Metal object contamination in the meat industry is relatively rare, but it can lead to a disproportionate amount of recalled products. According to 2019 USDA data, recalls for possible presence of metal objects accounted for 34% of foreign matter contamination cases and for 90% of total pounds of recalled meat.

On June 4, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS, or the agency) published a Federal Register notice, Expansion of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Testing to Additional Raw Beef Products. 

Processors have several options for pasteurization, including high-pressure pasteurization (HPP), hot water, steam, hot air, infrared heat, radiofrequency and irradiation. Hot water, steam and HPP are the most popular, with HPP and hot water growing the fastest, says Wes Shilling, professor of food science at Mississippi State University in Mississippi State.

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the United States, the meat industry increasingly faces the potential of pandemic-related economic and legal threats. 

The move to reduced-use and no-antibiotics-ever production systems is prompting the broiler industry to explore other tools, not just for managing gut health but also for reducing the number of foodborne pathogens.

What if the key to improving food safety in thermal processing — heating, cooking and smoking — is more water?

Employee hygiene in packing plants is now not just about protecting food, but protecting employees.

Traditional processing of summer sausage applies lower fermentation pH values (≤4.6) and higher thermal treatments after fermentation to meet U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) performance standards for E. coli O157:H7 lethality (5D process; decimal reduction dose).

While listening to an inspiring podcast recently, the speaker made an impact on my view of the unusual times we as a global community have recently encountered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.