Meat Packing Journal, Mar~Apr 2016, vol 3 iss 2

The international magazine for the meat and poultry industry

MEAT PACKING J O U R N A L March~April 2016 volume 3 | issue 2 ISSN 2054-4685

the king of meats P.56

x-ray detectors for fat content

P.26

the perfect steak is found

P.46

mexico report – change afoot

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C o Mmen t

Steak dreams

W

hen I was a kid growing up in San Diego, my dad used to take me fishing in the evening out on Shelter Island pier. The pier was located just inside the entrance of San Diego Harbor; the close proximity to the Pacific Ocean gave the area the smell of the sea – a beautiful combination of salt, kelp, and minute algae. We would cast our lines out into the night darkness and strain our eyes trying to somehow see into the deep blackish water. If we turned around and looked shoreward, we’d see a series of busy, lit-up steak and chop restaurants that put out the sweet aroma of fat and meat being grilled. Fifty-years later and I can still smell that combination of sea and steak; the ultimate surf and turf.

If nothing was biting, I’d stare at the steak houses and the well-dressed customers going in and out. Completely beyond the means of my family’s income, I could imagine couples sitting at tables, drinking cocktails – whatever they were – and cutting into thick, juicy, bloody, medium-rare steaks. And I thought: one day if I ever make it that will be me.

Last year it was finally me – sort of.

I was showing my wife Shelter Island pier, reminiscing about my dad, telling her about the steak houses, and how one day I’d eat at one – when I made it.

She thought about it for a moment as said: “Well, I don’t know if you’ve ‘made it’ in your eyes but I think you have, let’s go do it.”

But there was a problem. To a one on this strip of Shelter Island, the steak houses were long gone. If you wanted to get a steaming bowl of kale with a dash of organic sesame oil you would have been in luck, but a thick juicy steak, teak is a theme this issue and if you would have had better odds finding pork chops in Israel. However, doing a you like – no, love the king of all quick Google search we found a restaurant which served steak – not an official meats, be sure to read the Back Page steak house and not technically on Shelter Island – but it was close enough in interview with author Mark Schatzker both aspects. who wrote the appropirately named I wish I could say the steak lived up to all of my childhood dreams but it book, STEAK. Just don't read it on an was so far removed from this it was staggering. It was truly, without doubt, the empty stomach. Page 66 worse steak I have ever eaten in my life and you have to remember I’ve been through US Army boot camp where on the box of steaks we had one day was printed: Suitable for prisons.

The steak had a layer of gristle that completely covered the plate-side-down side of my steak. Hand on heart, my steak knife could not cut through it – I had to fillet the steak to get the gristle off. Flavor? There was none. Why I didn’t send it back I don’t know; I think it was the shock of my childhood dream ending so horribly.

But finally a steak did live up to my dream. About a month ago I was visiting HG Walter’s butchers in London, about a coin toss away from Baron’s Court Tube Station. The owner, Peter Heanen, his daughter Clare, and one of his sons, Adam, were showing me around the shop, explaining to me why their steaks were the best. As I’ve learned over the years, talk is cheap but the family team was more than willing to prove their point. Adam selected two 45-day aged Scottish steaks and using the shop’s kitchen, cooked the steaks in a splash of Italian olive oil – three minutes either side – and seasoned with just freshly crushed pepper and salt. After letting them set for about five minutes, Adam thickly sliced them.

Put the San Diego steak at one end of the scale, HG Walter’s on the other. I never realized steak could have such complex flavors; I swear I could taste the grass the cattle ate and the Scottish rainwater they drank.

While Peter and Adam ate steak at least once a week, even they admitted these steaks were brilliant. Which got us all wondering, how come we remember that best or worse steak ever but not other meat?

The best chicken breast I’ve ever had? Beats me? Best pork chop? I don’t know. Ham, lamb chop, roast turkey, hamburger – they all kind of blend into one. If pressed, the best roast chicken was from a chain restaurant in Paris; best leg of lamb from a neighbor in Greece who on Orthodox Easter wrapped it in in grape leaves and slow roasted it all day in an outdoor oven. But for almost all other meat I’ve ever eaten, it’s just been something I’ve put in my mouth and chewed.

But not steak. I swear I can remember each and everyone of them and I’ve had a lot of steak over the years.

I hope over the years you too have had wonderful steak dreams and realities. And if you’re ever in London….

Velo Mitrovich velo@meatpacking.info @Meat_Packing

Editor's choice

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March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 3

C ONTENT S

46

20

beef is back After a couple of tough years, beef is making a strong comeback in the Amercias. But will the strong US dollar help or hurt the industry?

26

Steak The perfect steak might have been found. – and it's not in Texas

56

34

man in japan Takemichi Yamashoji job is to sell US beef to the Japanese market

38

beef processing MPJ discovers the latest and greatest in beef processing equipment and gear

46

26

mexico report Changes are happening in a country seen by too many as 'south of the border'

52

165 head/hour State-of-art cattle processing plant opens in Durango, Mexico

20 on the cover Adam Heanen holding a beautiful piece of aged beef at HG Walter's butchers in London, UK

In the next issue Billions are sold each year in the States, a look at chicken wings. Also, packaging, IFFA preview, and a country profile on the USA – there's more to the land of 'Old Glory' than meets the eye

4 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

56

x-ray All-purpose X-ray detectors can do more than spot metal and plastic

66

the search How one man set out to find the world's perfect steak

Also in this issue 7 - News 10 - Safety news 12 - Marketing news 16 - World in weather 18 - Product news 68 - Directory 69 - Shows & events

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cameras ordered for all slaughterhouses A

iming to curb abuse cases at the country’s slaughterhouses, the Israeli’s Agriculture Ministry has ordered the installation of cameras at all facilities. The devices will stream live footage to a central ministry control room, reports the Jerusalem Post.

The ‘smart camera’ system, which will include about 400 cameras and 50 digital recording systems at about 50 slaughterhouses, will be filming workers as they handle animals on a 24/7 basis, says the Agriculture Ministry. A supervisory team from the ministry’s Veterinary Services will be tasked with monitoring the video feed from the cameras at the central control room, the ministry adds.

“Our inspection of slaughterhouses is rising to the next level,” says Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel. “We were witnesses to various severe cases at slaughterhouses around

Israel. On the one hand, we cannot generalize, but on the other hand we must increase monitoring and enforcement or else these cases will not change.”

Ariel first called for the installation of cameras as well as the control room’s establishment after Israel's Channel 10 aired a report revealing abusive activities at a Soglowek poultry abattoir. The continuation of a Channel 10 investigation shows images of employees dancing in circles with chickens and throwing them around to each other as if they were balls.

By installing cameras and heightening supervision at the country’s slaughterhouses, ministry officials expresses their hope that the suffering of the animals will be minimized.

In order to expedite the matter, the ministry is currently publishing a tender for the supply, installation

and maintenance of the cameras.

Over the course of 2016, all slaughterhouses and facilities that produce animal food products should have the systems installed.

“Installation of cameras in slaughterhouses is a critical step that will increase control and deterrence,” Ariel says. “I have no doubt that the move will protect animals and prevent cases of abuse that should not happen in a Jewish state.”

Veterinary Services director Dr. Nadav Galon stresses that the ministry adheres to a “zero tolerance” policy regarding animal rights violations.

“The ministry will continue to streamline the supervision and enforcement of the Animal Welfare Law, and perform various operations to eradicate this phenomenon, both through enforcement measures and advocacy,” says Galon.

Protein demand driving new campaign

T

yson Foods is revamping its title brand, and aims to strengthen others, by introducing a stream of new products this year and continuing to expand its prepared-food division. This, the company says, is to take advantage of consumer demands for more protein in their diets.

"We will reclaim our origin story, we will strengthen the foundation of the brand and we will use it as a springboard to the future," says Sally Grimes, Tyson's president of international and chief global growth officer.

The campaign also features a new line called Tyson Tastemakers, which are packages of pre-cut meat and other ingredients for home www.meatpacking.info

cooks to create meals, including tandoori chicken thighs, pork carnitas tacos and beef sirloin roast.

"We'll premarinate it and do a lot of the prep work," Grimes says.

"We're combining the power of our poultry, pork and beef business."

Tyson is planning 12 major product introductions this year in the product lines the company has decided have the most opportunity to grow. These ‘core nine’ lines come from the Tyson, Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, State Fair, and Aidells brands.

"We're a different company," says Donnie Smith, Tyson CEO. "Different from what we were, and different from everyone else."

Consumer demand for protein is

up, Smith said. About 54 percent of consumers say they are deliberately increasing the amount of protein they buy and consume, and 78 percent say protein is a critical part of a healthy diet. In the past year, 8.5 million households have increased their protein intake.

"We are positioned to grow," says Andy Callahan, president of retail packaged brands for Tyson. "From all measures, protein is on trend."

However, the demand for more protein by consumers must come with a caveat.

Phil Lempert, reporting for Forbes, says that consumers are looking for proteins which are more sustainable and affordable than those coming from animal sources.

March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 7

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Big opportunities for world's rendering A lthough nobody wants a rendering plant in their backyard, rendering is an important part in using the ‘whole hog’ with more and more opportunities for rendering companies around the world. These include everything from biofuel to aquaculture and poultry feed.

That was the message from a series of speakers during the International Rendering Symposium at this years IPPE show in Atlanta.

Jessica Meisinger, of the US National Renderers Association, gave an overview of the Fats and Proteins Research Foundation’s mission and described several research projects that are currently in development.

These included studies on validating rendering temperatures; the impact of rendered protein meal levels of oxidation on pet food shelf-life; the development of a potent antioxidant from animal byproducts; the use of nanotechnol-

ogy to eliminate odors; and carbon footprint, aquaculture and lifecycle analysis for greenhouse gas emissions.

Kent Swisher, National Renderers Association, focused his presentation on opportunities and risks in the global market, remarking that “one person’s opportunity might be another person’s risk.” He iterated that the strategic intention for the global market is to promote the demand and market access for rendered products to domestic and international customers.

From a global perspective, Swisher observed that 25 percent of domestic rendered fat goes to biofuel and 19 percent goes to overseas biofuel production.

Indeed, biomass-based diesel continues to be a significant and reliable source of demand for rendered fats and oils. In the USA, production of biomass-based diesel was around 1.8 billion gallons, a slight increase

from 1.75 billion gallons in 2014. It has proven to be an advanced biofuel and most believe it is poised for sustained growth in the USA..

Swisher mentioned that there is an opportunity for rendered protein meal in the poultry and aquaculture sectors, with great demand from Asia, Mexico, and Chile.

During his presentation on “Quality Assurance in the Rendering Industry,” Dr Ansen Pond, Darling Ingredients, described the rendering process and quality hazards that can occur, observing that the rendering industry has implemented food safety controls for many years to reduce these hazards.

Pond said: “Our industry provides a cycle of sustainability to the food industry, ensuring safety throughout the food chain. Customers expect the rendering industry to provide safe ingredients, with materials from a traceable and sustainable source.”

Outlook good for global poultry

T

he outlook for the global poultry industry is gradually improving after challenging conditions in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to Rabobank's poultry quarterly report.

Rabobank says that the main factors driving the recovery are increasing demand, lower supply growth in key regions like the US, China, Thailand, and Europe, and price support from recovering red meat markets.

The biggest factor to watch for in 2016 is the Asian supply, given restrictions on breeding stock will reduce production — primarily in China, and also in Thailand and

Korea.

Global poultry meat trade will remain highly affected by avian influenza – which is currently hitting Nigeria hard – and foreign exchange volatility. Prices for the main traded poultry cuts have dropped by 20 percent for breast meat, whole birds and processed, and up to 50 percent for leg quarters. This freefall has now stabilized and will gradually recover in 2016, Rabobank forecast, although avian influenza outbreaks in key export markets are a wild card.

Although the global outlook for feed costs is for corn and soybean to be range-bound at current lev-

8 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

els, big differences exist between regions, depending on foreign exchange and local crop harvest conditions. Regions like India and South Africa are hit by adverse crop conditions, while Brazil and Russia feel the impact of negative foreign exchange impacts; in Brazil, this means a more than 30 percent increase in feed costs compared to last year.

Brazil and Thailand are the big winners in trade in the short term, but changes are in the pipeline, with newcomers like Malaysia, Russia, and Ukraine currently being approved for exports to key import markets. www.meatpacking.info

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US chicken sold in sA south africa: After nearly 17-years and a long battle with threats of benefit cuts, USgrown chicken can be found on supermarket shelves in South Africa, according to the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council.

Five containers of US bonein chicken leg quarters and drumsticks from Tyson Foods and House of Raeford Farms have arrived, cleared, and been repackeaged under the Jwayelani Butcheries brand. South Africa imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of US chicken in 2000. The US quota will be 65,000 metric tons.

Home-cooked no longer first USA: US consumers spent more for food in away-from-home establishments than for meals prepared and consumed at home for the first time in 2014, according to a recent report by the US Department of Agriculture.

Spending at food-away-fromhome establishments – restaurants, school cafeterias, sports venues, etc. – accounted for 50.1 percent of the $1.46 trillion spent on food and beverages by US consumers, businesses, and government entities. The remaining 49.9 percent took place at grocery stores and other retailers.

UK red meat production up during 2015 britain: Beef production in the UK rose 0.6 percent and sheep meat production 0.5 percent during the twelve months of 2015, according to the latest market analysis by Hybu Cig Cymru-Meat Promotion Wales (HCC).

Some 883,200 metric tons of beef and 300,300 metric tons of sheep meat were recorded through UK abattoirs for the 12 months January-December. www.meatpacking.info

Polish processor invests big

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uperDrob SA, Poland’s largest meat processing company, is investing PLN200 million ($50.7 million) into a new plant in the Lodz Special Economic Zone, the company has announced.

The new plant will slaughter, cut, and package chicken, and is anticipated to create 650 new jobs.

According to SuperDrob, the project will start in August this year and finish no later than December 2017.

This investment continues Poland’s expansion in poultry. Poland has became the leading producer of poultry meat in the EU, with an annual growth in poultry of four percent. In the last 10 years Polish poultry production doubled, and

reached 2.2 million metric tons in 2014, according to the US Department of Agriculture. The higher output of poultry meat is being stimulated by growing export demand and domestic consumption – although pork still reigns as Poles favorite meat. The USDA says that while the majority of poultry meat exports are directed to the internal EU market (the UK, Germany, and Czech Republic), the Polish industry and government are trying to open new markets, including obtaining eligibility to export to the United States.

Outside of the EU, Poland sells poultry to China, Hong Kong, Belarus, and the Congo.

world pork market weak

T

he global pork market will remain weak in the first quarter of the new year, with the Rabobank five-nation hog price index hitting its lowest point since 2006, according to new research by the ag financial services firm.

The second quarter will bring some improvement, some of which will be a regular seasonal upturn, according to the "Global Pork Quarterly Q1" report.

"Recent positive demand and price developments in importing countries will start to support prices in exporting countries during Q1," said Albert Vernooij, analyst Animal Protein at Rabobank, in a news release about the report.

In China, imports are expected to further increase, supported by strong domestic prices and further destocking of the herd in 2016, which is being driven by stricter environmental regulations, the report said.

In the U.S., industry expansion is

expected to slow after near-record supply growth in 2015, while packers' margins will remain strong due to limited available capacity.

Exports are expected to pick up, supported by low prices, the repeal of country-of-origin labeling legislation and relisting of plants for export to China.

EU pork market recovery during the first weeks of 2016 will backtrack in the weeks to come, due to the suspension of the European Commission's Private Storage program in January. The program was intended to take excess pork off the market and support prices, but the target volume of pork was reached within just a few weeks.

In Brazil, the market is forecast to follow the trends seen last year, due to continuing good domestic and export demand. This will, however, not result in higher prices due to the challenging domestic economy and low international prices.

March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 9

S A F ET Y

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Record fine recall

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n Alberta court has approved a CA$4-million ($2.92m) settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed after an E. coli outbreak that sparked the largest meat recall in Canadian history.

The lawsuit was against XL Foods Inc., which operated a meat-packing plant in southern Alberta during the tainted beef recall in the fall of 2012.

