Troubleshooting
October 2022
USPOULTRY Exclusive: Risk assessment: Identifying alternative approaches to regulating salmonella in poultry
In the fall of 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that it was mobilizing a stronger and more...
June 2022
USPOULTRY Exclusive: Profiling Salmonella serotypes through broiler processing
Salmonella is a leading bacterial cause of foodborne illness in the U.S., and poultry remains a vehicle for this pathogen. Salmonella is enormously diverse more...
November 2021
AMSA Exclusive: Pulsed ultraviolet light decontaminates raw poultry parts
Raw chicken provides all of the necessary conditions needed to harbor and support the growth of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms during processing more...
July 2021
Wrangling Issues of cybersecurity in connected plants
Industry 4.0 delivers technology that allows for processes to be connected to each other inside the plant and provides remote access to perform many functions more...
March 2021
Water and energy recovery in commercial poultry processing
Chicken meat production is an increasingly important part of the Australian food industry, as chicken meat is the most consumed protein in the country more...
February 2021
USPOULTRY Exclusive: Development of vaccines against Campylobacter jejuni look promising
Poultry is an affordable source of high quality protein and globally, the most consumed meat. However, there are challenges that the poultry industry more...
June 2020
Big data analytics: How to avoid data lakes and make your data meaningful
Once you have made the decision to drive digital transformation, thought about how the initiative fits the company’s strategy, and vetted the financial more...
September 2019
Detecting food fraud using advanced DNA-based technology
Complex food supply chains in the current global market require a farm-to-fork approach to ensure supply chain integrity for delivering safe and authentic more...
June 2019
AMSA Exclusive: The effects of genetics and nutrition on the incidence of woody breast meat and proteomic methods to characterize poultry meat quality defects
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series of exclusive articles provided by authors commissioned by the American Meat Science Association more...
Impact of refrigerated storage time on the instrumental quality traits of woody broiler breast meat
Since 2013, woody breast (WB) has been the most prevalent meat quality defect in the broiler industry, affecting 30-40% of chicken breast meat from broilers more...
November 2018
Some disassembly required: Tips for cleaning your bacon slicer
Most bacon is processed as heat-treated, not fully cooked and not shelf stable, which potentially allows for the survival of pathogens. However, as almost more...
October 2018
Addressing package sealing problems
Flexible packaging films have become widely used for packaging meat and meat products as well as many other consumer products. Flexible films provide more...
September 2018
Injector maintenance
Enhancing flavor and texture of meat, poultry and fish products with injected brines, marinades and phosphates is widely applied as a way to add value more...
Optimizing moisture control in the chiller
Water immersion chilling has been the primary means of reducing poultry carcass temperature for food safety and quality purposes in the U.S. for many more...
June 2018
Ensuring that the organic label stays clean
When defining clean-labeled meat and poultry products, consumers frequently cite a mixed bag of attributes. It might be “pasture raised,” more...
Maintaining electrical stunning systems to ensure humane slaughter
A review of enforcement actions for humane handling taken between January 2012 and June 2016 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety more...
April 2018
Keeping conveyors pathogen-free
All products end up on a conveyor at some point, making effective sanitation of this essential piece of equipment and its components a high priority. more...
March 2018
Utilizing marinades and injection brines to best advantage
Addition of water and non-meat ingredients to intact muscle meats or muscle portions can provide many improvements in product quality and variety. Tenderness more...
October 2017
Dark cutters: What are they, how do we eliminate them, and how do we use the meat when it occurs?
By R. Ramanathan*, G. G. Mafi, D. L. VanOverbeke, Department of Animal Science, Oklahoma State University The characteristic bright cherry-red color of more...
August 2017
AMSA Exclusive: Application of food-grade coatings to prevent mite infestation in dry cured ham processing facilities
Editor's Note: This is part of an occasional series of exclusive articles provided by authors commissioned by the American Meat Science Association in more...
July 2017
Alternative market opportunities for woody breast products
Currently, a major portion of consumer complaints regarding woody breast in poultry is from foodservice operators. Those complaints are focused on the more...
May 2017
New findings to reduce incidents of white striping
Despite what activists and social media sites say about white striping (WS) – take a look at anything from Cosmopolitan to BuzzFeed to Good Housekeeping more...
