Meat and Poultry Processing Top Stories

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Most people can quickly spot the signs of a pest infestation in a poultry house: beetles crawling up the exterior walls, swarms of flies near piles of organic debris, or chewed-up litter by feed pans. 

Prairie View A&M University, located 45 miles northwest of Houston in Prairie View, Texas, has a brand-new Meat Science Center to continue the vision of the late Lindsey Weatherspoon, renowned College of Agriculture and Human Sciences professor who expanded meat science studies at PVAMU in the 1960’s.

Each year, more and more food companies discover the critical importance of having good food product recall insurance. It is a topic I write about, and speak about, often. 

Rob Brice, co-founder, president and chief technology officer for RFgen Software, discusses RFgen’s collaboration with Trident Seafoods.

Wes Pence, president of Wholesome Cos., said that he was born into Wholesome Foods since his mother and father first started the business.

Fresh meat ranks as the biggest seller, outperforming processed meat in dollars and pounds. 

When handling their livestock, operators must ensure the welfare of their animals. Dr. Kurt D. Vogel, director of the Humane Handling Institute and associate professor–animal welfare and behavior in the Department of Animal and Food Science at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, discusses best practices and current issues related to humane handling.

On one hand, retail sales for plant-based meat analogs are limp, with combined sales for refrigerated and frozen plant-based meat alternatives down 9% year over year in February 2023, according to IRI point-of-sales data. In addition to dollar losses (the category racked up $84.8 million in sales for February), units sold and volume for meat alternatives also fell versus year-ago levels.

Consumer and market trends are shaping demand and product development in the plant-based protein product category.

For most processors, less than 50% of their plant floor is automated, which is due to a variety of complications.