Expert Commentary

A single QA failure could cost you millions

stevens@foodindustrycounsel.com (Shawn K. Stevens) — Thu, 22 May 2025 00:00:00 -0400

In food safety, there is no such thing as small mistakes – just expensive ones.

Last year was an honorable year for the meat and poultry industry

stevens@foodindustrycounsel.com (Shawn K. Stevens) — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 13:00:00 -0400

Meat and poultry processors did a fabulous job producing safe products in 2024.

USDA steps up the fight against Listeria in ready-to-eat foods

stevens@foodindustrycounsel.com (Shawn K. Stevens) — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 09:39:27 -0500

Food safety technologies and new interventions have come a long way, and FSIS is doubling down on working to protect the public.

What’s in store for Salmonella in 2025?

stevens@foodindustrycounsel.com (Shawn K. Stevens) — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:59:54 -0500

USDA’s new proposed Salmonella rule could survive the change in presidential leadership.

The National Provisioner Podcast Episode 184: 2025 economic outlook

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 11:40:09 -0500

DeltaTrak's Karl McDermott shares outlook for 2025..

The war on pathogens continues

stevens@foodindustrycounsel.com (Shawn K. Stevens) — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Events underscore need to invest additional resources into pathogen elimination and control in food facilities.

Register now for The National Provisioner’s 2024 State of the Industry Webinar

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 10:59:41 -0500

Join The National Provisioner at 2 p.m. EST on Nov. 19, 2024, for a broad-based look into the current state of the proteins market.

The surge in USDA Public Health Alerts: A new focus in food safety

stevens@foodindustrycounsel.com (Shawn K. Stevens) — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0500

The industry can expect the agency will continue to use Public Health Alerts more frequently.

Are class action food safety lawsuits on your horizon?

stevens@foodindustrycounsel.com (Shawn K. Stevens) — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Lawyers in New York file a class action lawsuit against a company in a recent Listeria recall case.

Should you be using whole genome sequencing in your food facility?

stevens@foodindustrycounsel.com (Shawn K. Stevens) — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 13:15:00 -0400

WGS generates extensive data that can be stored and analyzed.

Have you ever considered becoming a USDA or FDA inspector?

stevens@foodindustrycounsel.com (Shawn K. Stevens) — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 12:00:00 -0400

Would you be a Checklist Charlie or a Collaborative Casey?

USDA declaring open season on sesame

stevens@foodindustrycounsel.com (Shawn K. Stevens) — Fri, 24 May 2024 08:22:17 -0400

Regulators will ensure compliance by performing “Big 9” Formulation Verification tasks in regulated establishments.

2023 recalls: Year in Review

stevens@foodindustrycounsel.com (Shawn K. Stevens) — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 07:52:06 -0500

USDA issues 23 more meat and poultry product recalls this year compared to 2022.

Meat processors should be food safety influencers

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0400

A Southwest Meat Association leader shares how processors can positively influence safe food handling practices for consumers.

New initiatives to help small processors could affect food safety

stevens@foodindustrycounsel.com (Shawn K. Stevens) — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 10:00:00 -0400

USDA efforts to address market consolidation and food security could hold food safety implications.

Food safety interventions must target origins as well as vectors

stevens@foodindustrycounsel.com (Shawn K. Stevens) — Thu, 19 May 2022 10:00:00 -0400

The English language is weird. It is a hodge-podge mix of many languages that has evolved in transformative ways over the decades and centuries leading to today.

Customers behaving badly

gazdziaks@bnpmedia.com (Sam Gazdziak) — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 12:53:03 -0500

People are suffering from a lack of empathy, and you and your staff may bear the brunt of it someday.

MeatsPad Podcast episode 29: Dr. Dale Woerner

Thu, 10 Jun 2021 10:28:47 -0400

Hosts Drs. Francisco Najar & Phil Bass speak with Dr. Dale Woerner of Texas Tech University. Dr. Woerner and two of his graduate students join the podcast to discuss their work in beef research. The beef industry has been active in researching genetics, but the dairy cattle industry also has its share of issues that can hopefully be resolved by cross-breeding. Listen to hear more about the Texas Tech research can benefit both the beef and dairy industry.

