This week, NPPC asked the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for more details on its decision to remove pork from the menu at its 122 facilities beginning Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year.

A BOP Spokesman has stated that the move was supposedly based both on costs and the results from a survey of federal inmates.

NPPC has expressed its dismay at the decision, and sent a letter to BOP Director Charles Samuels Jr on Thursday requesting a copy of both the survey and its results.

NPPC has also questioned the cost factor, pointing out that pork prices are less than beef and nearly equal to chicken. “Pork is a very economical, nutrient-dense protein that ought to be a food option for federal prisoners, and the U.S. pork industry has a variety of products that could meet BOP’s needs,” NPPC said in its letter.