People who became sick after eating the beef or people who purchased the beef can apply for

compensation.

Lawyer Clint Docken says hundreds of people in Canada and the United States could apply by the 17 August deadline.

Under the agreement, which refers to possible E. coli contamination, XL Foods does not accept any wrongdoing or liability.

XL Foods recalled more than 1.8 million kilograms of beef in Canada and the United States, and the plant in Brooks, Alta., was later sold to JBS Canada.

It’s all in the packaging

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ritish retail giant Tesco believes its use of robust leak-proof packaging for all raw poultry, which also contains customer information on safe food handling and cooking instructions, is what’s leading its reduction in Campylobacter.

According to the retailer, Campylobacter at the highest incident level has fallen to seven percent in the final quarter of 2014/15, compared to almost nine percent for the previous quarter.

As it stands, Tesco is on course to meet the target it set itself last summer, which will deliver a reduction

in the presence of Campylobacter at the highest level in at least 95% of chickens by 2017.

Tim Smith, Tesco’s group quality director, says: “With 93% of our chickens now testing negative for the highest levels of campylobacter, our customers can be confident of the quality and safety of the poultry we sell in our stores.

"The latest results are testament to the hard work of our suppliers and clearly demonstrate our ambition to remain at the forefront of any developments to improve the quality and safety of our Tesco chicken.”

reduced antibiotic use in 2015

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oultry farmers in Britain during 2015 have reduced the usage of antibiotics by 28 percent, when compared to 2014’s figures, according to the British Poultry Council.

BPC chairman John Reed said that he believes the industry will continue to make further improvements following on from analysis of the data.

“Our sector has led the way, with

real progress seen since the formation of our BPC Chicken Antibiotic Stewardship Scheme in 2011. The data shows that the industry is holding to its commitment.”

Over the past four years, the industry has reported reducing the use of antibiotics while earmarking Colistin as a target for future reductions. In 2012, BPC members signed up to a voluntary ban on third and fourth generation Cephalosporins.

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Plastic causes 25,000 lb pork recalled USA: Illinois-based McCain Foods USA, Inc. is recalling a massive 25,215 pounds of bacon fritters that may be contaminated with extraneous plastic materials, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced.

Alberta outbreak prompts organ recall canada: Hillview Meat Processor in Ottawa has recalled raw pork and pork organ products from the marketplace for possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reports. The recall was triggered by findings of the CFIA, Alberta Health Services, and Alberta Agriculture and Forestry investigation into an Alberta outbreak involving at least 14 confirmed E. coli infections earlier this month.

Chicken salad recall due to plastic USA: Winter Gardens Quality Foods of Pennsylvania, USA, is recalling 3,710 pounds of chicken salad products that may be contaminated with extraneous plastic materials, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced.

UK snacks recalled Britain: Easy Eats UK is recalling various Snacksters, Snax on the Go, and Best In Chicken Tikka products, due to the possible presence of salmonella. It is feared that the salmonella is in the tikka powder ingredient used to manufacture these products.

No quantity of the products being recalled was given.

www.meatpacking.info

S A F ET Y

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New measures to reduce Salmonella/Campylobacter

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he US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced the finalization of new federal standards to reduce Salmonella andCampylobacter in ground chicken and turkey products, as well as in raw chicken breasts, legs, and wings.

Based on scientific risk assessments, FSIS estimates that implementation of these standards will lead to an average of 50,000 prevented illnesses annually.

As part of this move to make chicken and turkey safer to eat, FSIS has also updated its microbial testing schedule at poultry facilities and will soon begin posting online individual companies' food safety performance.

"Over the past seven years, USDA has put in place tighter and more strategic food safety measures than ever before for meat and poultry products. We have made strides in modernizing every aspect of food safety inspection, from company record keeping, to labeling requirements, to the way we perform

testing in our labs," says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "These new standards, in combination with greater transparency about poultry companies' food safety performance and better testing procedures, will help prevent tens of thousands of foodborne illnesses every year, reaching our Healthy People 2020 goals."

FSIS uses pathogen reduction performance standards to assess the food safety performance of establishments that prepare meat and poultry products. By making the standards for ground poultry tougher to meet, ground poultry products nationwide will have less contamination and therefore result in fewer foodborne illnesses.

The service implemented performance standards for whole chickens in 1996 but has since learned that Salmonella levels increase as chicken is further processed into parts. Poultry parts like breasts, wings and others represent 80 percent of the chicken available for Americans to purchase. By creating a standard for chicken parts, and

by performing regulatory testing at a point closer to the final product, FSIS can greatly reduce consumer exposure to Salmonella and Campylobacter.

For chicken parts, ground chicken, and ground turkey, FSIS is finalizing a pathogen reduction performance standard designed to achieve at least a 30 percent reduction in illnesses from Salmonella.

For chicken parts and ground chicken, FSIS is finalizing a pathogen reduction performance standard designed to achieve at least a 32 percent reduction in illnesses from Campylobacter. Because FSIS has found the prevalence for Campylobacter in ground turkey to be already low, the reduction for this product is estimated to be 19 percent.

Once establishments have completed a full set of testing under the new standards, the agency will also begin posting online which facilities pass, meet or fail the new standards.

An estimated 1.2 million foodborne illnesses are thought to be caused every year by Salmonella.

OSHA targets poultry plants

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he US Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) education and outreach program for southern chicken processing plants is over; now comes its targeted enforcement period.

According to OSHA, poultry workers are twice as likely to suffer serious injuries and six times more likely to get sick on the job than other private sector workers, facts that are leading federal safety and health inspectors to act in four southeastern states to reduce musculoskeletal disorders and ergonomic

www.meatpacking.info

stressors affecting industry workers.

The program began in October with a three-month period of education and prevention outreach activities to share safety and health information with employers, associations and workers. Employers were encouraged to use this period to bring their facilities into compliance with OSHA standards, if they are not already.

OSHA has now begun its targeted enforcement phase, including on-site inspections and a review of poultry processing production operations, working conditions,

recordkeeping, chemical handling and safety and health programs to ensure compliance.

"The Regional Emphasis Program is designed to reduce employee exposure to crippling injuries, such as musculoskeletal disorders, and to ensure the industry records all occupational injuries and illnesses accurately," says Kurt Petermeyer, OSHA's regional administrator in Atlanta.

The emphasis program ends this October unless extended. OSHA will continue to open inspections in response to complaints and accidents.

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wasted money in digital campaigns

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arketing leaders are looking for more visibility and efficiency across all digital marketing activity, according to over 3,000 business-to-business (B2B) companies that took part in a recent survey by Gleanster Research which went into marketing effectiveness.

But, Gleanster Research also found that although a third of average firms and two-thirds of top performing firms are using content management tools, every B2B firm wastes time and money on inefficient content production processes.

In simple terms, a lot of “wheel reinvention” is evident, even in the new world of digital communications and this comes at a price.

“The overall amount wasted each year in inefficient and ineffective content marketing spend for mid-to-large B2B organizations is estimated to be a staggering $958 million and that’s just in the USA,” Vicki Robson of Wireless Economics tells MPJ. What's the main contributor to such waste? While is it expected that in today’s fast-paced, technologically advanced society, productivity and effectiveness is mapped at every stage by companies, However, it’s not, says Robson.

“We are visible, constantly avail-

able, and switched on. Our world is more connected and more real-time than ever before,” she says.

“Tools do exist to manage the growing need to turn multiple content types by subject matter and formats into ready to use new materials. In most businesses these are disparate systems that all compete and ultimately can have a negative impact on productivity. Our experience is showing this to be commonplace throughout all industries.”

Robson says that it’s fair to say that these are perfectly adequate systems per se but, as Gleanster’s survey reveals, over half of the 3,000 firms frequently miss deadlines from approval delays, collaboration, and the “general chaos” in content production processes.

It’s clear that a wider view would be helpful in plotting future performance improvements, she says.

“If we start with with the Forbes view on what success looks like in their 2015 Leadership Marketing Trends report; ‘Market Leaders will be those most adept at agility marketing. Being capable of faster adaptation, shorter lead times, always-on, real-time marketing’,” she quotes. “Those leaders will need the tools that deliver these outcomes.

This is true no matter which sector

we evaluate.”

With consumers placing more focus on what is in their food and the industry demanding transparency on safety, more facets of the food industry are working closely together.

Global companies working with food production animals while still working with producers to eradicate disease on the farm are placing equal focus (and spend) on supporting processors to enhance food safety protocols.

“Long gone is the time where we focused solely on the quality of the product,” says Robson. “Sustainability, pathogen management, antimicrobial resistance, health benefits, welfare issues are all now an integral part of buying decisions.

“Digital media gives us the opportunity to build that relationship between product and consumer while connecting all of the subsequent partners to address these key issues.

By identifying who your key partners are, and what your target audiences need, only then can you build a digital marketing strategy that suits.”

Wireless Economics makes Gravity, a digital asset management system for food production and animal heath.

KFC launches Nashville Hot Chicken

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ried chicken giant KFC will introduce its Nashville Hot Chicken in all of its 4,300 US restaurants after months of testing the product in regional markets.

The YUM! Brands chain is promoting the national release of the product with a description on its website that the “authentic” chicken brings the “spicy, smoky” flavor featured in the original ver-

sion created in Nashville.

KFC reportedly began developing Nashville Hot Chicken in March 2015 and tested the product in Pittsburgh last fall after making 50 to 70 versions to get the flavor right, KFC’s corporate chef told CNN Money.

A two-week promotion last month featured a KFC-branded food truck offering the product in towns called Nashville in several

12 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

states, but not in Nashville, Tennessee.

Nashville Hot Chicken is the fourth chicken flavor added to the menu in the restaurant chain’s 86-year history and comes in meals and tenders that include a dipping sauce.

Traditionally, Nashville's hot chicken's key factor is its layering, with each bite giving a new crunchy, spicy taste. www.meatpacking.info

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Teaching Japanese men roast beef

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S Meat Export Federation (USMEF) teamed with a popular Japanese men’s fashion and lifestyle magazine for a men’s cooking event at a kitchen studio in the fashionable Daikanyama district of Tokyo. Featuring US beef as the main dish for the upcoming holiday party season, the event offered an opportunity to cook thick-cut U.S. beef. Funding support was provided by the USDA Market Access Program (MAP).

More than 100 applications were received from readers of Oceans magazine. The 15 participants chosen were working men in their 30s and 40s who regularly

cook at home. Most of the men were married and wanted to learn how to prepare US beef for their families.

“As people’s lifestyles are changing, many Japanese men are now keen on cooking,” said Satoshi Kato, USMEF-Japan marketing manager.

“According to a consumer survey conducted by Macromill, 40 percent of men 20 to 50 cook once in a week, and 60 percent cook at least once in a month.”

To capitalize on this trend and increase awareness of US beef among Japan’s male consumers, USMEF chose Masashi Miura, a fashion model popular among

clueless marketing

Farmers targets classrooms

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he US Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) has launched an educational initiative called Discovering Farmland, which is designed to provide high school students with a first-hand glimpse into modern agriculture.

Growing out of USFRA’s 2014 documentary film, “Farmland”, the program was created in conjunction with Discovery Education, a provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms.

Discovering Farmland offers interactive resources that allow teachers and students to experience the industry through the eyes of six young farmers and ranchers, all while learning about food production's connection to science, economics, technology and sustainability.

Designed by Discovery Education's curriculum experts, the resources aim to stimulate thoughtful conversations between educators and students about key issues including innovative use of technology on farms and how it has www.meatpacking.info

Japanese men, as the instructor. A licensed chef, Miura is also known as a cooking specialist who has his own blog to introduce original recipes.

Following Miura’s demonstration, participants prepared roast beef using thick-cut U.S. rib-eyes with sautéed onions as a side dish.

“The men learned about U.S. beef’s attributes and high quality, and they enjoyed cooking in a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere,” said Kato. “They were also impressed with how easy it is to prepare roast beef using a frying pan, as well as the gorgeous presentation of thick-cut U.S. beef.

transformed the industry, challenges farmers face such as weather and growing conditions, common stereotypes around farmers and ranchers, and market supply and demand.

"Since the theatrical release of FARMLAND, we have held hundreds of screenings of the film and have often been asked by teachers for content they can share in their classrooms," said USFRA Chairwoman, Nancy Kavazanjian. "The expansion of the film's distribution to high school teachers and students across the country will continue to give more people the opportunity to better connect with their food and farmers and ranchers."

UK: A UK marketing firm tasked with promoting 'dream pork pies' didn't do its homework when it contacted a Jewish newspaper for a plug – the Jewish faith has banned pork consumption for approximately the last 3,000 years.

Bosses at KR Public Relations were "mortified" when they realized where their press release for British Pie Week had been sent.

However, a spokesperson for the London-based Jewish Chronicle said they took it well. "We all found it very funny."

'research' cafe opens usa: Cooked meat producer Deli Star has opened a research cafe. The new Innovation Center is located in downtown St Louris, Missouri, and features a restaurant-style kitchen for R&D. Lucky customers will work sideby-side with Deli Star's R&D team and chefs, fueling collaboration in creating "innovative protein solutions" for the foodservice industry, or in other words, new types of sliced ham.

March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 13

ma r k e t i n g

ne w s

pulled pork campaign set to return

ahdb pork

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fter the success it brought last year in the UK, a pulled pork advertising campaign is set to return next month.

Developed by AHDB Pork, the second phase of the campaign will depict the simplicity and taste of pulled pork. It will air in two successive bursts; first during February and March, and then during April and May. The first set of advertisements has been scheduled to coincide with specific dates in the calendar, such as Valentine’s Day, Mothering Sunday and Easter. Meanwhile, the second screenings are set to coincide with the May Bank Holidays.

AHDB Pork identifies these times as prime occasions for roasting joints and cuts. Screenings will be supported by social media and PR activity, as well as the development of a selection of new recipes which can be found at www.lovepork. co.uk.

“We’re excited to see a second phase of pulled pork activity tak-

ing place during February/March and then again in April/May,” said Kirsty Walker, head of marketing for the levy board.

“Naturally, we are looking to build on the success of the first phase, which ran for six weeks from 27 April 2015.”

Data collection body Kantar Worldpanel showed that the first campaign that took place in 2015, increased pork shoulder sales by 19.2% year-on-year. It also revealed that an additional 206,000 households purchased pork shoulder.

“The pulled pork campaign is

the first part of a long-term plan to rejuvenate the image of pork among 25-to-55-year-old consumers,” added Walker. “Indicators of success will be more people trialing pork and having a positive experience and, slowly and steadily, changing perceptions of pork from negative to positive.”

To celebrate the dates on which these advertisements will be shown, AHDB Pork has created specific recipes. These include: Valentine’s Day pulled pork pot pies and sweet spiced pulled pork with plum compote for Mother’s Day.

burger chain pulls ‘offensive’ ads

I

n a CLEAR case of political correctness gone amok – or marketing done well – UK restaurant chain Gourmet Burger Kitchen

(GBK) has withdrawn three ads shown across London after just two days, due to offending the vegan community.

One of the ads pulled showed a young cow with the caption: “They eat grass so you don’t have to”.

Another read: “You always remember the time you gave up being vegetarian”, while the third said “Vegetarians, resistance is futile”.

“Our new adverts have purely light-hearted intentions and were not meant to cause offence,” said a statement issued by GBK. “We’ve been serving beef as a core part of our menu for the last 15 years and while we’re carnivores at heart, we have an extensive range of vegetarian options

14 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

available. We value our vegetarian customers and their views, and have therefore made the decision to remove three of our five ads from the campaign.”

Jasmijn de Boo, chief executive of The Vegan Society, claims GBK is “out of touch”, and its advertisements are “outdated” and “highly offensive”.

“If they wanted to bring in new custom to boost a slow January, they ought to have embraced ‘Veganuary’ rather than alienate a growing section of society and offered some more vegan options,” said de Boo. “That’s what their competitors, Handmade Burger Co, have done this month with enormous success.” www.meatpacking.info

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US winter wheat Concerns are being raised about this year’s Midwest winter wheat crop after an extremely mild December gave way to a very wet and cold January. The worry is that fields, which had not yet entered dormancy, were damaged by the water. But, just how much damage won’t be known until spring.

world in

California wet After four years of drought, this year’s El Nino is bringing much needed rain and snow fall, breaking records in some areas of the Golden State.

