AAMP attendees told to embrace food safety measures
by Larry Aylward, managing editor
Organizers picked a large hall to hold a scheduled four-hour session on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point programs during July's 56th American Convention of Meat Processors held in San Antonio.
It was a sensible move. The hall was full of processors who came to hear the latest news regarding meat inspection. They came to listen to three speakers-H. Russell Cross, former FSIS administrator and current director of the International Meat and Poultry HACCP Alliance; Von Mendenhall, director for the center of excellence/meat processing, Utah State University; and Steve Ingham, University of Wisconsin food safety extension specialist.
The convention also included sessions dealing with wastewater treatment, case-ready packaging, ingredients for low-fat meat products, adding value with packaging, manufacturing Cajun sausages, avoiding scams and fine-tuning smokehouse operations.
Heated debate
The issue of meat inspection has been a heated topic of discussion as of late, fueled by politics and finger-pointing. Some processors attending the HACCP seminar voiced displeasure with the situation. They questioned the news media's blasting of the meat industry. "I'm sick of the bias being fed to the media," one woman insisted.
Politics aside, most attendees listened intently when the discussion turned to HACCP. Despite the upheaval and uncertainty surrounding inspection, most would agree that a HACCP program-whether implemented under mandatory or voluntary conditions-is the route to take to improve the inspection system.
And HACCP should be implemented by processors because it is the right thing to do, Cross noted. "And if you do it for the right reasons and you do it correctly, you will make money," he added.
Mendenhall told attendees to accept HACCP and capitalize on it.
"Your job is to design a system, implement it, monitor it and verify that it works," Mendenhall said. "Verification might require that you get technical help. But you can do that; it's available."
Mendenhall warned that management personnel should not lock themselves in a conference room to draw up a HACCP program. It's crucial to involve most employees in the design of a program, he noted.
"You can't just educate management," Mendenhall said. "The best people to decide what to do in a plant are the people who work in the plant; the people on the line."
Employees will also feel wanted and needed if they are consulted about their views of HACCP, he pointed out.
"If you pull your employees in and let them help you design the system initially, you will change the attitude of the employees in your plant and what their roles are in it," Mendenhall claimed.
"In the meat industry, there isn't anything we need more in our processing plants than to build up rapport."
A HACCP program also requires preliminary plans, Mendenhall said. For instance, processors should rely on lists, statistics and documentation.
"The first thing you should do is make a list of the products you manufacture," Mendenhall told attendees. "How long has it been since you did that?"
He recommended a processor list the manufacturing steps in a product process, and document annual production. A processor should also closely track its regional distribution and amount of product distributed to certain areas. "That's important if there is a recall," he noted.
A processor should also be wary of the plant environment and surrounding air which may carry dangerous microorganisms and pathogens, Mendenhall said.
He continually emphasized the importance of record-keeping.
"You have been doing most of these things," he added. "The only thing you haven't been doing is keeping records. They are protective in the court of law."
Wastewater-world
J.C. Dromgoole, president of Gainesville, Ga.-based Wastewater Concepts Inc., had a simple message for audience members regarding wastewater.
"Grandpa and daddy could pass over the problems their practices created, in the name of economy," Dromgoole claimed. "In our era, if we make a mess, we must clean it up."
In designing a system, Dromgoole recommended that packers and processors don't settle for a system that is "good enough."
"Standards are not likely to become less stringent-much the contrary," he noted.
Pretreatment, primary level treatment, using screening, flow control and dissolved air flotation will yield an acceptable and economical solution to wastewater problems, Dromgoole said.
Pretreatment is practical and economical because of by-product recovery and reduced sewage surcharges, he added.
Flow equalization saves money because the treatment unit or units which follow it can be smaller and work efficiently, and because sewage charges are often based on a peak flow rate, Dromgoole said.
The use of a dissolved air flotation system is the final step in pretreatment. Such systems are now engineered to be reliable with a minimum of operator attention, Dromgoole stated.
"Since meat plant waste doesn't contain toxic chemicals, these three steps, operated with little manpower, are usually all that is required for acceptable discharge to a publicly owned treatment works," Dromgoole stated.
"If a public plant is not available to accept the pretreated wastewater, further treatment will be necessary to reach a direct discharge standard," he added.
This secondary treatment will employ one or more of several biological processes.
"You can expect that this level of treatment won't be as economical as discharge to a publicly-owned treatment works, but it is practical," he added.
Cashing on case-ready
It was obvious that many AAMP processors have garnered interest in case-ready meats.
Many were on hand for a presentation by Christopher J. Thomsen, regional manager of packaging for Kansas City, Mo.-based Koch Packaging Inc.
Thomsen presented some eye-popping statistics regarding savings through utilization of case-ready meats.
Thomsen pointed out that a 3,600-square-foot meat department that sells no case-ready product is missing out on big savings. If the department was averaging 300 hours a week in labor at $9.82 an hour, it could save 90 hours of labor by selling case-ready product, in addition to saving 424 square feet of space, according to his study.
The study also showed that sales would increase 9.6 percent and the retailer would enjoy a $1,574 a week savings in fixed and variable operating expenses.
Wrap it up
Stanley R. Brooks, president of Oklahoma City-based Stan's Inc., says the best meat products won't sell without proper, attractive packaging.
Take his advice. Brooks, who manufacturers a variety of hand-held beef snacks, sells his product in more than 8,000 stores. He also runs his own restaurant, Stan's Bar-B-Q.
People know Stan. They know his logo, too, which is his first name in thick, red lettering.
In his speech, Adding Value With Packaging: Using Color and Style as Marketing Tools, Brooks pointed out that the distinct lettering style never changes. "The letter style is a registered trademark," Brooks said.
Adages and use of color are also important marketing tools. The well-known slogan for Stan's Bar-B-Q is "Let us rib you."
Brooks also relies heavily on red and yellow, colors the eye focuses on quickly, for use in his packaging and promotions.
Brooks also designs his own labels. He sketches them and turns them over to a local illustrator for completion.
Advisory
Small processors and packers were given an inside look at how to spot and avoid potential scams that target their businesses.
Dean Tillman, of the San Antonio Better Business Bureau, says business owners should always ask for three things if they are being solicited for money: literature about the organization, its financial statement and a copy of its IRS exemption certificate.
Tillman advised that business owners never give out credit card numbers, equipment brand names and social security numbers. And they should never pay money up front for services not received.
With the advent and interest in HACCP, Tillman warned that processors and packers should be on the lookout for organizations and individuals parading as HACCP consultants in scam operations.
"Always ask questions," Tillman advised.