Fisher Packing wins Best of Show at Cured Meat Championships
The 2010 American Cured Meat Championships honored some of the country’s top small processors and the best all-around cured meats. The event, held during the American Association of Meat Processors’ 71st annual convention, awarded winners in 26 categories, including the local featured category, cured, smoked and cooked pork ribs.

The Clarence Knebel Best of Show award went to Fisher Packing Co. of Portland, Ind., for its braunschweiger. Additionally, Sam Western of Western’s Smokehouse and Joseph Turasky of Turasky Meats were elected into the AAMP Cured Meats Hall of Fame.

The winners for 2010 are as follows:

Andouille Sausage: Leiding’s Meats & Catering, Danville, Ill.
Bacon (Heavyweight): Sailer’s Food Market & Meat Processing, Elmwood, Wis.
Bacon (Lightweight): Frohling Meats Inc., Hecla, S.D.
Braunschweiger: Fisher Packing Co., Portland, Ind.
Country Bacon: Alewel’s Country Meats, Warrensburg, Mo.
Cured, Smoked, and Cooked Pork Ribs: Western’s Smokehouse, Greentop, Mo.
Cured Specialty Meat Products: Stonie’s Sausage Shop Inc., Perryville, Mo.
Dried Beef: Frank Stoysich Meats, Omaha, Neb.
Frankfurters/Wieners - Coarse Ground: Dewig Brothers Packing Co. Inc., Haubstadt, Ind.
Frankfurters/Wieners - Emulsified: Dewig Brothers Packing Co. Inc.
Ham - Bone-In (Heavyweight): Haun’s Meat and Sausage, WallaWalla,Wash.
Ham - Bone-In (Lightweight): Tiefenthaler Quality Meats, Holstein, Iowa
Ham - Boneless (Commercial): RJ’s Meats & Groceries, Hudson,Wis.
Ham - Boneless (Traditional): Stonie’s Sausage Shop Inc.
Ham - Semi-Boneless: Sailer’s Food Market & Meat Processing
Jerky - Restructured: Maplewood Packing Inc., Green Bay, Wis.
Jerky - Whole Muscle: Paradise Locker Meats, Trimble, Mo.
Luncheon Meat - Large Diameter: Frohling Meats Inc.
Meat Snack Sticks: Cunningham Meats, Indiana, Pa.
Ring Bologna - Cooked: Dewig Brothers Packing Co. Inc.
Semi-Dried Sausage - Cooked, Non-Fermented: Frohling Meats Inc.
Small Diameter Cooked and Smoked Sausage: Bardine’s Country Smokehouse Inc., Crabtree, Pa.
Smoked Turkey: Tiefenthaler Quality Meats
Specialty Flavor Sm. Diameter Cooked/Smoked Sausage: Elburn Market Inc., Elburn, Ill.
Specialty Game Meats: Frohling Meats Inc.
Summer Sausage - Cooked: Karl’s Country Market, Menomonee Falls, Wis.


SEMA conference draws processors to north Georgia
Processors from throughout the Southeast, as well as a gathering of suppliers, speakers and guests, descended on Young Harris, Ga., for the Southeastern Meat Conference’s annual conference. The conference, held at the Brasstown Valley Resort & Spa, was one of the association’s best-attended events, SEMA reports.

The theme of the conference was “Business: A Maze or A-Maze-Ing.” Among the topics discussed at the seminars were global food safety, legislative updates, U.S. immigration policies and bank relations. There were also roundtable discussions between the attendees, as they discussed both today and tomorrow’s industry challenges. Of course, there were plenty of opportunities for socializing, including a golf tournament and a country hoedown.

Next Year’s convention will be June 9-12, 2011 at The Shores Resort & Spa, Daytona Beach Shores, Fla.