April 2017
Challenges with water holding capacity of big birds
Boneless, skinless breast meat is the popular poultry meat choice among consumers, leading to an increased need for white meat. With this increased consumption more...
AMSA Exclusive: Exploding population with a finite resource base: How do we achieve food security by 2050?
Editor's Note: This is part of an occasional series of exclusive articles provided by authors commissioned by the American Meat Science Association in more...
March 2017
Quality issues with clean label meats
What is "clean” label? Better descriptors might be "understandable” or “recognizable” label. Traditional ingredients are often more...
February 2017
How to communicate your ag story to consumers
The consumer is king. It’s a mantra that we’ve heard for years, yet it is increasingly important today. Almost two-thirds of modern consumers more...
November 2016
How to address ergonomic challenges on the plant floor
An April 2016 GAO industrial safety/health report centering on the meat/poultry industry revealed a marked decline of reported injuries/illness rates more...
AMSA Exclusive: Genome editing in livestock species
Though transgenic animal and plants have existed for more than three decades, in just the last 10 years, new methods for the production more...
September 2016
Developing lower-sodium processed products
The demand for reduced sodium products is obvious in the marketplace. Current health initiatives are suggesting that most Americans reduce their sodium more...
Addressing salmonella in poultry parts
Around 1.2 million cases of foodborne illnesses are due to salmonella. Of those, around 360,000 are due to products that are under the control of USDA’s more...
AMSA Exclusive: Issues of antimicrobial resistance in animal production
Editor's note: This is part of an occasional series of exclusive articles provided by authors commissioned by the American Meat Science Association in more...
August 2016
The unconventional humane handling audit
Many animal handlers are not fully aware of how their behavior effects the ultimate quality of the meat being produced. By explaining the importance of more...
AMSA Exclusive: Comparison of conventional culture methods with multiplex real-time PCR for salmonella spp. detection
Editor’s Note: This is part of an occasional series of exclusive articles provided by authors commissioned by the American Meat Science Association more...
May 2016
Understanding the new hazard communication standard
This article concerning OSHA’s revised May 2012 Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) 29 CFR 1910.1200 will center on various new requirements more...
NAMI Exclusive: How to prepare for a food safety assessment
Editor's note: This article is part of an occasional series written by the North American Meat Institute exclusively for Meatingplace. Unless your establishment more...
AMSA Exclusive: Antimicrobial resistance in beef production
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series of exclusive articles provided by authors commissioned by the American Meat Science Association more...
April 2016
Understanding recent color changes in pork (Pt. 3): Scientists track the source
Uniform color is an important component of consumer satisfaction of processed meat products, and consumers will turn to other products if their products more...
Understanding recent color changes in pork (Pt. 2): Producers weigh in
The National Pork Board has been involved with meat-quality projects and initiatives for more than 25 years. Currently, the producer-led organization more...
March 2016
Understanding recent color changes in pork (Pt. 1): A processor's perspective
The characteristic pink color of ham has always played a significant role in consumer preference for ham. Consumers prefer the color to have a generally more...
AMSA Exclusive: Impacts of removing functional non-meat ingredients in processed meat
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series of exclusive articles provided by authors commissioned by the American Meat Science Association more...
February 2016
Safety implications of salmonella in ground turkey
In 2011, a multi-state foodborne disease outbreak linked to consumption of ground turkey contaminated with of Salmonella Heidelberg sickened 136 people more...
January 2016
New poultry processing challenges (Pt. 2): Woody breast
Within the last several years, consumption of poultry meat has increased to approximately 88 pounds per capita – specifically in the areas of boneless more...
New poultry processing challenges (Pt. 1): White striping
Within the last several years, consumption of poultry meat has increased considerably – specifically in the areas of further processed and ready-to-eat more...
Three approaches to drying specialty sausage
(Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from The Meat Processor’s Journal, an industry education e-book series jointly developed by Handtmann more...
December 2015
How to use UV when recycling processing water
Ultraviolet (UV) light-based systems are emerging both as mild thermal and non-thermal techniques that have much to offer in regard to sustainability more...
Be prepared to handle larger beef and pork carcasses
Increased carcass weights and the resulting increased size of primal and subprimal cuts can pose multiple technical challenges for packers and further more...
