Meat and poultry processors that underestimate the importance of investing in state-of-the-art chilling and freezing technologies and systems are set to feel the cold.

Being the weakest link in any organization or supply chain is not an award one should strive for. But the axiom “a team, organization or process is only as good as its weakest link” is true, as is the processes of food safety and sanitation are only as good as the weakest links. These links can be categorized into objective (mechanical) and subjective (human) areas. So how can the weakest links in the sanitary food supply chain be identified and continually improved?

The IBM brand isn’t often associated with the cattle business. But that may change, thanks to the tech giant’s IBM Food Trust and its use of blockchain. That’s just what it sounds like: blocks of information that form a chain, linked via Internet to allow information sharing that is seamless, efficient and secure.

Bringing transparency to meat and poultry processing through the ability to track and trace products from the farm through the supply chain to the table is a complex challenge. It is, however, one worth addressing as consumers and retailers start to expect and demand it.

Scales are crucial to produce and livestock agricultural businesses. Invest in a scale that is accurate and repeatable, sensitive, reliable and easily serviced. Avoid needless costs from repair and downtime by selecting a scale that can stand up to the conditions it will face.

A few years ago, Jessica Roosa, owner of This Old Farm, based in Colfax, Ind., was trying to solve employee turnover issues on the slaughter floor and began investigating solutions for her small, aged facility that is a custom service processor of beef, pork, lamb and poultry. What she discovered was changes that helped staff also helped her animals.

As I've mentioned before, dry-aged beef offers a flavor that is more intense than traditionally aged beef. And this is where our friend, the humble sheep, may have an opportunity to ride the wave of flavorful red meat.

While positive effects of dry aging on meat quality attributes have been reported in several scientific studies, specific chemical compounds associated with this unique dry-aging flavor have not been fully established.

As automated machinery continues to emerge in the industry and become more affordable, meat and poultry manufacturers will be able to reach new levels of process control standards.

While the fundamental design and operation of vision systems currently available in the area of quality assurance haven't changed dramatically in recent years, what is changing is the increased use of vision systems in this space due to lower prices for the components.