MeatsPad podcast Episode 27: Dr. Bucky Gwartney

Mon, 24 May 2021 12:00:35 -0400

There is much more to the USDA than just inspection.

MeatsPad Podcast Episode 26: Dr. Anna Dilger

Thu, 06 May 2021 11:06:30 -0400

Dr. Dilger of the University of Illinois joins hosts Drs. Francisco Najar-Villarreal and Phil Bass in a wide-ranging discussion. In this episode, they cover everything from pork quality to cultivated meat to scholarly journals and local agriculture.

MeatsPad Podcast Episode 25: Noah Hall, MS

Wed, 28 Apr 2021 10:00:00 -0400

MeatsPad hosts Francisco Najar-Villarreal and Dr. Phil Bass talk with Noah Hall of UltraSource LLC.

Your meat packaging and labeling are very important

jcordray@iastate.edu (Dr. Joe Cordray) — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 14:49:07 -0400

A product’s packaging and labeling contribute significantly to a product’s success or failure. Frequently small and medium-sized meat processors pay a lot of attention to the ingredients used in a product and the way the product is manufactured and fail to pay enough attention to how the product is packaged and labeled.

Embrace best cutting technology and methods to boost product yield.

mitchellr@bnpmedia.com (Richard Mitchell) — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 12:51:48 -0400

Maximizing yield in the processing of meat and poultry is crucial for boosting operator revenues. While such factors as the amount of external carcass fat, carcass muscularity and aging all affect yield, mastering superior cutting equipment and techniques is crucial for getting the most product from an animal, analysts say.

Assessing the contribution of mature collagen crosslinks to cooked meat toughness using a stewed beef shank model

Wed, 14 Apr 2021 12:43:27 -0400

Connective tissue sheaths serve as the scaffolds in skeletal muscle, and they allow for the growth and development of muscle tissue. However, these connective tissues also cause the “background toughness” in meat.

The new administration begins to take shape

stevens@foodindustrycounsel.com (Shawn K. Stevens) — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 14:34:23 -0400

With the Presidential election behind us, the new Biden Administration continues to fill key food safety and policy positions within USDA and FDA. To date, however, we have not yet witnessed the rollout of any significant new food safety or regulatory policy announcements.

Turning fat, oil and grease in wastewater into an efficient profit center

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 01:00:00 -0500

In the food processing industry, there are many different applications in which oils are used or produced that end up in the wastewater stream. In applications where meat is cooked, fat and grease render out and collect in grease traps. Even the routine washdown of processing equipment surfaces can create a mixture of oily water.

Pandemic apparel protects employees and food from contamination

eafuhrman@hotmail.com (Elizabeth Fuhrman) — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 04:00:00 -0500

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the greatest transformation to employee apparel is the adoption of masks.

Automating Interleaving

editorhal@sbcglobal.net (Hallie Forcinio) — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 03:00:00 -0500

Employment at U.S. meat, beef and poultry processing plants currently stands around 500,000 and is expected to grow 0.4 percent by the end of 2021, according to Meat, Beef and Poultry Processing Industry in the U.S.,” a September 2020 market research report from IBISWorld.

Rumen microbiome impacts on adipose accumulation in steers

Thu, 11 Mar 2021 02:00:00 -0500

Microbiome research is an area of increasing interest in livestock production due to potential microbiome impacts on animal performance. The term microbiome, while scientifically rooted in the genetic makeup of the microbes, is used to more generally represent the microbial populations that are present in an environment.

Prevent activist attacks brush up on plant security

Thu, 11 Mar 2021 01:00:00 -0500

COVID-19 isn’t the only thing I would have liked to leave behind in 2020. Animal-rights activist attacks also rise to the top of my list. Animal-rights activists never miss an opportunity to kick animal agriculture when its down, and the Coronavirus pandemic was no exception.