November 2015
Overcoming the unique challenges of religious slaughter
This article will focus on unstunned religious slaughter of cattle, primarily glatt kosher (shechita) and halal, as these methods present many unique more...
October 2015
How to overcome challenges with bacon production
Bacon continues to grow in popularity with consumers, but the manufacturing of bacon is a continual challenge driven by raw material quality and costs more...
September 2015
How to choose between water and air chilling
The use of cold is one of the oldest forms of conservation of perishable products. Chicken products are not an exception, as they require refrigeration more...
August 2015
Incoming quality of meat for portioning processes
The markets in the poultry industry have changed significantly just over the past 15 years. In efforts to satisfy demand while also improving efficiency more...
July 2015
Essential factors for shelf stability
Shelf-stable meat and poultry products have been manufactured since the beginning of meat processing; however, much has changed over the years. The emergence more...
May 2015
How to adapt your operation to handle larger cattle
As the meat industry has evolved and genetics have improved, the size of cattle has changed dramatically the average cow, steer or heifer weighed 900-1 more...
April 2015
AMSA Exclusive: Practical applications to improve fresh meat color
Editor's note: This is part of an occasional series of exclusive articles provided by authors commissioned by the American Meat Science Association in more...
March 2015
Tips on preventing slippery situations
When there is no time to clean floors or modify the surface, granulated barn lime is a go-to resource for an immediate fix of almost any slippery situation more...
How to establish allergen control
For meat and poultry products, allergen recalls have continued to increase in number each year and in recent years have occurred at a higher frequency more...
February 2015
5 lessons in preventing common defects in whole-muscle products
Product defects are a continual obstacle in all processed meat operations. Pinholes, air pockets, bind problems, color problems – the list goes more...
January 2015
Critical lessons in dry sausage manufacturing
The dry sausage sector of the U.S. meat industry, unlike other parts of the world – particularly Europe – represents a small but thriving more...
December 2014
AMSA Exclusive: Why high-event periods present a challenge to the current model
Editor's Note: This is part of an occasional series of exclusive articles provided by authors commissioned by the American Meat Science Association in more...
November 2014
AMSA Exclusive: Practical applications to improve meat color
Editor's Note: This is part of an occasional series of exclusive articles provided by authors commissioned by the American Meat Science Association in more...
October 2014
The limitation of sodium reduction systems
Although sodium reduction efforts are not as focused as they have been in recent years, strong interest still remains regarding the appropriate methods more...
September 2014
What processors need to do to improve food security
Defined as ensuring the availability of nutritious and wholesome food for all people, food security has become an essential consideration for USDA and more...
August 2014
How to reduce food safety risk of blade-tenderized fresh meat
Blade tenderizing of meat and poultry products has been a common industry practice for many decades. By 1975, it was estimated that more than 90 percent more...
July 2014
How to use vertically integrated research to solve quality problems
This article addresses three current issues in the meat industry and how integrated research can be used to solve these problems. One of the greatest more...
June 2014
Poultry Basics: Water use challenges in automatic evisceration
Water is a vital resource for the whole poultry industry, playing a significant role from farm to plant. At the producer level, it is responsible for more...
May 2014
Sodium reduction challenges and opportunities
Sodium reduction, regardless of opinion, is a phenomenon that has taken a strong hold in the meat and poultry industry. Although the concern of what “excessive” more...
April 2014
Fighting condensation in the processing plant
If you are planning a new plant, in the middle of a retrofit at your packaging area, adding a new cooking or new cooling / freezing line, or looking towards more...
March 2014
How to reduce food waste with packaging
Up to 40 percent of the food produced is never consumed. Furthermore, the greatest source of this food waste is the consumer. Attention is now being given more...
December 2013
New approaches to grinding and mixing for emulsified products
Emulsified meat products such as frankfurters and bologna make up a very unique category of processed meats because of the processing technology that more...
November 2013
Intercollegiate meat judging provides valuable skill sets for the industry
Meat judging programs are currently the most effective tool for the recruitment and development of future meat science technologists in existence today more...
October 2013
AMSA Exclusive: Sausage Casings
Editor's note: This is part of an occasional series of exclusive articles provided by authors commissioned by the American Meat Science Association in more...
August 2013
Controlling moisture pick-up in the chilling tank
In the animal protein industry, the carcasses further intended for human consumption must be cooled as soon as possible after evisceration. The temperature more...
