Expert Commentary Topic | The National Provisioner

Cordray's Corner

Achieving Personal Work-Life Balance

June 5, 2019

Owners and managers of small meat plants need to be concerned with two types of work-life balance; personal work-life balance and organizational work-life balance. This article addresses personal work-life balance as it relates to the small meat plant owner or manager.

Regulations & Legislation

Government issuances on foodborne pathogens

John Dillard

June 4, 2019

No Comments

Although the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has been fairly quiet lately with regard to new regulatory initiatives, two recent issuances involving foodborne pathogens should be noteworthy to the meat and poultry industry.

Fight for Food Safety

Going on the offensive: Subtyping environmental and finished product positives

Shawn K. Stevens

June 3, 2019

No Comments

Over the last 25 years, modernization has overrun the food safety landscape in previously unimaginable ways. Environmental and finished-product sampling programs are undoubtedly among the most important aspects of the industry's success.

Spare Parts Know-How

To improve spare parts management, the walls between departments must be demolished

Get above the silos

Phillip Slater

May 9, 2019

No Comments

Your maintenance and reliability team will know better than anyone the impact a spare-parts shortage has on the business. No spare often equals no production, so there is sometimes an attitude of "the more the merrier."

Guest Column | Ag Advocacy

Don't take a vacation from plant security this summer

Casey Kinler

May 8, 2019

No Comments

Summer vacations are on everyone's minds, but one vacation you don't want to take is a vacation from plant security. Animal rights activists don’t take a break from activism, so plants shouldn't take a break from security.

Consultants Corner

How much product insurance does a processor need?

Andrew Lorenz

May 7, 2019

No Comments

My wife just got back from a trip with the kids, and somewhere along the way the windshield caught a rock. No big deal; that’s why we have insurance. But that event got me thinking about what types of insurance a food production facility should carry.

Meat Science Review

Utilization of dry-aged beef in premium ground beef blends

Devin A. Gredell Jordan H. McHenry Dale R. Woerner Jerrad F. Legako Terry E. Engle J. Chance Brooks J. Daryl Tatum Keith E. Belk

May 6, 2019

No Comments

Although the affordability and versatility of ground beef helped establish it as a staple in many American diets, "premium" ground beef blends are now being marketed in several foodservice and retail scenarios, adding value to lower-priced trim components and underutilized whole-muscle cuts.

Regulations & Legislation

FSIS issues guidance for responding to customer complaints

May 3, 2019

No Comments

On March 11, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS or the agency) announced the availability of the guidance FSIS Guideline for Industry Response to Customer Complaints, 2019.

Fight for Food Safety

Lawsuit against Hormel marketing pre-empted by federal law

Shawn K. Stevens

May 2, 2019

No Comments

A 2016 lawsuit brought against Hormel Foods is once again in the headlines. The case, brought by the Animal Defense Legal Fund (ALDF), arose from allegations that Hormel's "Make the Natural Choice" advertisements violated consumer protection laws by materially misleading consumers.

Andrzej Skiba, President and Co-Founder of Skiba Meat Company

Special Report | Mission to Poland

Mission to Poland: Part Two

The tour and lessons about the European meat industry continues for Independent Processor editor Sam Gazdziak.

Sam Gazdziak

April 26, 2019

No Comments

When not participating in seminars on European exports and North American consumer trends, the guests of the Union of Producers and Employers of Meat Industry (UPEMI) were able to walk around Warsaw.