The drought has affected food prices throughout North America. In Canada, California shortages combined with a weak Canadian dollar has brought the price of staples like cauliflower up from CA$2.50 last year to CA$8.00 this year.

Argentina swarms The worse locust swarms since 1954 are threatening to devour crops in Argentina’s three northern provinces.

Farmers complain they had to fight the infestations on their own until the swarms grew so large that the government finally stepped in.

16 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

www.meatpacking.info

we at her

weather Europe pleasant Much-above normal temperatures in early winter maintained mostly favorable conditions for winter crops over central and northern Europe except for those crops requiring a cold dormancy period. January rains eased dry conditions in Spain and Italy.

Hot world Scientists report that 2015 was the hottest year in the historical record by far, breaking a mark set only the year before — a burst of heat that has continued into this year and is roiling weather patterns all over the world.

In the United States, the year was the second-warmest on record, punctuated by a December that was both the hottest and the wettest since recordkeeping began.

Food crisis The UN reports that a food crisis is looming in Ethiopia after the worst drought in 50-years, destroying wheat, corn, and sorghum crops across the African country. Already among the world’s poorest countries, Ethiopia will see the number of people that need food aid double this year. Africa’s second most populous country – after Nigeria – will need to buy “millions of tons” of wheat.

SA drought South Africans, already facing a weak currency, will soon feel the effect of rising food prices as the country will most probably have to import corn (maize), warned Agricultural Minister Senzeni Zokwana. The major cause of the country's agricultural problems is the long-standing drought, which has reached its driest and hottest levels in over a century. Cattle farmers in particular are being hit hard and are having to sell their animals due to a lack of feed and water. www.meatpacking.info

March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 17

P ro d u c t

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product news Monitor in real-time Worximity, a sensor system designed in Montreal, allows processors to see what is happening on the production line in real-time, including productivity, downtime, and yields from raw materials. Worximity sensors are installed on production equipment and capture information such as the weight of products or the number of boxes filled.

This data, along with data collected by the processing machines already installed, is then sent to the Worximity application called Tileboard, which works with PCs, tablets, and smart phones.

The data is stored in the Cloud so it can be accessed anytime from anywhere. “We estimate that this technology can improve productivity by at least 2% over the next year,” says Billy Dedes, president of Canadian chicken processing company Viandes Central Bernard.

Quick-ship program Mixing company Admix has made two flagship products – the DynaShear emulsifier and the Rotomixx portable batch mixer – available through its new ‘Quick Ship’ program.

According to Lou Beaudetter, president and CEO of the USbased company, both products are available to ship within 14 days of order receipt. Both the DnyaShear and the Rotomixx meets 3-A Sanitary Standards as well as USDA-AMS and AGCanada hygienic standards for meat and poultry processing equipment. In Europe, Admix conforms to EC standards.

Both units are all stainless steel, clean-in-place, and constructed with FDA-approved materials. "Partnering with Admix provides complete access to our expertise and our fully equipped pilot labs in N.A. and Europe. Your new products move from development to full production faster and more cost effectively," says the company.

New Prime skinner The CSK-2 Skinner from Prime is the next generation of the industry’s most successful skinner. In addition to Prime’s patented skinning system, the CSK-2 features precisely adjustable air cylinders that allow the upper belt to follow product contours for optimal skinning of whole or split breasts, and bone-in legs and thighs. Designed for ease of use, the CSK-2 can be fully opened for sanitation in 15 seconds, and a quick-change skinning assembly cartridge that can be swapped in under 15 minutes. Additionally, the pinchblock is automatically air-adjusted to prevent overtightening, extending service life. Prime’s new CSK-Auto Skinner, designed for bone-in legs and thighs, uses two of Prime’s patented skinning heads, configured so that a loader is not needed to present the product a specific way to the skinner.

18 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

www.meatpacking.info

p ro d u c t

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Smoke tastes natural QST Ingredients and Packaging of California wowed the crowds at Atlanta’s IPPE show with its natural smoke flavors. With multiple samplings of QST’s chicken pieces cooked with its smoke products, MPJ found it to be extremely natural tasting and subtle enough to allow the flavor of the chicken to come through. The company manufactures a full line of natural smoke flavorings for meat and food processing, with each product customized for a particular application. The smoke products can be atomized, drenched directly, added directly to meat emulsions or brine formulations, incorporated in a seasoning blend, or sprayed on either pre or post cook. QST’s smoke products are available in both water-based and oil-based mediums, with a smoke flavor ranging from light to heavy. MPJ believes your customers will have a hard time deciding it the product was smoked over wood for 12 hours or flavored.

Gizzard harvester Cantrell’s new Gizzard Harvester CGH-9600 has several new, innovative features such as a newly-designed infeed guide, outlet guide, spreader bar, water manifold, safety screen, transport and pinch-off rollers, and peeler rollers.

The innovative infeed guide provides a more centered gizzard cut and an outlet guide which allows the machine to better handle variations in product size.

Its newly-designed spreader bar allows for higher product recovery rate. The water manifold provides even more accurate pinpointing of water in the process, improves splitting of the product and aids in the servicing of the machine.

New peeler rollers have been designed for better peeling of the product and the new design for the transport and pinch-off rollers improve performance. And a safety screen was added to allow for examination of the CGH-9600’s performance.

‘Pays for itself’ MaxiMiser says that its waste water heat recovery systems and boiler stack gas heat recovery systems allows you to heat process water up to 140 F by utilizing the waste energy normally lost to the atmosphere in your boiler stack exhaust or down the drain with your waste hot water. The US-based company offers clients turn-key systems which will start paying back its costs the first time it is used.

MaxiMiser uses 100 percent stainless steel construction with all metal parts, using a 11-gauge stainless steel shell. In examining the construction of MaxiMiser’s sytems, MPJ found the welding in particular to be of very high quality. The company offers full systems designed, made specifically for your application.

www.meatpacking.info

March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 19

beef

Beef is back

20 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

www.meatpacking.info

jorge royan

beef

After several years of low production and high prices which drove consumers to other proteins sources, beef is coming back strong in 2016. Throughout the world, production is up and so is demand.

A

t the recent IPPE show in Atlanta, a chicken producer was standing with a friend in front of a company’s massive stand that displayed the latest and greatest in chicken processing equipment. There was equipment for wings, legs and thighs, backs, gizzards, and every other conceivable part of a bird.

There is a sense in order in the chicken world from egg to packaging, all taking place within 45 days. Get knocked down by disease? Dust yourself off and you’re back in a production cycle within two months. Over-or-under production, again, easy to regulate. Sales sluggish? Change from fried chicken to Memphis

www.meatpacking.info

Above: A cattle yard in Argentina.

Production will finally be up this year.

fried chicken.

But suddenly you could almost feel the shudder as a thought crossed the chicken producer’s mind. “Those beef guys, I just don’t get them,” he was overheard telling his friend.

“They’re a bunch of mavericks.”

You can understand the chicken producer’s lament. While worldwide producers of chicken produce more protein than any other meat source – at figures which will continue to rise at least until 2025 – chicken is seen as a commodity, it’s what consumers eat. But beef, that’s what consumers demand and are willing to pay for with high prices.

And yes, beef producers are mavericks. In the US, well over half of all cattle farmers have 50 head of cattle or less, with most having other

March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 21

nevinho

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jobs to support this passion. Deserved or not, much of the world sees something romantic about how cattle are raised, something not shared with the much more efficient poultry industry.

world scene

M

any analysts are predicting this year that although the world’s beef supply is increasing, prices should remain firm throughout most beef-eating countries. However, there are two wild cards in this deck and they’re the two largest import markets: the USA and China. The US dollar is continuing to grow in strength, making it an importer’s dream, which should reduce some beef prices at the US checkout counter. At this point pundits are saying the only thing which can derail the dollar will be if a real wild card wins the US presidential election in November.

Despite the world press claiming that China’s economy and stock market are in near freefall, MPJ believes the news is exaggerated. While President Xi Jinping is not the strongest leader 22 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

Above: Brazilian Caracu are multiuse cattle

China has had, never-the-less, with China exerting itself in the South China Sea and projecting itself on the world stage, it cannot afford to appear weak either militarily or economically. Its economy will only be allowed to fall so far.

USA

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predicted USA upswing in supply of beef, poultry, and pork this year means tougher competition among meat producers and leading to lower prices for consumers, analysts claim.

Ranchers are continuing to regrow cattle herds after a drought shrunk the industry during the last six years, according to a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report. Export bans on poultry products have meant a flooded US chicken and turkey market, and an influx of pork imports from Canada, along with recordhigh hog litter rates, also will help increase US meat supplies, according to the same report.

Travis Justice, chief economist at the Arkansas Farm Bureau, said this will drag down prices at grocery stores and in restaurants. www.meatpacking.info

beef

"The protein competition will be stiffer as we go through 2016," he says. "Given our production increases across all the protein products, we are going to expect retail prices to be trending lower."

US beef imports are off to a slow start this year and there is broad expectation that import volume will decline sharply in 2016.

This is expected to offset in part the increase in domestic production. USDA forecasts domestic beef production in 2016 to increase 3.7% from 2015 levels and yet per capita consumption is forecast to increase just 0.7%.

brazil

B

razil is expected to access the USA’s fresh beef market this year. This will not only provide entry into the US market but will also facilitate the South American giant’s entry into other markets.

According to Rabobank, Brazil has the potential to deliver an additional 1 million metric tons of beef to the international market in the coming years, but there are issues which will need to be addressed before this can happen.

Rabobank says that although Brazil is already a key global player in the sector, the structure and coordination of its beef value chain is still less developed than that of other important beef exporters. This situation limits Brazil’s production potential, and it increases both costs and risks along the chain. It cites better management as perhaps of the most critical ways in which the Brazilian beef industry could reach this goal.

australia

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ccording to Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), the Australian cattle industry will be influenced by a number of extreme forces in 2016.

From a cattle supply point of view, numbers over the coming two years will fall to levels not seen in more than 20 years. This alone will more than likely stimulate strong competition between re-stockers, feedlots, and processors for the limited availability.

The national herd is estimated to fall to 26.2 million head by 30 June 2016, before declining slightly again in 2017, to 25.9 million head. If this occurs, it will represent a 3.4 million head, or 12%, fall since 2013 and become the lowest national herd for 24 years (1993).

Australian beef and veal exports are expected to fall as a result of lower production, not due www.meatpacking.info

to waning demand. The prediction of the A$ to average between $0.66-69 is a significant positive. But this needs to be balanced against the heightened competition from Brazil in many markets, the expectation of high US poultry and pork production, higher year-on-year US beef production, and significantly weaker US beef markets compared to 12 months ago.

japan

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ustralian and the USA will be duking it out this year for Japan’s market. In 2014, Japan imported nearly $3.5 billion of beef and beef products, making it the third-largest beef importer in the world. The United States and Australia are the primary suppliers, and together represent roughly 90 percent of Japan’s 2014 beef imports. From 2004 to 2006, Japan banned imports of U.S. beef due to the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, boosting imports from Australia and making it the top supplier of beef to Japan.

The US share of this market has since recovered but imports remain below pre-ban totals. The 2015 Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA) significantly reduces tariffs on Australian beef, potentially at the expense of US beef. USDA research shows that providing similar market access to both the US and Australia would result in a significant net gain in Japanese imports of US beef.

new zealand

F

or New Zealand beef producers it looks like there will be a more settled situation for the meat processing part of the sector now that Silver Fern Farms' equity courtship is over, according to MeatExportNZ. "Overall, it means global business for the 25,000 strong workforce can really get underway in 2016, into whatever economic climate we have in front of us," says MeatExportNZ. "Pre-Christmas analysis from the Meat Industry Association signaled the likelihood that there will be a tighter supply of New Zealand beef for customers into 2016. However, what we have will be going out into a freer trade world after the signing of significant free trade agreements, such as with Korea and the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) last year."

The Kiwi meat industry has also welcomed the news that a EU-NZ FTA is on the cards – though a lot of work will need to be done to achieve a satisfactory deal, especially with pressure from some European producer groups.

March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 23

beef

central and south america

T

he US Department of Agriculture projects that beef consumption in Mexico will increase seven percent from 2014-2019 due to rising incomes. While some of the increased demand will be supplied by a larger Mexican cattle herd, imports are also expected to increase by over nine percent over the same period. If the USDA is correct, this will reverse a declining trend in Mexican beef consumption.

In a way that seems like a case of selling ice cubes to Eskimos, paperwork is underway in Argentina to allow Uruguay to import beef to the beef-crazy country, according to the Buenos Aires Herald.

During a press conference, Argentina's Agriculture Secretary Ricardo Negri said: "We had beef imports for years in the north-east so it should not be hard to reestablish them."

The Agrenine Ministry's Cabinet Chief Guillermo Bernaudo said that he expected pork sales to replace declining beef consumption in the coming months. Beef prices rose in the past few weeks as producers bet on breeding larger cattle to sell abroad, reducing the amount of slaughters for local consumption.

In November 2015 beef prices shot up by 40%. Pressure from the new government has brought beef prices down 10% from this high, but it is still expensive for the average consumer who has seen the value of the peso drop.

Despite the difficulty in supplying beef to its own people, Argentine beef exports in 2016 are forecast up to 280,000 tons carcass-weight equivalent (cwe) says the USDA. This will be the the highest volume since 2009-2010 and some analysts indicate that exports could be even higher, depending on the policies that could be implemented by the newly elected government in December 2015. There is currently a lot of uncertainty in the sector, but many players point out that adjustments will be needed to improve the country’s export competitiveness.

Local beef traders believe that export limitations, export taxes and the strong local currency could be revised. Through July 2015 Argentine beef exports increased eight percent compared to the same period of last year.

Exports to China (plus Hong Kong) increased 61 percent in this same period. China has become the country’s number one destination.

On the other hand, beef exports to the Russian Federation dropped 61 percent. Exports to China, the EU, Chile and Israel currently account 24 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

for more than 80 percent of Argentina’s beef shipments. Local exporters expect that once the US market for fresh beef is open, it will become an important export destination. In June 2015, USDA announced the reopening of the market to fresh and frozen beef imports from Argentina.

canada

I

t’s a good time to be a Canadian beef producer but a bad time to be a Canadian beef lover. The Canadian dollar has been dropping in value against the US dollar, leaving Canadian cows a bargain when priced in US dollars. The end to US rules that required imported meat be labeled and handled separately is expected to drive up Canadian exports of beef even more.

Canada, the world’s seventh-largest beef exporter, saw prices surge earlier in 2015 amid tighter supplies, with the cattle herd dwindling to the smallest in 22 years after a decade marked by mad cow disease, floods, droughts, and labor shortages.

UK

W

hile the UK’s National Farmers’ Union seems stuck in the past, organizations in Scotland are charging ahead. For example, at a recent meeting which brought together all UK stakeholders in the meat supply chain, NFU livestock adviser John Royle is reported as having given a marketing suggestion which sounds 25-years out of date. “We heard that the retail sector is changing where shoppers seek out meals that can be prepared in 30 minutes as opposed to an hour in the 1980s," say Royle.

“The whole supply chain needs to react and that starts with clear market signals to producers, and for processors and retailers to develop and put to market new innovative cuts and products that resonate with the British consumer.”

Further north, however, Michelin-starred chef Tom Kitchin – one of Scotland’s most noted chefs – is taking the message of what makes Scotch Beef PGI a cut above the rest, from the heart of rural Scotland to the city center of London.

The top chef is reminding consumers of what sets Scotch Beef apart in a new Quality Meat Scotland campaign. The 13-week campaign is showcasing Scotch Beef and the flavor, provenance, traceability and integrity www.meatpacking.info

beef

which underpin the brand’s PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status.

With the strapline of “There’s beef, there’s Scottish beef, then there’s Scotch Beef”, the campaign will target English consumers to inform, educate and inspire them to use Scotch Beef when they cook. The campaign will also run in Scotland.

