Meat and Poultry Processing

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Many restaurants and artisan butcher shops are developing and producing dry-aged beef. There is, however, no official standard regarding aging conditions such as temperature, relative humidity or time.

High noise levels, dangerous equipment, slippery floors, harmful chemicals and musculoskeletal issues are causing illness and injury rates in the meat packaging industry to be 2.5 times higher than the national average, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

As with the entire food industry, whole-muscle processors face the challenge now of feeding an increasing number of people regardless of population growth projections.

In 2016 and 2017, 107 and 104 humane handling enforcement actions were posted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Web site, respectively.

Consumers are projected to eat a record amount of meat, so there must be a steady supply of available protein. However, industry consolidation has reduced the amount of packers to a handful of dominant players, and federal regulations are so strict that some companies are closing down or exiting the slaughter side of the business.

Dietary probiotic supplements have been introduced by several research groups as a possible nutraceutical alternative to antibiotics, as probiotics are known to improve gut health and nutrient absorption in broiler chickens.

While ground beef remains a major supermarket meat department revenue generator, alternatives such as ground pork, chicken and turkey also are becoming more popular as consumers seek newer and healthier meal options.

Illinois meat processor plans to double its facility to meet the needs of the meat snack market.

Food production robots solve two problems: preventing worker injuries caused by machines or repetitive motions and improving consistency and speed in cuts. Now, wash-down robotic systems are also preventing food contamination.

By failing to understand the complexity of spare-parts inventory, companies will experience one or more of the nine symptoms of poor spare parts inventory health.