Meat processors have always had to work harder than other industries to keep their employees safe. After all, when you have a processing floor full of processing machinery and knives, you have more inherent danger than, say, an accounting firm.

As chaotic and tumultuous as 2020 was, it did bring some good news to the meat processing industry. Consumers did not lose their appetite for meat when the Coronavirus pandemic closed down restaurants. 

Leading restaurants and grocery stores across the state of Texas get their sausages from one place: Smokey Denmark Smoked Sausage Co. The company, which has been around since 1964, has seen tremendous growth over the last decade, with an expanded retail presence and a growing list of products. 

Recently, I had the chance to speak with Nancy Jo Seaton of Seaton Food Consultants. We discussed various food trends for the coming year, and she mentioned something that I had been thinking.