A key objective of the 2016 campaign is to clearly differentiate Scotch Beef, and the marketing push will include billboard and press advertising as well as on-line activity.

india

I

ndia’s beef/buffalo market will run into more problems this year as Hindu hardliners – supported by the government – are trying to get the slaughter of cows banned.

The issue is complicated at best. While cows are considered sacred in the Hindu religion,

some Indian states allow certain cattle to be slaughtered, depending on factors like age, sex, and continued economic viability. The slaughtering is done by Muslims which adds to the religious problem.

Although India is the largest ‘beef’ exporter in the world, all of its export sales are of buffalo beef, which can legally be slaughtered. The total herd size of its buffalo population is around 110 million head, with China and Vietnam being the largest export markets. However, once slaughtered most cannot tell the difference between buffalo beef and regular beef. How much of the buffalo beef is actually male calves from Hindu dairy farms is anyone’s guess.

According to a report by Reuters, buffalo beef exports have fallen over the past six months as traders struggle to source sufficient supplies.

It claims that religious activists, alleging that cows are being killed and then falsely labeled as buffalo beef for export, have been targeting meat processors and transporters, and disrupting the whole supply chain.

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March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 25

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beef

The perfect steak 26 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

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beef

You say it’s not possible, it’s only a dream, but MPJ will let you in on a secret, you can find the perfect steak. You only have to know where to look and have the airfare to get there – plus bring your own frying pan. But trust us, it will be the best money you’ve ever spent

hg walter

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March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 27

beef

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recent New York Times article delved into the family affairs of 92-yearold billionaire media mogul Sumner Redstone, his daughter Shari Redstone, and a mistress or two.

One of the mogul’s lovers, Manuela Herzer, became angered after finding out she was being cut out of his will and responded with a lawsuit, alleging that Sumner Redstone was “mentally incompetent and had an insatiable appetite for sex and steak”.

While it is not the purpose of this article to question how it is possible to be considered even for a second mentally incompetent if you have an insatiable appetite for sex and steak, it is important to note that Sumner Redstone was not being accused of having an insatiable appetite for boneless chicken breasts or pork chops.

What is it about steak that makes most of us start salivating at the thought? Why do so many romantic evenings that end in bedroom bliss start with a piece of medium rare? After all, steak is the number one dish on Valentine’s Day. Is it the perfect aroma of fat and meat while it’s being grilled? The thought of just how good this piece of beef will taste? Is there something primeval in our genetic makeup that steak – unlike coq au vin touches – perhaps days gone by, sitting around a cave fire and eating grilled mammoth steaks with our tribe.

But truth be told, much of what passes for steak at leading supermarkets and even many restaurants can hardly be considered the subject of gastronomical fantasies. Indeed, if it was so easy to find a good steak, would author Mark Schatzker have travelled the world searching for one in his brilliant book STEAK (see this issue’s Back Page Interview).

What most supermarkets pass off to consumers is tray-packaged steak that is red with freshness and lacks decent marbling and flavor. While it is difficult enough to find a supermarket which actually sells aged beef, even steak restaurant chains that do have perfectly aged beef, first season the steak to oblivion, or worse cover it with green pepper or Cabernet sauce, leaving you with a very tender piece of seasoning. And if chefs aren’t reaching for sauces, we are. Kraft Foods, maker of sauces and condiments including world famous A1 Sauce (it dropped ‘Steak’ from the title in 2014), was worth $52.2 billion last year.

Even a vegan could summarize the obvious: that somewhere over the years in our quest for USDA Prime tender steaks we lost the most important factor in a good steak – taste.

However, some butchers are fighting back.

28 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

A Gucci or Pravda shopping bag may get looks from those concerned about fashion, but nothing draws stares of envy from the meat crowd in London like a bag from HG Walter – at least those in the know. And it takes being in the know because the butcher shop, besides being off the beaten path, is a study of contradictions.

To begin with, HG Walter is located about a spit away from Barons Court Tube Station. While this isn’t a shabby part of town, it definitely isn’t Mayfair and it isn’t even nearby Earl’s Court which at least gets an apostrophe in its name.

There is the size of the shop. From the outside it looks small. On one side it’s flanked by a real estate agent, on the other is a tiny corner shop where you can buy Wall’s ice cream bars and a lottery ticket. If this is your first time to HG Walter, it’s hard not to double and triple check your address – this cannot possibly be one of London’s leading butcher shops which has won awards for being ‘Best small butcher in Britain’ and ‘Best butcher in London and Southeast’.

And then there is the subtitle: The Family Butcher. In the United Kingdom, that on a shop window means you can expect sawdust on the floor, a tip of the butcher’s hat, and a staff saying “ello madam, fine day for a bit of kidney pie.” Nothing can be further from the truth except for the fact that is is a family run business: founder Peter Heanen – who is now stepping back slightly and leaving three of his grown children to run it: Adam, Clare, and Daniel.

The shop itself has recently had a £1 million ($1.45m) refit, giving it a stylish, very upmarket look, which culminates at the far end of the retail counter with a very high, very large glass enclosed beef aging locker in which the Mona Lisa would not look out of place. Despite what the shop looks like to the customer, behind the scenes it occupies three floors, with space out to the sides, has 40 people working there and an operation going on 24/7, including a three-hour clean-down every day.

You quickly realize that this is the sort of place where meat is revered and honored.

the beginning

S

ixty-eight-year-old Peter greets you with a warm smile and handshake.

While he’s slim and not very tall; you have no doubt that he can put a full beef carcass across his back and haul it up the narrow staircase from the basement to the second floor in record time. It’s something he’s www.meatpacking.info

hg walter

beef

Peter Heanen holding a beautiful piece of beef.

www.meatpacking.info

March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 29

mpJ

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been doing since he was 14.

“When I first started as a butcher I worked for a large company that had around 300 shops around Britain with each and every one now closed; it was excellent training of what not to do,” he says.

“When I look back at the shops we had, they were low-end. Meat was sourced from Latin America or Australia and we got it on the bone.

This changed after a hoof and mouth disease scare and it became vacuum sealed.

“We sold packaged beef and always seemed to have special offers going on to attract customers. Across the street was a traditional butcher’s where the beef was hung to age, there were no special offers, and the place was packed.

“The thing is, people in the UK have always cared [about beef] but the markets haven’t. My god, British beef is the king of all meats with the right fat on it. We’ve always had grass fed cattle and have always grilled and roasted the beef, that’s been our tradition for thousands of years.

The French, on the other hand, get a piece of beef and they stew it in a pot all day.”

In 1972, 24-year-old Peter bought HG Walter and kept the shop’s name. Success did not come right away and it remained a struggle for sometime, not least because he was a single father with four young children. Because steak only took minutes to cook, his children ate a lot of steak during that period – a lot of steak says Adam. Peter paid the previous owner in monthly 30 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

Above: Beautiful marbeling in sirloin and rib-eye steaks

payments, sometimes using meat for payment if he didn’t have the cash on hand.

In 2000 Peter had a moment of epiphany.

“I woke up and realized I decided to identify what market I wanted to be in – the high end.” He gave the shop the first of two massive overhauls, upped his game, and never looked back. According to Adam, trade almost doubled overnight.

“My friends thought I was crazy; butcher shops were disappearing across the UK and people were buying their meat at supermarkets, and here I was putting a lot of money into this one to make it the shop it should be,” says Peter.

According to the Independent newspaper, the number of British butchers has fallen from 30,00 to only 6,000 in the last 20-years. From his years of experience, Peter knew that the secret would be to find the right niche which would make his shop stand out from the seemingly all-powerful supermarket chains.

That niche was buying from small, specialty farmers around the UK who raise free-range, organically fed, hormone-free animals in the traditional way which means grass fed as opposed to being fattened with corn in a feedlot.

Peter, or one of this children, have visited every farm they buy from to ensure that the meat will be at the quality they expect. “We don’t chop and change, it’s very important to us the relationship we have with our beef producers. I don’t feel the need to try others for the sake of change,” he says.

“How an animal is fed, raised, butchered, and cook is all part of a chain and we’re in it,” says Clare.

Adam echoes this comment, adding that as romantic as it sounds dealing directly with farmers, more often than not, they deal directly with agents who know exactly what they are looking for.

Peter says that 90 percent of what the big farms produce is not what they want. “What they do, it’s not bad beef, it’s just not great.”

What he looks for is a steer with a lot of fat, 18 to 24 months old, weighing from 150 to 180 kilos side dressed. The actual breed comes second.

“We’ve done different breeds, but flavor is everything. No two animals taste exactly the same so if we had to choose between marbling or breed, we would go with marbling.”

While HG Walter’s buys from farms throughout Britain, most of its beef comes from Scotland and is an Aberdeen Angus cross, raised in open fields.

Peter speculates that the long Scottish winters and the days of constant rain encourages Scottish cattle to put on the firm succulent fat www.meatpacking.info

beef

Adam Heanen slicing two 45-day aged steaks he had just fried in a cast iron pan

mpj

www.meatpacking.info

March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 31

hg walter

beef

The retail beef counter at WH Walter.

he wants.

HG Walter’s dry ages prime cuts on the bone for a minimum of 28 days — and certain cuts such as sirloin are aged for up to 45 days — whereas many butchers don’t do so, in order to keep the costs down. Quality and perfection isn’t cheap: sirloin steak, for instance, costs around£35/kg ($23/lb), and fillet steak £50/kg ($33/lb) at HG Walter.

About 40 percent of its trade is retail, with a mixture of home deliveries and walk-in. While they will do mail order, it’s not something they go after. The remaining 60 percent is commercial with sales to around 200 restaurants, with 30 of these having a Michelin Star.

A big selling item they have for restaurants is their hand-packed burgers made with a mixture of 80/20 beef to fat, with zero fillers. Peter is hesitant to tell the exact number of burgers they sell weekly only to say “it’s in the thousands.”

The fat for the burgers comes from beef that has been aged giving them a unique flavor.

In addition, HG Walter’s sells other beef cuts, pork, lamb, sausages, and poultry. It has a large cheese counter, sells cooked-on-premises items like sausage rolls, Scottish eggs (a boiled egg covered in sausage meat, rolled in bread crumbs 32 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

and fried) and other traditional butcher fare.

Peter says the future looks “rosy” for HG Walter’s and a huge reason for this is down to his children.

While Peter laid the foundation, Adam, Clare, and Daniel are the ones building on it.

In too many family-run businesses, children are working there only because they’re too lazy or incompetent to work anywhere else. With Peter’s children, they’re butchers because they’re fanatics about beef and the business, and it’s almost difficult to hear yourself think as they discuss their favorite subject – meat.

Peter and Adam both say that training staff is one of the key factors in HG Walter’s growth, along with giving a good wage and showing respect. Besides providing staff with breakfast or dinner, staff can also take things home – within reason.

While Adam is more ready to talk about it and Peter less, it is extremely evident that their current location is too small. Beef is aged in different lockers around the three floors and it doesn’t take an efficiency expert to point out that staff time could be better utilized if meat wasn’t being schlepped around. In addition, the shop has seven delivery vans with issues www.meatpacking.info

hg walter

beef

Street view of HG Walter in London's Baron Court

common to any congested city.

Again, depending on who you talk to, they are either actively looking for a wholesale space outside of London, or they’re actively thinking about it.

“What concerns me about a split of the shop is that what makes us strong now is that all staff are in the same location; we all know each other.

If we move part of our operation outside of London, will we lose this advantage?” says Peter.

“The only way I could see of getting around this would be to rotate staff around between the two locations.”

the taste

W

hen asked about how good their steak taste, both Adam and Peter are quick to show you. Adam selects a 45-day aged sirloin and a similarly aged rib-eye for a comparison.

The Heanens believe that simpler is better when it comes to cooking steak and Adam cooks the two the same way. He first heats up a cast iron frying pan over a gas fire, puts in a splash of excellent quality Italian virgin olive oil, and www.meatpacking.info

slides the steaks in the pan before the oil has a chance to start smoking.

He allows for three minutes per side and seasons only with freshly crushed salt and black pepper. Peter, looking on with a critical eye, says to cook the fat on the sides first will increase flavor.

Once off the stove Adam lets the steaks rest for about five minutes and then slices them into strips. Even if you have eaten well aged steaks, or grass fed steaks, or a combination of both, it’s almost bet-worthy to say you’ve never eaten steaks like these before.

The first bite gives you such an eruption of flavors that it doesn’t seem like you’re eating steak – it tastes too amazing and too different from typical bland steak. Much like how wine and even olive oil picks up tastes from the soil and region in which it is grown, there must be something special in the small farms of Scotland where HG Walter’s source its beef.

Of the two steaks, three people thought the rib-eye, which had a slightly more grainer texture, tasted best; Peter went with the sirloin.

“A steak for everyone should be a treat,” says Peter. “We have high expectations with the beef we sell.”

March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 33

beef

US Meat's

Man in japan

T

he US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) has recently promoted Takemichi Yamashoji to the position of Japan director. Yamashoji has been with USMEF since 1999, serving most recently as senior marketing director. As director of USMEF’s Japan operations, he will now be responsible for managing market development programs for US beef and pork, identifying emerging opportunities for US exporters, monitoring regulatory and public policy proceedings and evaluating economic trends and conditions in the Japanese market.

USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng says: “At a time when the Japanese beef and pork markets are extremely competitive and USMEF must battle each and every day to expand and defend US market share, our Japan operations could not be in better hands.”

Japan is the leading value market for both US pork and beef, with 2015 exports (through November) totaling $1.46 billion and $1.19 billion, respectively. MPJ talks to Yama-san.

MPJ: Japan’s own domestic beef production is unlikely to expand, but can the demand for beef increase?

Yama-san: I think total beef demand is gradually increasing in 2016, and demand for US beef is edging higher as well.

Just how competitive is the Japanese meat market?

Current US beef market share (muscle cuts only) in Japan is about 20% and Australian, Canadian, Mexican, and domestic beef are all aggressively trying to expand market share.

Recently some EU member countries also received approval to export to Japan. Japan is a high-value market so it is a prime target for any beef-exporting country.

American beef was banned for some time in Japan; do Japanese consumers still associate 34 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

BSE with American beef?

US beef was banned from Dec. 2003 to June 2006, so almost for two and a half years. These days, consumers are much less concerned about BSE and do not associate it with US beef.

Still, does this give Australian beef an edge?

It was an advantage for Australian beef when imports US beef were limited to cattle less than 21 months of age, because this limited US supply. But since the cattle age limit for US beef was raised to 30 months (in 2013), BSE is much less of a factor. The main advantages for Australian beef in 2015 were the large supplies available for export due to drought-induced liquidation and the duty rate advantage Australian beef enjoys under the JapanAustralia Economic Partnership Agreement.

In Japan it seems like the concept of beef is for it to be highly marbled. Serving sizes are small and there is an elaborate grading system to rate marbling and beef quality with a Kobe A5 steak looking almost like a snowflake in a shape of a business card. Americans like their steaks, big, thick, juicy and red. Can an American steak be accepted and desired in Japan?

Yes, very much so. Now leaner meat, we call ‘Akanimiku’ is the trend in Japan. Consumers are highly health conscious now. They especially love leaner beef for barbecue and steak. So USMEF is promoting Akaminiku leaner beef and thick cut steaks – these items are very successful.

America’s food ambassadors in Japan have been McDonald’s, Subway, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Is it a challenge then getting Japanese consumers to add ‘beef’ to that lineup?

Yes, it is challenge but high-end hamburger shops like Shake Shuck opened a few months ago, using US beef. www.meatpacking.info

usmef

beef

American beef tongue has proved to be very popular in Japan; does this make consumers more inclined to want to try the rest of the steer?

Tongue can sometimes be a gateway to consumers trying other beef items, but tongue is very popular in its own right. Tongue is an excellent export item for US companies because it commands such a premium in Japan compared to any other destination.

The Welsh beef/lamb marketing team has been busy in Germany for some time. They found that the idea of eating steak appeals more to men than women so this is the group they’re going after, nicknaming them ‘Webers’. Is it similar in Japan?

