, and consumer information projects and for communicating with pork producers and the public. The Pork Checkoff funds national and state programs in consumer education and marketing, retail and foodservice marketing, export market promotion, production improvement, science and technology, swine health, pork safety, and environmental management and sustainability. For the past half century, the U.S. pork industry has delivered on its commitment to sustainable production and has made significant strides in reducing the environmental impact of pig farming. Through a legislative national Pork Checkoff, pork producers invest $0.35 for each $100 value of hogs sold. Importers of pork products contribute a like amount, based on a formula. For information on the National Pork Board and Taste What Pork Can Do® redefining how pork fits into the modern meal, visit pork.org .
About the Beef Checkoff
Founded in 1898, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is the oldest and largest national organization representing U.S. beef cattle farmers and ranchers. NCBA serves the beef cattle industry through advocacy, education, and research, with a focus on supporting a resilient and responsible beef system that produces high-quality, nutrient-rich beef.
As a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, a producer-funded program established by federal law, NCBA supports and invests in research across four primary areas: beef safety, sustainability, product quality, and human nutrition. This investment extends beyond funding investigator-led research to convening leading scientific experts, fostering collaboration, and contributing to the advancement of the evidence-based understanding of beef's role in health and wellbeing.
U.S. beef farmers and ranchers are committed to producing a safe, high-quality, nutrient-rich protein food, and in supporting research to help advance the understanding of beef’s role in healthy dietary patterns. By upholding these scientific principles, NCBA seeks to foster a transparent, rigorous, and credible scientific process. According to the Beef Promotion and Research Act, checkoff funds cannot be used to influence government policy or action, including lobbying. To learn more about our research programs, visit beefresearch.org.
Journal of Food Composition and Analysis
Data/statistical analysis
Not applicable
A new R package software for standardized classification of lean and processed red meat and poultry
12-Aug-2026
Y.P and Y.F.H. have nothing to declare. T.C.W has received competitive unrestricted research grants unrelated to this work from the National Pork Board. T.C.W receives royalties from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics for editing the Health Professionals Guide to Dietary Supplements. T.C.W is on the science advisory boards of Forbes Health (unpaid), Haleon, and Deerland Probiotics & Enzymes and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine Expert Panel on Validating Health Information Using GenAI: A Nutrition Case Study (unpaid). T.C.W is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Dietary Supplements, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Nutrition Association, and Nutrition Section Editor of Annals of Medicine. T.C.W is a Senior Fellow of the CMER Center for Magnesium Education and Research (unpaid). T.C.W has an up-to-date ICMJE disclosure of interest statement available on his website (http://www.drtaylorwallace.com). M.C. has received research grants unrelated to this work from the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences and Natural Alternatives International, Inc, and unrestricted education grants from Egg Nutrition Center, Florida Citrus, National Dairy Council, National Pork Board, and Nestle Health Sciences through Think Healthy Group, Inc. M.C. is the Nutrition Section Editor of Annals of Medicine.