November 2012
Better use of PSE meat in poultry deli meat products
Poultry deli meats are very popular in the U.S. These are premium products in the marketplace and lend themselves well to appetizers, salads, snacks and more...
October 2012
Preventing visual defects in cooked sausage products
Visual defects found in cooked sausage products can originate from a number of sources – some which can be prevented easily while others can be more...
Worker Safety 101: Solving engineering hazards (part 3 of 3)
Ergonomics is about the science of fitting workplace conditions and job demands to the capabilities of the working population. There are two primary methods more...
Avoiding E. coli contamination in injected and needle-tenderized cuts
Although there are fewer food safety concerns on whole muscle cuts and whole muscle products compared to ground meat products when they are either mechanically more...
September 2012
How to control Listeria and Clostridium in naturally cured products
As “naturally cured”, (a.k.a. “indirectly cured”, “uncured”) processed meat products continue to maintain a strong more...
August 2012
Combatting biofilms formation
In food processing and manufacturing, a biofilm is a conglomerate of microorganisms that along with some organic and inorganic materials form a slimy more...
July 2012
Addressing risk factors for Salmonella through the chiller
In January 1998, the United States red meat and poultry industry changed forever the manner in which inspection was conducted during processing. The implementation more...
June 2012
Worker Safety 101: Preventing accidents during wet sanitation (part 2 of 3)
Exposure to live electricity can be fatal at less than 100 milliamps, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health. As a reference more...
Minimizing cooked meat color changes with antioxidants
At the point-of-consumption, consumers rely on the color of cooked meat as an indicator of doneness. Brown interiors are often considered as safe, whereas more...
Advances in carcass washing at the small plant level
Many smaller processors often feel overwhelmed by the idea of adding a chemical intervention to their slaughter process. Whatever the concern, adding more...
April 2012
Avoiding dimensional changes in cooked beef patties
Cooked beef patties will often change in dimension (size, shape, thickness) during the cooking process. A variety of factors contributes to the shape more...
How to prevent an allergen-related recall (Pt. 2)
In recent months, the USDA has stressed that recalls for undeclared allergens are one of the most frequent and fastest-growing areas of product recalls more...
Pathogens 101: Reducing the incidence of Salmonella in poultry
Editor’s note: This is the fifth and final article in a five-part series analyzing the most prevalent pathogen-food combinations in the United States more...
How to prevent an allergen-related recall (Pt. 1)
In recent months, the USDA has stressed that recalls for undeclared allergens are one of the most frequent and fastest-growing areas of product recalls more...
Pathogens 101: Minimizing Listeria growth in deli meats
Editor’s note: This is the fourth article in a five-part series analyzing the most prevalent pathogen-food combinations in the United States. Using more...
March 2012
Worker Safety 101: Ergonomics to minimize injuries (part 1 of 3)
OSHA defines ergonomics as “the science of fitting workplace conditions and job demands to the capabilities of the working population.” Although more...
How to control yield loss in second processing
Yield is important to processors because small changes can have a significant impact to the economics of processing. Processors strive to maximize yield more...
Pathogens 101: Controlling Toxoplasma in beef
Editor’s note: This the third article in a five-part series analyzing the most prevalent pathogen-food combinations in the United States. Using more...
Solutions to yield challenges in further-processed poultry
Ingredient use, raw material availability, and environmental factors may pose challenges when making further processed poultry products. But there are more...
February 2012
How to reformulate for low sodium and fat in cooked sausages
Reducing sodium and fat in product formulations leads to potential quality and yield challenges that are best addressed through ingredient and processing more...
Pathogens 101: Controlling Toxoplasma in pork
Editor’s note: This the second article in a five-part series analyzing the most prevalent pathogen-food combinations in the United States. Using more...
January 2012
Advances on interventions for further processing of beef
The need to control bacteria on the surface of fresh meat is becoming increasingly important – particularly in light of recent events that have more...
Pathogens 101: Reducing the incidence of Campylobacter in poultry
Editor’s note: This the first article in a five-part series analyzing the most prevalent pathogen-food combinations in the United States. Using more...
December 2011
Overcoming the challenges of dicing raw and cooked poultry
As consumers increasingly demand versatility and variety of poultry meat, processors are increasing the amount of further processed products. One such more...