Steak is growing in popularity with both genders in Japan, so it’s difficult to say.

The USDA has been holding the Great American Barbeque Trade Show in Japan with beef and other meats being part of the promotion. Will you be working with the USDA Agricultural Trade Office in promoting events such as this?

Yes, USMEF participated this show and it is effectively working to meet Japan’s growing appetite for American-style barbecue.

Last year for the first time since 2003 all products from US cattle less than 30 months www.meatpacking.info

Above: Takemichi `Yamashoji and team from USMEF in Japan

of age would be eligible for export to Japan, which has brought Colorado’s Perky Jerky to Japan. Will this change in regulations lead to more than just jerky?

USMEF Japan is working with Perky Jerky to introduce its product in Japan, and we have big opportunities for other processed beef items such as beef salami and beef sausage.

What will be the best part of your new position?

I am able to communicate with both industry and consumers to promote US beef and pork.

What do you see will be your greatest challenge?

Japan is the largest market for US beef and pork in value basis, but still U.S. beef and pork have a relatively small market share in Japan. So I think big challenge is to expand market share by displacing our competitors in the market. Price is also a challenge due to the strength of the US dollar compared to our competitors’ currencies – especially the Aussie dollar and the euro.

In front of you is a piece of Japanese-raised Kobe beef and an American rib-eye steak.

If you could only have one, hand-on-heart, which would it be?

No doubt, I will have American rib-eye steak.

March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 35

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rise in global beef demand If you’ve been in the industry for over 60-years, you definitely can spot a new trend, which is why MPJ has turned to Jarvis Products’ president Vincent Volpe for his take on the beef industry.

MPJ: Could you give us a history of Jarvis?

Vincent Volpe: The Jarvis Company was founded in 1902 in Hartford, Connecticut and made nut crackers. Its next move was to Portland, Connecticut where it made tapping devices. Jarvis expanded into machine tools and then moved into a building in Middletown, Connecticut prior to World War II. In 1940, the name of the company was changed to Jarvis Power Tools. In 1957, the Jarvis Meat Machinery division was originally in Guilford, Connecticut. I was hired by William Jarvis, past chairman of the Jarvis Corporation, to establish a new meat machinery division and to sell a unique, pneumatically powered tool that removed hides from beef carcasses. My main task was to convince skeptical plant managers into a trial demonstration of the new dehider tool. This was a daunting task, since the meat industry had long assumed that this costly and labor intensive job could only be done by skilled workers using knives and adding to the problem was lack of name recognition. The Jarvis name, long recognized in the machine and cutting tool industry, was almost unknown to meat processors. Due to industry demand for the new type de-hider and an improved version of a carcass splitting bandsaw, larger manufacturing space was needed. The company moved into its present Middletown location in 1960. Currently, besides Middletown, Jarvis has 18 wholly owned subsidiaries worldwide and Jarvis' J26 Federation of Distributors. Jarvis has service technicians available providing free customer service, including equipment installation, service calls and employee training.

36 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

With chicken becoming the world’s choice for protein, has beef seen its day?

Far from seeing ‘its day’, we have seen a larger demand for beef and beef products, especially in areas recently experiencing greater economic growth and an expanding middleclass with larger incomes. To meet the demand Jarvis has established new subsidiaries in India, Poland, and Spain. India is the world’s largest exporter of beef products and also has an ever expanding middleclass. We have also established new distributorships in the Philippines and Indonesia; again, these are countries with a growing middleclass who demand more beef in their diets. Demand for beef is still strong in North and South America and in Europe.

What are the consistent challenges in the beef industry?

Beef plant managers are continuously looking for ways to increase productivity, improve product quality and lower production costs.

The challenge, to Jarvis, is listening to our customers and finding ways to answer their requests and concerns. One way is placing more resources in product development and research, especially in automation machinery.

Where they have been installed, our Automatic Hog Splitter and Model JR-165 Robotic Hog Splitter have shown operators higher production rates and faster line operations.

Our Model JR-50 Robots greatly improve the speed of cutting beef and pork hocks and head dropping. Our newly introduced Model SERwww.meatpacking.info

beef

04 reciprocating saw and Model SEC 180-4 electrically powered circular breaking saw are less expensive tools for production breaking, pork ribbing, ham marking, shoulder marking, removing contaminated back bones and general purpose uses. Besides higher productivity, these tools also help to reduce costs.

Are animal right groups a nuisance or a threat to the industry?

So far they have not been a threat to meat industry tool manufacturers. They make noise and headlines when animal or poultry mistreatment is found at some cattle holding pen or poultry processing plant. Our beef and poultry processing customers go to great lengths to ensure all humane and safe methods are utilized when slaughtering livestock.

Which countries do you see high growth?

jarvis

I see the Asian and Pacific regions having the highest growth. This includes China, India, and the countries of Southeast Asia. As previously mentioned, to meet the expected demand, we have established subsidiaries and new distributorships in these geographical areas.

Which countries are experiencing a slowgrowth?

Last year, Greece, Italy and some other European Union countries were in the news for economic troubles and slow growth. Some African and Latin American countries actually experienced negative growth. How this affects meat consumption is hard to say, people have to eat and get protein, even in a poor economy.

If they cannot afford steak, they will buy and prepare less expensive cuts of meat.

There has been an on-going consolidation of the beef industry for years – especially in the USA where major plants supply butchered meat to supermarkets around the country. Will this trend continue?

The trend will continue. Beef, packed in boxes at the processing facility, and sent directly to supermarkets has proved extremely convenient.

For supermarkets, it cuts out the middleman.

When received, supermarket butchers can prepare meat cuts for showcase display, or personal customer requests.

Will this trend be fueled with a move to more robotics in the processing line?

The trend toward robots will be fueled when www.meatpacking.info

Above: Vincent Volpe, president of Jarvis

more companies actually see how initial expenditure in robotics results in future increases in productivity, improved product quality and lower overall production costs.

Is there an actual break-even point where it becomes more profitable for a processing plant to adopt more robotics as opposed to human labor?

This is a question which must be answered by the processing plant owner. The profitability break-down depends on several factors, including necessary facility alterations, overall plant size, daily production rate and labor costs – short and long term. Another factor is a plant’s customer’s demand for more precisely cuts of meat.

Looking back where the industry was 10 years ago, where do you think it will be 10 years from now?

For North America and Europe – more use of robots for additional kill floor and processing procedures. For developing third world markets, it will be additional expenditures in more modern equipment and processing technologies.

March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 37

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BEEF processing

Coarse grind rate of 75,000lbs/hr Rome’s Maximus R1600 is truly a monster of a grinder, with speeds of up to 75,000 pounds an hour for a coarse grind and 54,000 pounds per hour for a fine grind.

“We’ve just sold four of these,” says Mark Evenson of Rome while speaking to MPJ at its company stand at IPPE. “Companies keep asking for bigger and faster grinders and we’re making them, running our factory on a 24 hour a day schedule. The question is, however, can the rest of your line keep up? You have to remember; your line is only as fast as its slowest link.”

Evenson says that he worked with a Canadian processing company which was throwing out 1 million pounds a product a year due to flow issues. “The company had expanded over the years but never

worked out its product tracking system: how product came it, processed, and shipped. Working with them we saved the company 850,000 pounds of product a year.”

Rome builds its grinders with its own high tensile strength carbon steel, along with the highest quality stainless steel. This, the company says, delivers increased longevity, durability, and greater production yields.

“Attention to detail to even the smallest part is key to manufacturing the strongest, most durable grinders the industry has to offer,” says Evenson. “Keeping in mind your end needs, we have developed a line of grinders and grinder parts that have a low cost for a quicker ROI.”

The new line of SEPAmatic deboning/desinewing systems with cooling technology drew considerable attention at IPPE this year.

On display at BFD Corporation’s stand, these systems are used in many beef plants for removing sinew and bone from deboned meat as well as removing high lean from small bone or cartilage pieces. The new cooling technology allows the deboned/desinewed meat to decrease meat temperature during the process.

“With the new optional cooling system, it keeps the belt cold instead of using a direct cold method with makes the product flake,” says David Radford of BFD. “It won’t greatly lower the temperature of the product, but it will keep the temperature from increasing which helps in the control of pathogens.”

According to Radford, a plant can expect to recover up to 6,000 pounds of meat a day with a SEPAmatic belt separator. “That’s 6,000 pounds a day which used to go to a rendering plant.” The product outlet from the Hydrau Separator is connected directly to the third and final part of the system, the Belt Separator. The new Hydrau Separator operates with new filters at lower pressures and

38 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

mpj

Save 6,000 lb a day

these filters are designed to minimize temperature rise, but allow small bone particles to pass.

The Belt Separator then removes these bone particles from the meat using the following principle: meat and bone particles are fed between a belt and drum. This drum has filter holes through which the meat is forced by the belt, leaving the bone particles on the surface. Bone particles are then removed by a scraper. The overall effect is a minimal temperature rise and the retaining of the structural integrity of the meat.

www.meatpacking.info

VACUUM FILLING HAS A NEW NAME

www.handtmann-iffa.com Hall 8.0 Stand D96

All Innovations 7.-12.5.2016

Hall 8.0 Stand D96

Albert Handtmann Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG Phone +49 7351 45-0 info.machines@handtmann.de www.handtmann.de

beef

Burger filling system puts you in control said Tonra. “The interweaving strands of product allow for excellent heat transfer through the product, making cooking times faster and more uniform while producing an incredibly tender and juicy tasting patty.”

Available on select models, this NuTECtured Fill System forms and portions patties up to 1" thick and 10 oz. in weight.

Also on display at the NuTEC stand was the Provatec 760E Forming Machine which NuTec is the distributor for in North America.

This forming machine uses absolutely no hydraulic oil, which makes for a more hygienic process. Though completely electric, it uses less electricity than other machines its size, while forming food at a faster pace. Because of the way it's been designed and developed, it requires less maintenance than other food processing machines.

The 760E provides accurate weights, minimum leakage, and rapid changeover while processing formed products. A rotary vane pump feed system gently portions product with minimal product working, with the pump feeding directly to the mold plate cavity without product backflow or bridging. Provatec’s 760E accepts most existing mold plates from different suppliers or they can be individually designed to customer specifications.

mpj

If you place a restaurant chain’s burger next to a homemade, one of the biggest differences that jumps out is the tenderness of the homemade hamburger. It’s a good thing that the most chains use a patty that is only around four ounces (110g), because anything larger and it would be too tough to chew.

But, according to Tom Tonra of NuTEC Manufacturing, it doesn’t have to be this way. “At first glance, the process of forming a premium quality burger patty looks easy, but there are many hidden complexities that help to turn your high quality raw materials in to a truly premium burger,” Tonra told MPJ at IPPE. “A premium burger always begins with high quality raw materials, but the forming process used can help turn your materials from good to great.”

NuTECtured Patty Fill System provides the ability to make the best looking and cooking patties on the market today, claims NuTEC. The system causes patties to shrink evenly, eliminating typical front-to-back shrink. The end result is a patty that delivers tremendous juiciness and tenderness while maintaining consistent weight and shape after cooking.

“With the NuTECtured Fill System, patties are formed and assembled in random grinder sized strands instead of being subjected to excessively high pressures that can cause toughness,”

40 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

www.meatpacking.info

JARVIS

â&#x201E;˘

JCIVA Dehider

USSS-1 Penetrating Stunner 50G Beef Dehorner

MCS 300 Air Circular Breaking Saw

USSS-2 Non-Penetrating Stunner

Setting the industry standard for power tools used in beef and pork slaughter floor and boning room applications.

Jarvis also provides free training & service

SER-04 Reciprocating Breakking Saw

Buster IX Carcass Splitting Bandsaw

SEC 180-4 Circular Breaking Saw

Buster VI Carcass Splitting Bandsaw for Pork

USSS-1/2 Penetrating Stunner

New SEC Series of Circular Breaking Saws

MACQUIP Ltd.

World Leader in Meat Processing Equipment

View these tools on our website

Stephen McConnell, Director 16 Ballycraigy Road Antrim, County Antrim BT41 1 PL Northern Ireland Tel: +44 28 9446 3921; E-mail: macquip@btinternet.com Website: macmeatprocessingequipment.co.uk UK and Ireland Distributor

beef

French burger plant shrinks loses The objectives were to reduce manufacturing costs and increase value-added production per worker, while continuing to meet the high output demands of a world-leading brand. This would consist of installing five new packing lines, which would comprise of new weighing and sorting equipment, bagging, and case packers.

McKey says that its new Ishida weighers are a key component of the new packing lines. The accuracy of the new Ishida CCW-RS multihead weighers (14-head), with each equipped with 5-litre hoppers, means that McKey now achieves an approximate deviation from target weight of just 1g in each carton (previous deviation was about 550g) Another key reason for the selection of the Ishida weighers was their reliable operation. The burgers have to be kept moving continuously through the process and any downtime in the packaging section could cause real problems. CEO Grégory Blin says: “We are very pleased. Since the introduction of the Ishida multihead weighers, we have had zero maintenance costs.”

Ishida

A leading French burger maker, which supplies McDonald’s as well as other leading hamburger chains and restaurants, recently underwent a major overhaul of its plant in Fleury-lesAubrais in northern France. The challenge was, however, due to the importance of maintaining an uninterrupted supply to its customers the refit had to be finished within a two-week window.

McKey, part of the major Brazilian company Marfrig, produces millions of burgers every working day – some 42,000 metric tons annually. The burgers are produced in about 20 different weight variants, predominantly 110g (about four ounces). They are placed in pockets which are then inserted into cartons, usually of 13.5 kg.

The best performance the previous weighing equipment (installed in 1992) could achieve was to get within ± 5 burgers – about 550g – of the target weight. Due to the age of existing equipment and the loss of profit margins due to over/under filling orders, McKey’s decided to modernize its northern France factory at an estimated cost of €25.5 million ($28m).

Slaughterhouse belt

42 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

ammerall beltech

In food processing, nothing is more important than maintaining high standards of hygiene, so it is crucial that the machinery and materials are easy to clean and to keep free from bacteria, says international belt manufacturer Ammerall Beltech.

According to the company, its Uni MPB Single Link belt has become the new industry standard for cutting lines in slaughterhouses.

The belt is assembled from fully symmetrical modules, each module covering the total width of the belt. This full-width system eliminates all directional joints, reducing hot-spots for potential bacteria retention. Its single link design also allows for much faster and more effective belt cleaning, saving on manpower and on detergent, says the company.

In addition to improved hygiene, the Single Link belt design reduces surface irregularities while increasing impact resistance.

In addition, Ammeraal Beltech says the belts have ergonomic advantages; side transfer of heavy or bulky products becomes more efficient without directional joints, and knives and similar sharp implements can be utilized across the entire width of surface without any fear of blades getting caught in link joints.

www.meatpacking.info

Lower costs higher yields better quality Marel introduces, DeboFlex, a groundbreaking new way of de-boning and handling pork fore-ends.

The DeboFlex system is in-line and uses an overhead conveyor and specially designed carriers to transport fore-ends past operators who carry out individual deskinning, defatting, de-boning and dividing operations.

Increases “knife in meat” time No heavy lifting Focus on specific process tasks Improved food safety; longer shelf life Better factory floor logistics

marel.com

“

The efficiency in the production hall has risen, the transport of products has become simpler and the cutting process has become easier.

”

Production Manager, Menno van der Post at Compaxo Meat Ltd

beef

krave

Last year when US chocolate giant Hershey bought Krave Premium Foods, there was some sniggering from US financial reporters; what was a company known for its milk chocolate Kisses doing buying a premium jerky company? The only one laughing now is Hershey.

Krave was named in 2015 as one of Forbes’ most promising companies and it’s riding the crest of the new interest demand in jerky. It's varieties include Black Cherry Barbecue, Sweet Teriyaki, and BBQ Pork Jerky.

The overall meat snacks catagory is growing at a double-diget pace with a compound annual growth rate of about 10 percent from 2010-2014. The premium subset, like Krave, grew at a rate of almost four times greater than mainstream brands. The Sonoma, California-based company itself made around $35 million in net sales in 2014.

