Meat and Poultry Processing Top Stories

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From large corporations to small, independent businesses, it is hard to find a modern business that does not have a pledge to become more environmentally sustainable. Businesses concentrating on sustainability are typically lavished with praise while those perceived to not be doing their part may be met with harsh criticism. 

Pandemic cooks are looking to seafood to provide healthy, versatile dishes — but mostly, just to have a special treat during trying times. 

Swine genetics, including gender, has been one of the greatest influences on pork belly, and, in turn, bacon quality. Therefore, the evolution of genetics in pork used in commercial production has had a great influence in recent years in producing larger swine. 

In this episode, Francisco Najar-Villarreal talks with Dr. Bekhit, who discusses the oxidation of meat and strategies to improve shelf life and meat quality.

Hofmann Sausage Company recently started selling summer sausage and three new flavors of jerky. In-spite of their renowned hot dog business suffering from less food service sales in the COVID-19 pandemic, the chief marketing officer for the 142-year-old company, Rebecca Baker, says their diverse product lineup and a large network of customers along the east coast keep business going strong. Austin Keating, Multimedia Specialist for Provisioneronline.com, chats with Baker to find out more.

From his new office space, editor-in-chief Andy Hanacek says that it's great the industry has been able to slow the spread of COVID-19 through its plant through innovative engineering and strategies, but if you don't tell everyone what you did, then you're missing a real opportunity to help.

Depending on the species, processing facilities implement chilling methods that include air or spray chilling of carcasses.

Sales are on the upswing as consumers look for products that meet their indulgent, nutritional and emotional needs, and meat and poultry selections are an increasingly popular part of the mix, according to Mintel Group, a Chicago-based global market research firm.

Chicken and turkey sales, like every meat category, posted impressive numbers for the 12 months ending Nov. 1, 2020, reports IRI, in Chicago. Chicken grew 12.7 percent in dollar sales to approximately $13.2 billion with volume sales up 8.3 percent.