Dealing with pork fat quality during sausage production
Pork fat quality – the firmness and oxidative stability of the fat itself – can have a significant effect on the quality of the finished products more...
Combating hard water in processing plants
An absolutely essential – yet often overlooked – component of every operation, water is used for cleaning of equipment, utensils, tables, more...
November 2011
Sausage fermentation gone wrong
Sausage fermentation has been utilized for centuries as an effective preservation practice for dry and semi-dry sausages. Relying on the lactic acid bacteria more...
Challenges of working in a wet processing environment
Processing environments are cold and wet – it’s the nature of the process. However, this type of environment can lead to issues in product more...
October 2011
Overcoming the challenges of poultry carcass grading
The current U.S. poultry industry market segments include whole birds (with or without giblets), parts and further processed products. The value of production more...
Challenges of developing raw ready-to-cook products
Refrigerated ready-to-cook (RTC) meals are fresh, never frozen and are cooked in the package by consumers using a microwave oven. They appeal to more...
September 2011
Creative ways of reducing sodium while maintaining flavor
Lowering sodium is a popular trend for meat processors to make. Government influence has recently caused many food processors to consider methods to lower more...
Marination: One method doesn’t fit all
Boneless broiler breast meat is a staple product in the poultry meat market for use in retail, further processing, and foodservice. More recently, a greater more...
July 2011
Common quality defects in deli-sliced products
Further-processed products have increased in the poultry industry in the last few years. Consumers are demanding more products with convenience, versatility more...
June 2011
Overcoming the challenges of producing an organic ham
Consumer interest in organic foods continues to grow because more and more consumers wish to avoid pesticides, antibiotics and other chemicals often used more...
Overcoming challenges of BBQ-ing and grilling at the plant level
Barbecue and grilled flavors are popular with American consumers and there is great potential for increasing production and sales of “precooked” more...
Addressing the food safety challenges in ground poultry products
Ground poultry products, both chicken and turkey, have enjoyed rising popularity as consumers perceive them to be leaner and perhaps more healthful alternatives more...
Researchers find new virus strain in finisher pigs
Ohio State University researchers have found a new porcine calicivirus – similar to the St-Valerien swine virus – in nearly 24 percent of more...
May 2011
Reducing pork carcass defects during processing
Genetics set the level of pork quality. Everything else you do can screw it up, says David Meisinger, executive director of the U.S. Pork Center of Excellence more...
Troubleshooting picking problems
Removing the feathers from chicken carcasses before selling is mandatory in most countries, and the equipment used for this purpose in a commercial operation more...
Reducing poultry carcass defects during processing
Broilers are carefully cared for during the grow-out period to ensure the full expression of their genetic potential, producing meaty, plump, defect-free more...
Testing for Listeria: Spots you don’t want to miss
Listeria is an environmental bacterium that can turn up in almost any location. A saying in the ready-to-eat meat business goes, “If you can’t more...
February 2011
Overcoming the challenges of working with dark meat
Poultry meat consumers in the United States tend to choose breast meat over dark meat for various reasons. This preference has led to an excess of dark more...
January 2011
Optimizing sausage processing for food safety: A paradox
Somehow the words “curing” or “cured” have become bad words in the vocabulary of the consuming public. The idea that a meat processor more...
December 2010
Improving quality and yields in the pork carcasses
U.S. hog processors could learn from their counterparts in southeast Mexico. There, they remove the skin and associated fats before chilling, saving time more...
Accounting for unexplained yield loss in second processing
In poultry processing, unexplained yield loss can happen at many stages. Second processing in poultry begins at the exit of the chiller and can include more...
November 2010
Overcoming the processing challenges of all-natural sausage manufacturing
Natural foods have enjoyed dramatic growth in consumer interest and market sales since the early 1990s. Sales increases of more than 20 percent per year more...
Accounting for unexplained yield loss in evisceration
Not a day goes by in any poultry processing plant without some discussion of "yield." Since it reflects the potential profitability of the operation, more...
October 2010
Adjusting water quality to improve ham quality and yield
Water is one of the most widely used nonmeat ingredients in processed meats, and yet water is the ingredient that is most often overlooked when considering more...
Avoiding texture and flavor problems in ham products
As with most things in life, it is always important to sit back and review the basics from time to time. With a 1-year-old at home (and two more on the more...