“Beef jerky is the ultimate health snack,” David Lakey, Oberto’s vice president of marketing, tells Beef Magazine. “It’s extremely low calorie, virtually no fat, high protein and very low carb, so it offers all the things people say they want; we just need to get consumers to understand that, and that’s the challenge for the whole industry.”

It doesn’t matter if what you’re putting in your jerky pouch beef, turkey, salmon, pork, or bacon, oxygen is its number one enemy. Oxygen scavengers – absorbers – are a prime requirement but, as Doug Hankes of Thrushwood Farms found out, all are not equal.

“We have a plant of 28,000 square feet and make a variety of snack foods and meats such as jerky, ham, and meat snack sticks,” says Hankes. “We got concerned about a previous oxygen scavenger we were using when it failed in packaging.”

When oxygen is left behind in the jerky package, it can lead to food spoilage, off odors, and mold growth.

“I did a bit of searching and called around to other snack processing plants and asked them: ‘what would you buy if you only wanted to buy the best’,” he says. “Multisorb’s name kept coming up.”

What Hankes kept hearing about was Multisorb’s specially made oxygen absorbing packet and strip called JerkyFresh.

These packets are oxygen absorbers designed specifically to protect all types of jerky against spoilage, mold growth, rancidity, and loss of color and flavor quality. They are manufactured in the US in Buffalo, New York, at a GFSI- FSSC 22000 certified facility. According to Multisorb, JerkyFresh packets “irreversibly absorb oxygen inside sealed packaging to less than 0.01% and maintain this level”.

The oxygen absorbers are available in a variety of sizes for manual insertion as well as insertion by Multisorb’s custom dispensers for low, mid and highspeed packing operations, like what Thrushwood Farms uses with an VC999 Xtra Vac Rotary Bag Filling and Sealing System.

44 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

ferrite

Jery isn't jerky anymore

Tunnel reduces tempering time Companies should be able to reduce tempering time for frozen meat from days to minutes by using the MIP12 Continuous Tempering Tunnel, according to Ferrite Microwaves Technologies.

This will prove to be especially valuable for meat grinders who need to defrost at quanity large blocks of frozen beef.

Continuous tempering enables precise control of product temperature for further processing, such as slicing, dicing, forming, and molding. Ferrite says its system makes it possible to temper up to 17,000 pounds (7,700 kg) of zero degree Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celsius) product per hour.

According to Ferrite, the MIP 12 simplifies the food tempering process. It eliminates tempering rooms and racks, along with the resulting sanitation issues and brings precision to your food processing procedures. Microwave tempering gives control over the production process and helps plan both input and output on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Product quality and yield are improved and drip loss is minimized. Flavor and protein compounds remain in the product and are passed along to the consumer. Controlled temperature increase and predictable end temperature control ensures processing flexibility.

The basic system consists of a single 4 ft X 4 ft X 8 ft long tunnel (1.2 meters by 1.2 meters by 2.5 meters). Product temperature control is maintained with simple belt speed or generator power adjustments. Additional generators, up to a total of four, can be added to the unit to significantly increase production output.

Each GET 2024 microwave generator is electrically isolated from the process oven by an integral microwave circulator, which helps provide long magnetron tube life.

A 20-inch wide positive drive, articulated belt of microwavetransparent material transports the food product through the oven. Interlocking access doors on the transmitters and process ovens, as well as passive microwave suppression tunnels, meet applicable government (OSHA and Health and Human Services) safety standards, and provide the safest operating environment available. Fittings are provided on the oven to interface with an optional, customer-supplied fire suppression system. Light and temperature sensors in the oven send signals to trigger the system.

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Mexico in A new light Most people’s perceptions of Mexico are skewed.

While you might think agriculture products are the country’s leading export, they’re actually 10th.

At the top of the list are autos and car parts, followed by high-tech electronics and machines.

Far from being sombrero-wearing, siesta-loving peons, it’s population is young, literate, and hard working. Illegal immigration to the US has been going down since 2000 with many seeing better opportunities at home. But is too much of the economy dependent on ‘El Norte’?

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ust south of San Diego proper and butting up against Mexico is the district of San Ysidro; on the other side of the fence is the Mexican city of Tijuana. The land border crossing between the two is the busiest in the world with 300,000 daily commuters; the majority heading north in the morning into the USA, and then heading back south again at the end of the day.

If you head due west from

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the border crossing and follow the 10-foot-high welded-metal panel fence, you’ll hit the Pacific Ocean. On occasion, volleyball players on both sides of the border will use the sandy beach and the fence as a volleyball pitch, hitting the ball back and forth across the border.

Both Tijuana and San Diego have close to the same population: 1.3 million and much of the two cities growth has been tied to the other, thanks in large part to those 300,000 daily commuters. But for our volleyball players, while the game rules might be the same on both sides of the border, the life of the players could not be more different. In watching the players call it a day, it hard not to think of the words of Porfirio Díaz, Mexico's long-serving 19thcentury president: “Poor Mexico, so far from God, so close to the USA.” And there’s the rub – and the question: has Mexico gained or lost over the years by being neighbor to the world’s most powerful country?

In all wars fought – in the battlefield or economic arena – Mexico has never won. And indeed, many in the USA forget that California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Texas, most of Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Kansas were once part of Mexico. When the US needs cheap Mexican labor to work its agriculture, its borders become as porous as a sieve for both legal and illegal workers. When it suits tough-sounding US politicians during election years, the wind changes direction with a vengeance.

And so we are back to the question: has Mexico gained or lost from being placed by God next to the USA?

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export dependent

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y anyone’s standards, Mexico is quickly becoming an emerging market heavy-weight. Its economic output, as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was $2.143 trillion in 2014. While this is much less than its primary trading partner, the United States ($17.46 trillion) it is larger than its other NAFTA partner, Canada ($1.579 trillion).

Mexico is the 15th largest exporter in the world, and about 80 percent of its exports go to the United States. Some economists see this leaving Mexico too dependent on the US economy and fluctuations of the the US dollar; others see it as leaving Mexico in a prime location to take advantage of the US market.

Trade with the United States and Canada has tripled since the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, although there continues to be debates as to whether or not the ‘average’ Mexican or American worker benefited from NAFTA. While many have gained from the deal, Mexican corn farmers and US auto workers in particular have suffered due to the agreement.

More than 90% of Mexico's trade is under 12 free trade agreements with over 40 countries including China, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the European Union, and Japan. These trade agreements are seen as one of the main reasons for Mexico's success. Mexico has signed up to the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal and its Ministry of Economy is expecting this will lead to substantial economic growth with countries other than the USA. Mexico manufactures and exports the same amount of goods as the rest of Latin America combined. In fact, foreign trade is a larger percentage of Mexico's economy than any other large country, according to The Economist.

For years, Mexico's economy underperformed Brazil's, starting in 2012 it grew faster. Mexico is now a major manufacturing center for electronics, including most of the flat-screen TVs sold in the United States, medical devices, and aerospace parts.

With 40 different free trade agreements, this gives any company that manufactures in Mexico duty-free access to 60% of the world GDP. As a result, Mexico grew from the ninth to the seventh largest auto manufacturer in the world between 2010 and 2015. It's the fourth largest exporter, and recently surpassed Japan as the second largest US auto parts exporter, according to The Wall Street Journal.

One of Mexico’s biggest challenges is getting rid of the drug cartels and end the drug wars which have been raging since 2007. The 48 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

problems they are causing to Mexico’s internal security, economy, and national prestige cannot be underestimated.

However, there is not a question of ‘if’ the cartels power will be broken, but only ‘when’.

Pope Francis addressed this problem, along with government and church corruption during his recent Papal visit to Mexico. Some believe that Mexico’s ‘Millennial’ generation will be much less tolerant of corruption than previous generations and it will be the Millennials who make a lasting, positive change to Mexico.

beef surplus

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ast year the Mexican beef industry hit many targets, such as record exports in both value and volume, as well as record highs in cattle and meat prices, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

For the first time, Mexican beef’s trade balance reached a surplus, with exports surpassing imports by around 1,000 metric tons. Much of this has been brought about the growing strength of the US dollar, which makes the US market much more attractive than the local market. This is expected to continue throughout 2016.

Mexico’s beef industry is worth around $1.72 billion and is ranked eighth in the world. Its goal is to become fifth.

The USDA says that the improved quality, food safety, and sophistication of Mexican beef operations have opened doors for increased and targeted Mexican beef exports over the past several years. One of these markets is Hong Kong which Mexico believes could be a 50,000 MT export opportunity.

While Mexican beef gets all the publicity thanks to its export market and excellent taste, in Mexico the average consumer last year went through around 70 lbs of poultry, followed by around 35 lbs of beef and the same of pork.

Thanks to US pork-industry funded marketing campaigns, Mexico’s consumption of pork has been rising over the last few years while beef has dropped. This trend, brought about in large part to the expense of beef, is expected to continue.

“The people of Mexico currently consume about 35 pounds of pork per person each year,” says Tom Griffiths, a member of the USA’s Indiana Soybean Alliance’s livestock committee.

“When you compare that to other markets, like the United States [about 46 lbs] and China [84 lbs], we see opportunity.”

“Historically, many Mexican consumers have not viewed pork as their first protein choice,” says Chad Russell, US Meat Export Federation www.meatpacking.info

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usda: lorne matalon

Cattle arriving in Chihuahua, Mexico, to be inspected by the USDA before importing to US customers

public domain

A Mexican vaqueros roping a cow in this 1830s painting by James Walker.

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The USA to the left, Mexico to the right

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regional director for Mexico, Central America, and the Dominican Republic. “We are fostering the image of pork as a delicious center-of-theplate option for daily meals served in the home.”

US poultry and egg producers see Mexico as a $1 billion market – and growing. According to the US Department of Agriculture, new market opportunities still exist for the US poultry sector in Mexico and consumption is rising.

What is hurting Mexican poultry exports is its failure to become disease free for exotic Newcastle disease or avian influenza. This limits its poultry exports to items such as chicken hot dogs which have received thermal processing.

To attack this problem, poultry health and biosecurity is being promoted to producers through new policies from the Mexican government. The policies aim to strengthen the supply of chicken and egg for both the domestic market and export, the chief director of the National Service of Health, Food Safety and Quality (SENASICA), Enrique Sanchez Cruz, said during a meeting with poultry farmers in the Yucatan Peninsula.

During the meeting the official from Mexico's agriculture secretariat SAGARPA stressed that the national poultry industry has learned to do things differently, and the proof is that it has already exported eggs to the US. At the meeting, the National Health Program 2015-2018 and poultry production plan was presented.

This plan aim to eradicate highly pathogenic avian influenza and promote change in Mexico's regions. Such change would involve strictly implementing biosecurity measures and promoting the decentralization of poultry farms (ie to situate farms between 10 and 15 kilometers away from the production units).

Industrias Bachoco SAB de CV, Mexico’s largest chicken producer, is taking the approach of ‘if you can’t beat them, buy them,’ and is looking for US acquisitions to gain a bigger share of the world’s largest poultry market.

While the company has 40 percent of Mexico’s poultry market (selling 1.5 million metric tons in 2014), it has just two percent in the USA after buying OK Industries in 2011. Chief Financial Officer Daniel Salazar Ferrer told Bloomberg Business that Bachoco wants to be among the top 15 US producers within three years.

red tape abounds

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or those beginning to see the potential of exporting products to Mexico, be warned that it is not an easy process. Even though Mexico is currently the third most important export market for www.meatpacking.info

US agricultural and food products, shipments containing US food and agricultural products destined for export to Mexico may encounter difficulties during the inspection process at the border. Most of these problems have nothing to do with the product itself, but to red tape and non-tariff regulations imposed by the Mexican Government – despite NAFTA. The Mexican regulations are not only enforced by the Mexican Customs, but also other entities such as the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fishery, and Food (SAGARPA), and the National Service of Health, Food Safety, and Food Quality (SENASICA).

Some of the shipments sent to Mexico need additional documentation, certification, or sample testing, which increases the cost per shipment.

According to the most recent USATO's Exporter Guide: Exporting to Mexico, documentation and clerical errors continue to represent over 95 percent of border entry problems for US food and agricultural products.

The guide also states other issues, including non-compliance with sanitary, phytosanitary, or labeling requirements.

For several years, Mexican importers have been asking its government to eliminate a regulation which imposes a mandatory label including the nutritional and weight information. If a shipment lacks of this labeling or the measurements are in pounds instead of kilos, the lot is returned to the US by the Mexican authorities to be reweighed and relabeled.

According to Armando Prado, trade specialist in Ciudad Juarez: “The red tape and the nontariff regulations raises the cost of the product in Mexico and slows down international trade.

Some of the regulations are ridicule. For example, dog food has more regulations than meat for humans; therefore, it is more expensive to import food for pets than for human consumption.”

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers´s Doing Business in Mexico 2015, the non-tariff regulations are not the only problem to import U.S. food and agricultural products into Mexico.

This report states the import duty for some products can be as high as 260% of its value.

Some of these products include beans and live chickens.

“The compensatory quotas for food can raise duties up to 500%,” the document advises.

Mexican importers said they will keep pushing to reduce the red tape on US and other countries' food and agricultural products to be more competitive and give the Mexican customer cheaper and safe options to fulfill their diet needs.

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165 cattle an hour capacity SuKarneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s state-of-art Beef Planta Lucero in Durango, Mexico, is operational

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All photos MPS

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exican beef giant SuKarne S.A. de CV announced in 2014 its plans to build a new state-of-art beef processing plant in the Mexican state of Durango.

The project would cost an estimated 8 billion pesos ($610 million), and would make the plant the largest and most modern of its kind in Latin America due to the hygiene requirements and design, along with its unique handling all species and sizes of cattle.

The plant is now open.

In a statement made by SuKarne’s headquarters, the company said the plant will have an annual output of 800,000 head of cattle, with 60 percent of the plant’s production slated for exports. With 1,200 new jobs created in the region by SuKarne, it estimates the plant’s economic impact will equal 25 percent of the agricultural GDP of Durango and Coahuila.

The new processing site of SuKarne is part of a complete agriculture site of SuKarne where adjacent feedlots hold about 250,000 head of cattle. In the nearby area are dairy farms holding several thousands of dairy cattle, steers, heifers, and bulls. Due to this variation in animal population in the Durango State, it was decided by SuKarne to build a ‘multi-species’ slaughtering facility for all various sizes of cattle.

MPS Red Meat Slaughtering and MPS Aqua Industrial Wastewater Systems designed, delivered, and equipped the high speed slaughtering plant, which has a capacity of 165 cattle per hour. This includes a center track restrainer/stunner for the majority of cattle – built to a design of Temple Grandin – a standalone knocking box with features for restraining heads and shoulders of cattle of various sizes, and a landing table built according to the latest ergonomic requirements.

The hides-on department (skinning floor) of this new slaughtering facility is equipped with a number of free-elevating platforms that allow the operator to adjust himself according to the work to be performed at the correct location of the animal in front of him, all without ergonomic restrictions.

The hides-off department (evisceration floor) is equipped with several features which are unique in design and never seen before in the Americas, according to MPS.

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This includes a paunch harvesting carrousel that allows a group of up to four operators to perform a full evisceration of an animal and is adjustable according to the length/height of the cow. This includes a belly-spreading system for each animal processed.

Thanks to the design and technology used in the slaughterhouse, it makes it possible to determined on the slaughtering floor if the product will remain on the slaughtering floor as being edible, or if the product is being diverted to the ground floor being inedible.

On the ground floor products like edible blood with plasma and hemoglobin, fresh hides and/or salted or blue tanned hides, legs, and horns are further processed for export abroad.

All conveyor systems for products are designed according to the ‘low maintenance’ style. MPS states that due to the electronic controls included with the conveyor technology, it is “impossible to fail in product detection and identification”.

Effluent wastewater is collected from the plant and stables by means of a network with individual pumps. During pre-screening of the effluent, larger particles are separated so cannot block the pipelines. These larger particles are processed into compost.

The effluent is pumped through a dissolved air floatation with micro air bubbles – the ascending ability of suspended solids is increased by adhering microscopic air bubbles to them.

