Dry sausage makers take action to reduce risk of contamination
Representatives of the dry sausage industry have agreed to re-examine their standards for processing their products in the wake of at least 10 reported cases of E. coli 0157:H7 linked to dry sausage on the West Coast.
In a meeting with USDA officials, dry sausage makers agreed to look at possible changes in fermentation and time and temperature controls, as well as validation of their production procedures. The findings will then be submitted to USDA for review.
The Washington State Health Department in December reported at least seven cases of E. coli 0157:H7 directly linked to dry salami produced by the San Francisco Sausage Co. The California Department of Health reported three confirmed E. coli 0157:H7 cases linked to the same product.
The South San Francisco, Calif.-based company immediately notified its distributors to remove the products from retail stores and make refunds to consumers. About 10,000 pounds of dry salami was taken off the shelves.
USDA is also investigating whether the contamination occurred during the processing stage or in the post-processing stage, said Robert Buchanan, USDA deputy administrator of science and technology.
"Inspectors will verify whether sausage making procedures are meeting regulatory requirements for sanitary product handling and packaging," said Thomas Billy, FSIS associate administrator. "We are also examining whether process modifications ought to be adopted to ensure the safety of fermented products."
Survey: Meat nutrition tops list of concerns for youths
The purchasing power of children and teen-agers is growing, and their attitudes could directly impact the meat industry.
In a survey conducted for the National Live Stock and Meat Board, meat was a frequent and favorite choice of youths.
The survey contained a good news-bad news scenario for the industry.
The good news is the survey found that the most common answer to the question: "What is good or positive about eating meat?" was: "It tastes good."
The bad news is that nearly 40 percent of youths perceived beef as fattening and 31 percent perceived pork as fattening.
Another fact about the survey: Nutrition issues were high on the list of concerns of youths, but animal welfare and environmental issues were low on the list.
Based on the survey's findings, the Meat Board indicates it will concentrate its education efforts on nutrition, rather than environmental or animal welfare concerns.
The check-off funded study was conducted in 1992 and 1993 and consisted of a telephone survey with more than 3,200 children in grades three through 12 across the United States.
Farmland adds to sales staff
Kansas City, Mo.-based Farmland Foods Inc. has hired John M. Croissant as business manager for branded beef. He will manage the inventory, pricing and marketing of Farmland Black Angus Beef.
The product line, distributed nationwide to foodservice establishments, will soon be expanded into retail outlets, according to the company.
Croissant previously worked at Monfort Inc., where he was national accounts manager for the company's foodservice division.
FSIS clears ante-mortem policy
FSIS will continue to allow alternate methods of ante-mortem inspection provided that certain criteria are met.
Craig A. Reed, FSIS deputy administrator for inspection operations, outlined the criteria in a letter.
FSIS supervisors will OK alternate inspection procedures if:
-- The plant has a good history of regulatory compliance.
-- The facilities and volume of operations are suitable.
-- The condemnation rate at the plant is comparable to the national average of market hogs and fat cattle.
-- The alternate procedure is applied only to domestic livestock.
-- The plant segregates abnormal animals.
-- All animals are held until examined by inspection personnel.
GATT to put Argentine beef on American store shelves
It is recognized that the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade will benefit the U.S. meat industry. Indications are, however, that the meat industry of at least one other nation will benefit from GATT.
U.S. consumers will find beef imported from Argentina in the meat case as a result of bilateral negotiations that accompanied the international trade talks.
About 20,000 tons of high-quality beef cuts, worth $200,000 million, will be available by the second half of this year.
"The GATT agreement provides enormous opportunity for Argentina," said Felix Cirio, Argentine undersecretary of agriculture.
A farm export analysis backs Cirio's optimism.
Agricultural products accounted for about 65 percent of Argentina's $13 billion export industry in 1993. Beef exports play a major role.
"Argentina has suffered a lot because of world protectionism-especially by the United States, Europe and Japan," stressed Alberto de las Carreras, an economic consultant on agriculture and world trade. "GATT is a way to reduce that protectionism."
The accord gives Argentine agriculture new markets to sell its products, including beef. Reductions in subsidies and import barriers in the next six years will help Argentina find new markets as world demand for food heads upward.
HACCP training to be offered for executives, employees
The International Meat and Poultry HACCP Alliance will offer training this year for both senior executives and employees responsible for implementing a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point program in their plants.
"The short-term priority is to provide as much basic HACCP training as quickly as possible," said H. Russell Cross, the alliance's executive director. "We will broaden the training to be more product- and process-specific, and to ensure the industry has a complete understanding of how to implement a HACCP program."
USDA has pending a proposed regulation that includes mandatory HACCP programs in meat and poultry plants to identify potential contamination points along the food production line.
The alliance is considering a certification program for individuals who successfully complete HACCP coursework.
Standardized tests, length of accreditation, continuing education requirements, accreditation for HACCP instructors, and defining and identifying HACCP experts are some of the areas that will be reviewed by the alliance.
AMI goes back to school
Kansas State University and AMI have created a strategic alliance to resolve issues facing the beef industry through research, education and information.
To formalize the alliance, AMI Foundation President James Marsden has been appointed regents distinguished professor of meat science in Kansas State's Animal Sciences and Industry Department. Marsden will be the link between AMI and Kansas State University.
When one asks: "Where's the beef?" in Kansas, one doesn't have to look too far. Beef packing and processing is the No. 1 industry in the state and cattle production is No. 2. Only Nebraska slaughters more cattle than Kansas.
With more than 20,000 students, Kansas State is one of the top 100 research universities in the nation.
It has a state-of-the-art meat research science center that includes a pilot plant for modern slaughter, chilling, fabrication, processing, curing, smoking, packaging and cooking. Kansas State also operates a food safety forum that provides focus on food safety issues from farm to table.
But does Newt like sausage or pepperoni on his pizza?
For those keeping score at home, there will be several benchmarks to gauge how well Republicans are doing during the next several months after becoming the majority party in both houses of Congress.
Perhaps the Wall Street Journal found the best benchmark for the meat industry. It reported that on Jan. 4, the first day of the new Congress, meat toppings outsold vegetable toppings by an 8-to-1 margin on pizzas ordered at Washington-area Domino's.
That is twice the rate of when Democrats ran Congress.
It's obvious that the "pork" Republicans are pledging to take out of government will probably end up on somebody's pizza.