September 2010
Limiting contamination with ozone technology
Ozone is a unique sanitizing agent that is generated by splitting oxygen—which normally exists as dioxygen (O2) molecules—into single oxygen more...
August 2010
Preventing visual defects in sausage production
Consumers make purchasing decisions with their eyes. A product’s visual quality is the first thing that must pass muster in the retail setting. more...
May 2010
Minimizing color changes in ground beef
Preference for bright red color is an important factor in prompting a consumer to purchase a package of ground beef. Consumers equate bright red color more...
Live poultry: Optimizing meat color with feed formulations
Color is perhaps the most influential of all organoleptic senses consumers use to make decisions. Most consumers perceive color as a sign of product quality more...
Using bacteriophages to limit contamination in all-natural meat products
Bacteriophages have become one of the newest weapons for food processors to use in the war against foodborne bacteria that cause human illnesses. The more...
Avoiding shape and form changes in cooked hamburger patties
Hamburger patties are notorious for changing shape and form during cooking. A variety of factors contribute to the shape change of hamburger patties, more...
April 2010
Managing product loading and handling to improve smokehouse productivity
With demand soaring for bacon, sausage and smoked meats of all kinds, large and small plants have seen an opportunity to push more product through the more...
March 2010
Three steps to improve productivity in your slicing operation
Production facilities measure success based on the amount of high-quality products that are sold to commerce. For slicing facilities, superior meat quality more...
Using DFD meat to make beef hot dogs
Dark, firm and dry (DFD) meat can be the result of prolonged stress in animals prior to slaughter, either because the animals have been underfed, or they more...
February 2010
Increasing protein extraction to obtain better-emulsified products
Meat emulsions, or meat batters, the best examples of which are frankfurters and large-diameter bologna, are complex mixtures made up of very fine fat more...
January 2010
Three reasons why your low-sodium formulations are not performing — and what to do about it
Salt is the key ingredient in most processed meat formulations. However, low-sodium products are an important and growing market segment. USDA allows more...
Avoiding color problems in cured products
It has been documented many times that the visual appearance of meat products in retail display is one of the most critical factors that consumers use more...
December 2009
Ensuring your in-line fat analyzer is working correctly
A properly working fat analyzer is essential for formulation, labeling and yield of meat products. In-line analyzers can increase profitability by quickly more...
Avoiding pre-slaughter problems that impact meat quality
Pre-slaughter stress is an important contributor to meat quality. Animals get stressed at different times, from the farm all the way to unloading, resting more...
November 2009
Microbial intervention during evisceration
Typically microbial intervention is considered a step just before or after chilling poultry carcasses. While these procedures have proven effective in more...
August 2009
Improving restructured product with fresh meat binding systems
Fresh meat binding involves not only assembling trimmings, binding them and selling them as a restructured product. Fresh meat binding's potential goes more...
Controlling E. coli and other pathogens in injected and needle-tenderized cuts
In general, whole-muscle cuts pose less risk for causing food-borne illness than ground products because bacteria on the surface of whole-muscle cuts more...
May 2009
Managing cooking temperature and cooking treatments to avoid carcinogen formation
A great deal of publicity over the past 30 years or so has focused on the potential for forming carcinogens in cooked meats. Concerns about carcinogens more...
March 2009
Overcoming common quality defects in deli slices
Quality defects in deli meat slices can result from any number of variables, including how product is prepared, cooked, chilled, loaded and sliced. Accordingly more...
February 2009
Improving dry sausage quality by controlling temperature and humidity
The manufacture of dry sausage is probably the oldest form of meat preservation. Dry sausage was undoubtedly discovered by accident and gradually evolved more...
January 2009
PSE in poultry: Why it happens and what to do about it
Pale, soft, and exudative (PSE) is a quality defect that exists in some broiler and turkey breast meat. This condition was identified as a problem in more...
December 2008
In the chiller: Optimizing chlorine effectiveness with pH
Chlorine has long been used as a disinfectant in poultry chillers. However, controlling the level is often misunderstood by those using it. For chlorine more...
Pest control strategies for poultry plants
Pest control in food processing is essential, but difficult and expensive. It presents some unique challenges, not the least of which is that the practice more...
November 2008
Retarding denaturation of frozen meat product
Freezing is one of the most effective methods used for preserving meat, and it can substantially increase its shelf life. However, freezing can also cause more...