This results in a floating layer that can easily be removed. Thus, the majority of pollutants, together with greases and fat, can be collected.

The waste stream is compressed by reducing the humidity content and further processing into compost. Then the effluent water stream passes through an external lagoon trap before this water is re-used. No water is left contaminated.

In planning the plant, the corporate engineering teams of SuKarne and MPS set goals of achieving minimum cross contamination; a minimum amount of labor required for the entire process; and a full automatic transport (labor free) of the by-products. All of these goals have been met.

SuKarne S.A. de CV is a leading beef exporter based in Mexico. The company operates besides its beef processing plants, another four processing plants that convert manure into compost, and produces 1.4 million tons of feed for cattle. It also owns three rendering plants to process bones, fat, and blood.

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X-ray brings maximum

profit from product A good X-ray detector is like an insurance policy; it keeps you safe from costly recalls.

But what if it could do much more….

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multi-purpose X-ray detector that can measure fat content as accurate as a lab analyzer, weigh, and inspect meat for foreign objects at speeds of up to 38 tons an hour almost sounds to good to be true. But that is how Ricky Granger, production manager at Birchwood Foods of Wisconsin, USA, describes his company’s Foss MeatMaster II X-ray detector.

Birchwood is famous in the northern part of the USA for its IQF hamburger patties. Like all grinding and burger companies, during production it has to monitor closely the specific fat content a customer wants. For example, if a customer is asking for 20 percent fat, a grinding company can go under – but not over the 20 percent mark. With fat cheaper than meat, however, a company wants to get as close as possible to the specification mark. “[MeatMaster II] has hit the lean point precisely, making the best use of raw materials with maximum profit,” says Granger. “In-line X-ray analysis with the MeatMaster helps us to optimize food safety and to increase the value of our beef trimmings.”

According to Foss, its MeatMaster II can sample continuously any type of raw, chilled, or frozen meat – which can be packed or loose – for fat analysis. This gives grinding companies the ability to be extremely precise with fat measurements, allowing for maximum profit.

Jens Borg, senior product specialist at Foss, says: “Traditionally, a butcher would look at a batch of meat and say ‘that looks like 20 percent’. That way has been abandoned around the world.

“Then we could take out samples from the batch, take it back to the lab, and then do an analysis of and that’s a good way of doing it – except to grab a sample of 3,000 lbs of meat 56 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

and then remove 100 grams from this sample and say this is representative of the entire batch, that is extremely difficult.

“That’s why it’s important to measure the entire batch – all the meat that goes into the entire batch should be measured, that is the only way to ensure your fat number is correct. There are several ways to do this, but the X-ray has become the golden standard,” says Borg.

Typical uses of the MeatMaster II include: Control of fat content in raw meat trimmings to avoid lean meat giveaway Batch standardization for production of any kind of meat standards or processed meat products – for securing optimal raw material use and batches produced right to specifications Grading of cuts like pork bellies, hams, etc – for optimizing raw material use, improving processing, and obtaining final product uniformity and consistency Supplier evaluation – gives you control of what you buy Meat being scanned can be in cartons, plastic trays or loose on the belt, chilled, and/ or frozen, and can be up to 20mm in height (almost 8 inches). Objects to be detected – metal, bone, glass, etc – need to have a density higher than 1.7g/cm3.

According to Granger, Birchwood Foods used its FoodScan in the company’s lab to verify batches and to compare them to MeatMaster’s readings, with around 500 samples at random throughout an entire day. Granger says that the average difference between all the samples and MeatMaster’s readings were “infinitesimal”.

“That isn’t to say that there is never any difference because we found some, but these have only been around 0.5 percent,” adding that the average difference was 0.00 percent.

According to Foss, with MeatMaster II it is possible to obtain accuracy at a batch level of 0.5 percent absolute or even better. “Typically, www.meatpacking.info

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A MeatMaster II being used at a Danish Crown plant . (Below) Meat being loaded into the unit

your accuracy in assessing fat content of batches is improved by two to three percent absolute, leading to a significant improvement in earnings.

They payback time of the investment can be as low as a few months,” the company claims.

$3k savings per day

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öseler Goldschmaus in Northern Germany decided that integrated fat control was an important requirement for the new system it was installing.

There are different ways to integrate an inline analyzer, depending on the type of production, and in the set up at Böseler, the MeatMaster was integrated between the raw material loading section and dicing.

Plant manager, Tobias Flerlage explains the advantages that this brings. “At the same time as meat gets transported to the dicer, we get the information about fat content and weight which allows us to control the fat content on-the-fly,” he says.

When it comes to analyzing fat content in meat there are other solutions that are www.meatpacking.info

considerably cheaper and simpler to install than an inline analyzer, but as Flerlage explains, the question to ask is how much you will benefit from the investment.

The company estimates that the new fat analysis system has led to a three percent improvement in matching fat content targets leading to savings of around nine cents per kilo of delivered product. When applied to a typical slaughterhouse daily production of around 30 tons, this improvement translates into a saving of €2,700 (about $3k) per day.

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XRAY and Detection A walk through any exhibition will show the importance processors are placing on detection equipment – and no wonder. Not a week goes by that somewhere a recall is taking place after metal, plastic, or other objects are found in a product. Besides costing companies huge sums of money for physically recalling its product, making restitution to buyers, and having to deal with possible consumer lawsuits, there is also the loss of company creditability in an ever crowded marketplace. MPJ takes a look at dectors

High-powered inspection Survives harsh environments UK-headquartered Loma says its next-generation X-ray inspection systems enables food manufacturers to meet evolving HACCP standards, and global retailer and consumer demand for complete product contamination inspection.

Loma Systems' X4 and X5c compact series of X-ray inspection systems boast high detection performance and are designed to survive the harshest of food processing facilities, claims the company. With fine grain imaging, it detects metallic and nonmetallic contaminants such as glass, stone, calcified bone, highdensity plastics, flavor clumps and rubber – even for products packaged in foil or metalized film.

The Loma’s X4 and X5 range of X-ray inspectors are versatile and can inspect a wide range of different sized packaged goods with consistency. The easy to use touch screen enables simple operation and the IP66 wash-down rating ensures the entire system is designed to withstand high-pressure cleaning; even the belt can be removed in less than 60 seconds. An IP55-rated model is available for wash downs at low pressure.

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For the most demanding product inspection applications, the Techik TXR-S series of High Energy X-ray systems will meet the challenge, says the China-based company. A high-powered 350-watt X-ray generator enables the detection of the smallest contaminants in the most difficult products. The TXR-S series can find bone fragments as small as 2mm embedded in bulk packages of ground beef or pulled chicken.

At the opposite end is the TXR-C series which is a lower energy, economical option for customers who require all of the benefits of using an X-ray inspection system, but do not necessarily require the most demanding levels of sensitivity. The TXR-C Series systems will shield metal used in packages, such as found in metal cans or foil lids, enabling for complete product inspection. If you require product inspection, but you cannot use metal detection due to having foil pouches, a high salt or high moisture content product, then consider the TXR-C series, says Techik.

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Inspect for defects at high speed Mettler Toeldo has developed the X36 Series of X-ray inspection systems to enable manufacturers of food products to inspect products for contamination at high production speeds (up to 300 products per minute) on both single and multi-line operations, while reducing the energy requirements for doing so, says the USbased company.

While standard X-ray inspection systems use powerful generators to inspect products, the X36 Series uses highly sensitive X-ray detectors that require a less powerful (20 watt) generator to produce the same results, making it the most energy-efficient X-ray system on the market, claims Mettler Toeldo. Its robust, hygienic design also makes it a reliable choice even in harsh washdown environments.

Mettler Toeldo says that it is ideal for inspecting small, medium, and large products, the X36 Series systems offer outstanding detection of contaminants that include metal, glass, mineral stone, calcified bone, and high-density plastic and rubber.

In addition to detecting contaminants, the systems also simultaneously offer product integrity checks such as measuring

gross and zoned mass, counting components and checking the integrity of seal, guaranteeing all-round product quality. These capabilities result in safety and product quality benefits for both the manufacturer and its customers.

Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regulatory bodies and consumers alike are focused on product safety and on protection of the environment through reducing energy use. The X36 Series inspection systems directly address both of these concerns.

At this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s IPPE in Atlanta, Mettler Toledo introduced its new Profile Advantage Pipeline Metal Detector, which applies the technology to inspecting piped products for metal contamination.

Profile Advantage multi-simultaneous frequency technology achieves extremely high levels of sensitivity by analyzing product signal data captured across a wide spectrum of frequencies simultaneously.

In addition, Product Signal Suppression virtually eliminates the incidence of false triggering by suppressing the active and unwanted product signals often produced during inspection of high-moisture products, including meat and poultry products.

Entry-level machine Multivac says that its Baseline I 100 X-ray inspection system is an entry-level machine for customers switching over to X-ray metal detection. The Germanbased company says that its Baseline I 100 works with a durable diode array whose resolution of 0.4mm ensures detection of small foreign bodies in packs and trays. In the standard version the machine can store the parameters of up to 100 products. An extended software package can store more parameters and evaluate metering, completeness, and fill-level control.

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No engineering degree required Canada-based Fortress says that its Stealth metal detectors are custom manufactured to suit any application. It uses digital signal processing technology and has high sensitivity levels to ensure the detection of the smallest ferrous, non-ferrous, and stainless steel contaminants. The built-in data collection software with USB data transfer establishes the Stealth as an effective critical control point complying with stringent HACCP regulations, claims Fortress.

“We continue to set the trend with technological advancements.

Our Stealth Metal Detector is an evolutionary design that offers full backwards compatibility for existing Fortress systems. This ensures our customers aren’t left behind when new technology is developed, enabling them to stay up to date with food safety initiatives. We custom design and manufacture our equipment to suit your needs. If you are running a high speed product line, you need the detector to reject test samples properly; without false rejects. We design our equipment to do that for you; without the operator requiring an engineering degree.”

Large food packaging Thermo Fisher Scientific of the USA says its proven X-ray system is designed specifically for detecting metal, glass, dense plastics, and other foreign objects in large food packaging.

The Xpert C600 X-ray system features a 50 percent larger aperture and wider X-ray beam than that found on the previouslylaunched C400. Its 22-inch wide by 10-inch tall aperture enables larger food products that do not fit through standard X-ray machines to be examined for contaminants or inspected for missing or damaged pieces.

“This larger aperture unit addresses several market needs. For example, some food processors prefer end-of-line detection because after a product is sealed and cased it can no longer be contaminated. Also, with many brand owners supplying largersized items to big box stores and warehouse clubs, the Xpert C600 gives them a way to meet retailer-mandated inspection requirements,” says Bob Ries of Thermo Fisher Scientific.

The system can analyze an X-ray image to estimate weight and fill, or determine whether a packaged item has missing objects. Its highly-sensitive detectors are available in 0.8mm resolution, and its suite of algorithms is designed to find small contaminants in complex images with few, if any, false rejects. The Xpert C600 also features a high power 160W X-ray source for better penetration of large objects.

The unit’s flexible software design also allows up to eight lanes to be simultaneously fed through the aperture to maximize throughput and reduce cost of inspection.

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Lower operating costs Anritsu Infivis’ XR75 series is the latest in the US-based company’s advanced inspection and detection systems, with over 10,000 X-ray inspection systems installed globally. Recognizing both the short-term and long-term needs of processors and manufacturers, engineers designed the XR75 Inspection System to provide excellent imaging acuracy and repeatable reliability at lower energy levels for a reduced total cost of ownership. XR75 incorporates ‘advance longlife’ new technology for critical system components – X-ray tube/generator – increasing its lifetime by 300 percent. Sanitary design was improved with angled surfaces for water run-off, removable curtains for easy cleaning, and tool-less belt removal.

Anritsu HD systems detect metal contaminants as small as 0.4mm diameter and 1.0mm to 2.0mm diameter glass and stones. XR75 provides not only contaminant detection, but also missing product detection, shape detection, virtual weight, count, and package check.

Uses pulsed X-ray German-based Heuft Systemtechnik launched last year an X-ray detector which combines pulsed X-ray technology with image convertors to detect foreign objects. Heuft’s eXaminer II XB does a top-down inspection through pulsed X-ray technology using compact image converters for the first time. The company says that this increases the resolution and sensitivity when detecting foreign objects, decreases radiation emissions, and makes the precise inspection of larger products possible.

The image converters replace the previously used camera and image intensifier technology to extend the sensitive detection surface with “quadrupled resolution”, says Heuft. Parallel examination of two products at once is possible which increases maximum throughput of the system to 2,400 products per minute. X-ray parameters adapted to the full-field image converters reduce the radiation. In contrast to a conventional X-ray scan, the eXaminer II XB emits X-ray flashes which last a thousandth of a second.

LUNG GUN & POULTRY VENT CUTTER Model LKE- 1

• Ultra

light - less than 2 lbs, (0.9 kg) and can be balancer hung, if desired.

• Full •

View these tools on our website!

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vacuum immediately available for the next bird no time lag.

Easy cleaning - use vacuum to suck fluid through tool. Spray externally during clean-up.

• • • • • •

Back-up for auto venter for broiler processing.

Maintains line speed and no missed vents.

Model VC

Roaster processing, one tool can process up to 45 birds per minute.

Reduces fecal contamination.

Increases yield over knife or scissor venting.

Reduces operator hand and arm fatigue.

Jarvis Products Corporation

33 Anderson Road, Middletown CT. 06457 Telephone (860) 347-7271; Fax (860) 347-9905 E-mail: sales@jarvisproducts.com; Website: www.jarvisproducts.com

March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 61

IPPE

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IPPE 2016

30,000 attendees 1,300 Exhibitors

D

espite winter blizzards which paralyzed the US northeast just days before the show opened, 2016’s International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) drew an estimated 30,000 poultry, meat, and feed industry leader attendees from all over the world, according to show organizers.

In addition, the show has 1,301 exhibitors, a new record, with more than 464,750 net square feet of exhibit space.

Sponsored by the US Poultry & Egg Association, American Feed Industry Association and North American Meat Institute, IPPE is the world's largest annual poultry, meat and feed industry event of its kind.

“This year’s tremendous exhibitor and attendance numbers are a tribute to IPPE’s unparalleled education sessions, abundant networking opportunities and distinctive exhibits. The enthusiasm and energy displayed by this year’s attendees and exhibitors will only ensure the success and growth of future IPPEs,” the three organizations said.

Grant Parsons of Prime Equipment says it was a great show for the chicken processing equipment manufacturer.

“It’s nice when we have something new and this year we had two; new skinners that 62 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

are better machines all around. We were in an excellent position at IPPE and saw a lot of traffic.

“You can’t look at an order book at the end of IPPE and say it’s been a good show – it’s a rare that someone comes here that has the final authority signature to buy a $100,000 piece of equipment.

“Instead, you measure the success of IPPE by the orders that come in through the rest of the year after plant mangers come to the show and report back to their board.”

For Gus Politis, president of BANSS American, it was BANSS’s first time at the show.

“For us this has been an exceptional show.

Customers are willing to come down to the show and talk to us.”

While location-location-location is normally the mantra spoken by all at the show, some like BANSS and MaxiMizer did well even though they were at the far end of Hall B. Still for most, the key seems to be getting your stand as close as possible to the main road which cuts through the middle of the hall.

Dale Klinkhammer and Dave Bornhuetter of PackRite were able to change their location this year to be closer to the middle and they both said it made the world of difference.

“We’ve had much more traffic this year,” says Bornhuetter.

Big Ernie Santorelli of Ammeraal Beltech also www.meatpacking.info

IPPE

2 016

All photos mpj

changed stand locations this year and echoes the comments of the PackRite exhibitors.

“Last year we were hidden. Getting the right location makes a huge difference.”

The central attraction is the large exhibit floor. Exhibitors demonstrated the most current innovations in equipment, supplies, and services used by industry firms in the production and processing of meat, poultry, eggs, and feed products. Numerous companies highlighted their new products at the trade show. All phases of the feed, meat, and poultry industry are represented, from live production and processing to further processing and packaging.

