There continues to be a tremendous need in the meat industry for information regarding the production of safe, ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products. This need is based upon avoiding HACCP deviations and/or recalls, as well as the need to meet regulatory requirements for producing safe RTE meat products. In addition to being regulatory compliant and protecting public health, producing safe food products is good for business health.
To produce safe RTE meat products, processors need to understand how to determine the sufficiency of cooking (lethality), chilling after cooking (stabilization), and post-lethality pasteurization of these products. Regulatory changes have shifted the burden to meat processors to ensure, through scientific justification, that existing, as well as new, processes meet lethality and stabilization performance standards. In particular, the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service’s (FSIS) RTE Final Rule in 2003, inspected meat processors must select an “alternative” approach to producing safe RTE products, and the more desirable alternatives require greater technical expertise on the part of the processors. The most important processes in producing safe RTE meat products may be cleaning and sanitizing equipment and facilities.