October 2008
Avoiding processing defects in ham
Today, more consumers are demanding high-quality ham products that are thin-sliced in an attractive modified atmosphere package (MAP) at the retail level more...
How crust freezing can ease slicing operations
Two words for deli meat processors looking to improve the quality, yield and efficiency of their slicing operations: crust freezing. The procedure calls more...
Growout interventions for salmonella control in poultry
There is no silver bullet for Salmonella control. In fact, the only proven method involves intervention steps throughout the system. Focus is frequently more...
September 2008
Mapping food safety ‘hot spots’ throughout poultry processing
Biomapping has become the "hot topic" method of locating potential food safety threats in poultry processing. Microbiological samples are taken at each more...
Avoiding taste and flavor degradation when using food-grade antimicrobials
In recent years a number of antimicrobials have been developed with the goal of inhibiting or killing pathogenic and spoilage bacteria. These compounds more...
August 2008
Preventing biofilms on processing and packaging equipment
Biofilms are communities of microorganisms that attach to surfaces and colonize given favorable conditions such as the presence of moisture and nutrients more...
July 2008
Avoiding giveaway during sausage production
Tight margins and increasing input costs demand an even sharper focus on optimizing production yields during sausage manufacturing. Product "giveaway more...
June 2008
Tips to avoid warmed-over flavor in precooked meat and poultry
Oxidative deterioration of fat in meat can take place before and after cooking, and it can be caused by many different factors including exposure to light more...
Loaders: Avoiding slicing inconsistencies and product giveaway
Yields drive profitability, and a frustrating place to lose yields is during slicing and packaging. Loading product to maximize slice yields may seem more...
Tips to prevent common product defects in sausage
The obvious reason to avoid product defects is the desire to meet consumer expectations. However, product defects also affect process yields. The most more...
April 2008
Solutions to common shrink-wrap problems
Now that shrink film no longer is simply used to bind and protect product during distribution, but also to display it once it arrives at its intended more...
Dealing with persistent pink in ground beef
"Persistent pinking" — a pink color that remains in uncured, cooked meat products even after cooking at relatively high temperatures — is more...
March 2008
Preventing lipid oxidation of precooked meat
The advantages of precooked meats are clear, just as it's clear that "warmed over flavor" (WOF) isn't one of them. The product may look like meat, but more...
February 2008
Eliminating 'product effect' and other errors in metal detection
As efficient as they are, metal detectors can be prone to misreadings if not carefully calibrated, or if operators deviate from basic principles of installation more...
January 2008
Avoiding packaging sealing failures
Packaging materials for meat and meat products offer a wide range of properties for specific applications, but one of their most important characteristics more...
Avoiding separation of meat and fat in bacon
Fat separation and pickle pockets are manufacturing defects that have a direct impact on the appearance of bacon. Slice integrity is a very important more...
December 2007
Handling tips to avoid porcine stress syndrome
Porcine stress syndrome is associated with a specific genetic condition, and is also known as the stress gene, the halothane gene or malignant hypothermia more...
November 2007
How to effectively evaluate beef and pork trim meat
Trimmings from beef and pork are among the most widely used raw meat ingredients. The quality and handling of trimmings affects final product quality more...
One size fits all: Ensuring uniform beef patties
Uniformity in burger production is vital to ensure an attractive product, as well as to prevent giveaway and consequent margin erosion. Producing the more...
October 2007
Enhancing food safety with infrared pasteurization
Post-processing contamination of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products with listeria monocytogenes is a major concern for the food industry. After cooking more...
Calculating and controlling cooling deviations in cooked meats
Strange as it may seem, treatments that kill certain pathogenic bacteria in cooked foods can create ideal conditions for spawning others, notably Clostridium more...
Precision loading for precision slicers
High-speed, precision slicing can go wrong in many ways. If the blade isn't kept honed, or the shear bar is too loose, for instance, slices will likely more...
September 2007
Practical steps to avoid contamination during manual poultry evisceration
For plants where line speed does not justify the investment in an automatic evisceration operation or where the cost and availability of labor still are more...
Pre-blending to ensure sausage product consistency
Pre-blending has become an important tool to improve the yield and consistency of sausage. First, to avoid confusion, let's define pre-blending as the more...
