Meat and Poultry Processing Top Stories

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After years of increasing revenues, prepared-foods activity is crashing as consumers switch to homemade meals as they seek safety and savings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a normal year, we would be presenting Independent Processor’s annual Processor of the Year Award to a company that best exemplifies all of the qualities of a small or mid-sized meat processor. In a normal year, it’s a difficult process to determine which company to choose. However, there has been nothing normal about this year since mid-March. 

Processors have several options for pasteurization, including high-pressure pasteurization (HPP), hot water, steam, hot air, infrared heat, radiofrequency and irradiation. Hot water, steam and HPP are the most popular, with HPP and hot water growing the fastest, says Wes Shilling, professor of food science at Mississippi State University in Mississippi State.

Independent Processor’s Sam Gazdziak speaks with Donna Kilpatrick of Heifer Ranch.

Feed ingredients are the No. 1 cost component of the protein business, followed by labor and energy. Oil prices are historically linked to feed-ingredient crops.