The three main components of pre-harvest intervention — probiotics and prebiotics in animal feed, pathogen resistance through vaccines or antimicrobials, and biosecurity protocols — all work together to reduce foodborne pathogens in beef, poultry and pork. Each operation, however, has to tinker with the formula to create its ideal solution.

“We may never return to normal” is a phrase noted in newspaper articles, echoed by TV anchors and professed by self-proclaimed experts in the era of COVID-19. Certainly, the food and agriculture industries have not been spared the social and economic impacts of this pandemic.

A greater concentration of oxymyoglobin in meat results in consumer-preferred, bright, cherry-red color of beef.

We recently received an email about the passing of a retired industry member, customer and friend. I thought about how building close business and personal relationships have been such a big part of the culture of the industries we serve. 

On April 28, 2020, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order directing the Secretary of Agriculture to make use of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to assist meat and poultry companies in continuing to remain in operation or returning to operation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A strong company leader is critical for a company to get through a crisis. Today with the coronavirus pandemic we are in a deep crisis like we have never seen before. No one is sure exactly how long this crisis will last.

Just 3 percent of the world’s water is fresh water, and two-thirds of that water is currently inaccessible, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Meat-processing facilities are major users of large amounts of water. Plants may use hundreds of thousands of gallons of water per day to process meat adequately. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought its own set of challenges to whole-muscle processing.

Annual U.S. pork production in February (latest data) was up 5.6 percent from the prior year and in an accelerating growth trend before the COVID-19 shutdowns dramatically changed the economic landscape. 

As most of you know, as a food industry lawyer, I have represented the food industry for over 20 years. During the course of that time, I have closely tracked evolving USDA policy, the strengthening of FSIS inspection and surveillance programs, the continuing parade of food product recalls, and the nearly monthly emergence of new foodborne illness outbreaks.