August 2007
Effective measures to prevent cold shortening
Cold shortening — or muscle shortening — is a process that occurs as meat chills, immediately after slaughter. Fact is, all species undergo more...
July 2007
Controlling condensation in poultry plants
Condensation is one of the most vexing problems in the poultry industry today. The need to refrigerate areas within the plant to minimize bacterial growth more...
Microbes be gone! Taking advantage of next-generation cleaners and sanitizers
Cleaning and sanitizing equipment and food-contact surfaces are the two most important activities of a meat processor's quality-assurance program. No more...
June 2007
In the bag: Cooking with dry flavors
The term "value-added" typically is associated with retail foods, either to denote quality, convenience or both. These days, foodservice providers also more...
Enhancing low-fat, low-sodium formulas for better flavor and quality
Demand for low-fat and low-sodium products is growing, and likely will continue to do so as an aging population grows more interested in "healthy" foods more...
May 2007
Preventing uneven drying of meat snacks
It is not uncommon to see batches of jerky or other meat snacks that have substantially different moisture levels despite having undergone similar processing more...
April 2007
How to keep antimicrobials from changing your meat color
Nitrates and nitrites were first added to meat to preserve it, as they inhibit bacterial growth. However, no cured ham today would appear authentic without more...
Improving peelability of skinless frankfurters
The term "skinless frankfurter" is really something of a misnomer. It simply describes a sausage product that has been stripped of its casing once a secondary more...
Frying chicken: Maximizing cooking oil performance
Cooking oil is a major expense for any frying operation. As the zero-trans-fat movement continues and new oils are used, which are often more expensive more...
March 2007
Three reasons why your cooked ground beef won't bind
Trying to manufacture a cooked ground beef product with good binding properties can be difficult, since the natural tendency is for meat particles to more...
Managing poultry feed withdrawal for food safety
As regulatory agencies and public interest groups continue to make salmonella and other pathogen detection a priority, it is necessary for processors more...
February 2007
Improving adhesion of batters and coatings
Poor coating adhesion can greatly affect final product quality and appearance. Luckily there are some tried-and-true methods of improving batter and coating more...
Avoiding iridescence in beef
Iridescence is the multicolored appearance on the surface of meat, especially cooked and sliced beef. Consumers often associate unusual color with spoiled more...
January 2007
Avoiding internal temperature variations in cooked meat
With cooking, processors must strike a delicate balance between killing pathogens, but at temperatures that don't stick a fork in the product itself. more...
December 2006
Scheduling strategies to minimize changeovers
Profitable meat processing requires efficient scheduling to minimize the downtime and product loss associated with changeovers. Growing concern about more...
October 2006
Marinades: The four most common formulation flubs
Using marinades to improve taste and texture is one of the simplest methods of adding value to meat products. However, when mistakes are made during formulation more...
September 2006
Closed pit: Reformulating to recapture barbecue flavor
Flavor is elusive, but also critical to the success of most food products, barbecue meat included. The problem is that, over time, the flavor of barbecue more...
August 2006
Failure to communicate: Do you hear what your IIC is trying to tell you?
Relationships between meat processors and inspectors from USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service have in some cases grown more difficult since FSIS switched more...
May 2006
Ready for the worst: Tips and tactics to properly prepare your plant for a recall
The Food Safety and Inspection Service definition of a recall is the voluntary removal of product from consumer or trade channels to protect the public more...
Recall! A personal survival story
I was involved in a massive product recall 25 years ago for dieldrin — a chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide — in broilers. At the time, we did not have more...
SRM removal: Tools and procedures you need to implement now
Recent episodes in Japan and Hong Kong suggest that our trade partners mean business on the issue of the specified risk materials associated with bovine more...
April 2006
The daily grinder: Sharpening schedules that don't hold up production
Developing an effective sharpening program for grinder hole plates and knives reduces downtime and enhances produce consistency. Plates and knives are more...
March 2006
Supplier audits: Preparing a seven-point checklist to ensure accountability
As more and more meat processors move into the prepared foods arena, they are likely to encounter ingredients -- and suppliers – they never have before more...
January 2006
Five key questions to ask your spare-parts suppliers
One of the constants of plant operations is that parts break, fail or just plain wear out. Whatever the cause of failure, operators essentially have three more...