The wide variety of educational programs complemented the exhibits by keeping industry management apprised on the latest issues and events. This year’s educational line-up featured 25 programs, ranging from a conference on challenges and opportunities in meat product traceability, to a program on the Veterinary Feed Directive, to a technical seminar on maximizing the efficiency of the poultry industry conducted entirely in Spanish.

Other featured events included the International Poultry Scientific Forum, Pet Food Conference, Pork 101 Workshop, Tech XChange program, Meat Me in @LANTA activities and publisher-sponsored programs, all of which have made the 2016 IPPE the leading annual protein and feed event in the world. www.meatpacking.info

March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 63

British show boasts food bestS

W

ith Britain’s strong pound, growing economy, and improving food tastes, this will be a good year to go to Foodex 2016, the UK’s premier trade event for the food and drink processing, packaging, ingredients, and logistics industries will return to the NEC Birmingham in April 2016.

The show, returning to the NEC Birmingham in April, provides a business platform for professionals across full industry spectrum including meat, processing, packaging, logistics, seafood, bakery, beverage, dairy, and ingredients.

Run over three days, the show will focus upon the buoyancy of the British food and drink manufacturing sector, discussing the trends that are shaping the industry, while showcasing the technologies allowing manufacturers to work more efficiently and productively.

Visitors can discover the latest new ingredients and super foods to make an impression on the industry as well as discovering how to improve traceability, consumer trust, and

64 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

transform productivity.

With more than 300 exhibitors expected at the 2016 show, the latest technologies and product launches from across the UK’s manufacturing industries will be on display.

Returning for the 2016 show, exhibitors including Multivac UK, ULMA Packaging, Reiser UK and Handtmann will join a raft of new exhibitors to showcase the latest innovations.

Features at this year’s show include the National Meat Products and the Premier Young Butcher competitions. The National Meat Products Competition, hosted by the National Federation of Meat & Food Traders will be returning to the event for the sixth consecutive occasion.

The competition, the biggest and best yet, will comprise of 20 categories and will see for the first time the inclusion of charcuterie in addition to the standard favorites of sausages, bacon, burgers, ready meals, and pies.

In addition, the Premier Young Butcher event will see talented 18 to 23-year-old apprentice butchers compete to produce and display the most innovative Ready to Eat, Stuffed Roast, Seam Butchery, Barbecue, and Kitchen Ready www.meatpacking.info

products.

Meanwhile, the center stage will host a comprehensive program of demonstrations, interactive debates and seminars across all three days. Speakers at last year’s event included presentations from the likes of The Fabulous Baker Brothers, representatives from Campden BRI, Lord Rooker, former chairman of the Food Standards Agency, and representatives from the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink and the Institute of Food Science and Technology.

Aside from exploring the show floor and frequenting the lively debates, plenary sessions and interactive master classes, visitors can head to the Engage @ Foodex zone. This is an interactive visitor destination, highlighting all sectors of the industry and offering visitors and exhibitors the chance to meet, interact and relax whilst sourcing industry information.

Dan Dixon, Event Director, said: “Foodex 2016 represents an ideal environment for decision makers from across a wide range of industries to network with key figures in the food industry, all set against a backdrop of innovation and industry expertise.”

www.meatpacking.info

The show Venue Food & Drink Expo 2016 Halls 6 & 7 National Exhibition Centre (NEC) Birmingham, UK Opening Times Monday 18 April 2016: 10am - 5pm Tuesday 19 April 2016: 10am - 5pm Wednesday 20 April 2016: 10am - 4pm Read more at www.foodex.co.uk

March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 65

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Q& A

M

Mark Schatzker

ark Schatzker is an award winning journalist who has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Conde Nast Traveler, but all of these accomplishments pale compared to his latest endeavor, writing the book STEAK: One man’s search for the world’s tastiest piece of meat. It’s humorous, lively, extremely interesting, and boy does it leave you hungry for a decent piece of beef. Mark is described as “the Bill Bryson of beef”. That’s one opinion, but at MPJ we think STEAK leaves Bryson behind at the gate. MPJ catches up with this brilliant writer.

Your book Steak is subtitled ‘One man’s search for the world’s tastiest piece of beef’, I’ll let you answer that later but first, this has to be the best idea for a book ever. How did you come up with it?

It sounds like a scheme I hatched to eat as much great steak as possible, but the simple truth of the matter is that this book was the result of a simple question I asked many, many years ago: Why is some steak better than others? Simple questions, alas, rarely have simple answers. And none of the answers I was getting — more marbling! more ageing! — added up to a good steak.

The more I delved into the world of cow meat, the more complex and fascinating it all became. And it just didn’t make sense to me that we all love steak but, beyond this or that cut, know so little about it.

Your research brought you to seven countries; about how many pounds of steak did you consume during this time?

For the book itself, easily more than 100 pounds. But the truth is, the steak “journey” began long before the 66 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

book, and has continued. So I’m not sure where that puts the running total. However, I would point out that I’m not some kind of mad steak glutton. The truth is, I seldom order it in restaurants because I know it will disappoint me.

One thing you bring up throughout the book is that while your average steak looks and smells great, the flavor isn’t there – case in point, the amount of seasonings and sauces which are made for steak. One of the best steaks I’ve ever ate was at a ranch in Mexico where it came from a 100% grass fed cow. Due to the toughness of the meat, it was cut very thin, but quickfried with just a bit of crushed salt for seasoning and then wrapped in a fresh flour tortilla. Over 20-years later I can still taste its amazing flavor. In our quest for tender steaks that you can cut with a fork, is flavor what we’ve lost?

I think in general most people today value tenderness over flavor, especially in modern developed countries like England, the USA, or Canada. When you visit other parts of the world, such as Mongolia or Mexico, you often find beef that’s tougher but bursting with extraordinary flavor. My preference is for flavor. I don’t mind a bit of chew if the meat speaks to my soul. But all that said, there doesn’t have to be a tradeoff between flavor and tenderness. Tenderness is influenced by many variables, including genetics and aging. But a big one is rate of gain. If cattle are gaining in the ballpark of 2 lbs per day when they’re slaughtered, the meat will be much more tender than if they’re not gaining. So if that Mexican cow had been eating higher quality grass, the beef would have probably been much more tender.

You go back continually between grass fed vs corn fed, is the answer as simple as that as far as flavor goes?

The simple answer is yes. The flavor of beef comes from www.meatpacking.info

b ac k

grass. When I was researching steak, I interviewed a man who ran a huge feedlot in Argentina. He told me that early on, they tried putting the cattle on corn when they were very young. What they found is that the meat tasted like pork. But nothing in life is simple. Not all grass fed beef is good. In fact, a lot of it is quite bad.

It comes down to the quality of grass. Furthermore, simply feeding one kernel of corn to a grass-fed steer doesn’t suddenly render the meat flavorless. But the tendency in cattle production is to feed cattle A LOT of corn. In fact, it can be challenging and time consuming to feed them only a little. I think farmers should find the system that works best for them. Alderspring Ranch in Idaho does 100% grass-fed beef, because the grass there is excellent, and the hay is outstanding. But Angus MacKay, who was raising Highlands in Bridge of Earn when I visited him (now it’s his son), feeds about four lbs/day of barley in the winter, because the hay in Scotland is nothing like the hay in Idaho, due to the cloud cover, rainfall, and so forth. MacKay’s beef is technically grain-fed, but it’s far, far cry from the cornfed industrial beef most Americans are familiar with.

You found in Scotland, France, and Italy some amazing steaks which came from cattle which in the States would have been considered too old to be judged USDA Prime. While on one hand there seems to be a flaw in the USDA judging standards, on the other hand, flavor – or the potential for flavor – seems impossible to judge. What are your thoughts on this?

The USDA’s initiative to grade beef began in 1918. And they faced quite the problem. Given a slaughterhouse full of sides of beef, how do you figure out which ones are good and which ones are bad? Ideally, you’d slice a steak off each one, cook it and taste it. That, obviously, just isn’t possible. So the USDA did what they could — they looked at the fat cover and they looked at the age of the animal. Back then, I think it made some sense.

Most cattle were coming off grass, and the fatter ones had eaten well and would have tasted superb. But we’ve changed that with industrial corn feeding, which manages to put a thick layer of fat on the carcass, and dapple the meat with intramuscular fat, but which leaves much to be desired in the flavor department. As far as the age of the animal goes, there is no question that beef does get tougher as cattle age. However, I don’t think they cross some invisible line at 30 months or 40 months and come inedible. In fact, if you take care to fatten older cattle and age the meat, the steaks can be among the very, very best. The problem with so much of the beef we eat today is that it is, in fact, too young — too much like veal.

An interesting idea you bring up is with wine. People normally don’t buy ‘red wine’, they buy a specific type, made from grapes grown in a specific area. But www.meatpacking.info

page

with beef, you mention Texan ranchers are even themselves unsure if the beef they’re eating comes from their own herds. Do you think the average beef consumer would want variety of breed, grass type, etc, to add to their eating experience?

I think the wine analogy extends only so far to beef. I’ve found a lot of serious beef lovers want to talk about how this breed tastes versus that breed.

It’s not that simple. Grape varieties are genetic clones. Cattle breeds, on the other hand, contain a massive amount of genetic variation. Basically, not all Angus taste the same. And when it comes to flavor, there’s an even more notable difference — grapes produce their own flavor compounds, whereas cattle express the flavor of the feed they have been eating. So you could take two identical cattle and feed them differently and you’d have two different steaks. That’s not to say there’s nothing to the whole business of breeds. I tend to think of them as a genetic potential to respond to a set of conditions. If you are grazing cattle on marginal pasture in the north of Scotland, a breed like Charolais would produce awful beef (assuming they even survived) — you’d want Highlands. And there’s no question that breeds like Wagyu have distinct eating qualities, most notably the marbling, a more monounsaturated fat, which makes the fat soft and produces a different flavor. But I believe the biggest variables affecting flavor are feed and age at slaughter.

Besides eating a prodigious amount of beef, you also raised, named – Fleurance - and slaughtered your own cow which allowed you to put some of your own ideas into practice such as feeding Fleurance apples, acorns, and carrots. Are you on to something?

Fleurance tasted wonderful. I still dream of her steaks. But feeding apples and carrots can be expensive. And not everyone has oak trees. So my recommendation to farmers is to make use of the local geography.

Hand on heart, during the course of research for Steak, which was the best steak you ate or is the quest for the best, unattainable?

I cannot give that away, as I don’t think anyone would read the book. But what I will say is this: steak’s potential to delight us, move us and bring us to the very peak of gustatory experience is real. It doesn’t happen often — in fact it happens so rarely, it’s easy to wonder if it’s all a myth. But it’s not. So my advice to steak lovers is to keep searching, keep on the trail of great steak, because it can be found.

Oh, and read my book of course.

March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 67

D ire c t o ry

Directory Accles & Shelvoke

Jarvis Products Corporation

Stork Poultry Processing

Services: Slaughter and stunning Species: Poultry, Pork, Red Meat Region: Worldwide Web: www.acclesandshelvoke.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 121 313 4567 Email: info@acclesandshelvoke.co.uk

Services: Processing, Slaughter Species: Pork, Red Meat Region: Worldwide Web: www.jarvisproducts.com Tel: +1 860 347 7271 Email: sales@jarvisproducts.com

Banss America

MPS meat processing systems

Services: Food safety and hygiene, Logistics and handling, Processing, Slaughter Species: Pork, Red Meat Region: North America Web: www.banssamerica.com Tel: +1 407 930 3554 Email: gpolitis@banss.de

Services: Slaughter, Processing, Further processing, Weighing and portioning,, Waste treatment, logistics Species: Pork, Red Meat, Region: Worldwide Web: www.mps-group.nl Tel: +31 544 390500 Email: info@mps-group.nl

Services: Further Processing, IT solutions, Labeling and packaging, Logistics and handling, Other services, Processing, Refrigeration, Slaughter, Weighing and portioning Species: Poultry Region: Worldwide Web: www.marel.com/poultry Tel: +31 (0) 485 586 111 Email: info.poultry@marel.com

Dohmeyer Services: Cooling and refrigeration; further processing Species: Pork, Poultry, Red meat, Other Region: Worldwide Web: www.dohmeyer.com Tel: +48 17 788 98 17 Email: info@dohmeyer.com

Multisorb

FRC Systems International

Prime Equipment Group

Services: Waste management Species: Poultry, Pork, Red Meat Region: Worldwide Web: www.frcsystems.com Tel: +1 770 534 3681 Email: info@frcsystems.com

Services: Processing, Slaughter Species: Poultry, Red Meat Region: Worldwide Web: www.primeequipmentgroup.com Tel: +1 614 253 8590 Fax: +1 614 253 6966 Email: Sales@PrimeEquipmentGroup.com

Handtmann

Services: Packaging Species: Poultry, Pork, Red Meat Region: Worldwide Web: www.multisorb.com Tel: +1 716 824 8900 Email: info@multisorb.com

Services: Processing, Further processing, Weighing and portioning Species: Poultry, Pork, Red Meat Region: Worldwide Web: www.handtmann.de Tel: +49 7351 45 0 Email: info.machines@handtmann.de

Provisur Technologies

Hyde Industrial Blade Solutions

Reiser

Services: Further Processing, Processing, Slaughter Species: Poultry, Pork, Red Meat Region: Worldwide Web: www.hydeblades.com Tel: +1 (508) 764-4344 Email: sales@hydeblades.com

Services: Further Processing, Labeling and packaging, Processing Species: Poultry, Pork, Red Meat Region: Europe, North America Web: www.reiser.com Tel: +1 614 253 8590 Email: sales@reiser.com

Services: Further Processing, Processing Species: Poultry, Pork, Red Meat Region: Worldwide Web: www.provisur.com Tel: +1 312 204 6042 Email: info@provisur.com

Scott Technology Services: Further Processing, Logistics and handling, Processing, Refrigeration Species: Red Meat Region: Worldwide Web: www.scott.co.nz Tel: +1 614 253 8590 Email: sales@scott.co.nz

Get your company listed in print and online

sales@meatpacking.info

68 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

www.meatpacking.info

e v en t s

2016 7-12 May IFFA GERMANY Frankfurt, Germany www.iffa.messefrankfurt.com 10-11 May BRITISH PIG & POULTRY Stoneleigh Park, UK www.pigandpoultry.org.uk 16-20 May Alltech Rebelation Lexington, KY, USA rebel.alltech.com 17-20 May EXPO PACK MEXICO Mexico City www.expopack.com.mx 22-25 June FOOD TAIPEI Taipei www.foodtaipei.com.tw 27-29 July PROCESSED FOOD INDUSTRY Mexico City www.mexicofoodsummit.com 2-4 August ANUTEC 2016 Curitiba, Brazil www.koelnmessenafta.com 6-8 September VIV CHINA 2016 Beijing www.vivchina.nl 8-9 November WORLD MEAT CONGRESS Punta del Este, Uruguay www.worldmeatcongress2016.com 8-9 November MEAT CHINA 2016 Shanghai www.fhcchina.com

www.meatpacking.info

March~April 2016 | Meat Packing Journal | 69

C O n t ac t s

Velo Mitrovich

Rhian Owen

Editorial

Sales

Velo Mitrovich

Jim Robertson

Editor +44 1442 780 591 velo@meatpacking.info

James Chappelow

Technical Editor james@meatpacking.info

Head of Sales +44 1442 780 593 jim@meatpacking.info

Randolf Krings

European Sales +49 611 5324 416 randolf-krings@t-online.de

Executive

reby media

Jack Young

Reby House

Publisher jack@rebymedia.com

Rhian Owen

Group Editor +44 1442 780 592 rhian@meatpacking.info

Jack Young

42 Crouchfield Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire HP1 1PA Great Britain info@rebymedia.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without the express prior written consent of the publisher.

Meat Packing Journal ISSN 2054-4677 is published bimonthly by Reby Media, 42 Crouchfield, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP1 1PA. Subscription records are maintained at Reby Media, 42 Crouchfield, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP1 1PA. Meat Packing Journal and its Editorial Board accept no responsibility for the accuracy of statements or opinion given within the Journal that is not the expressly designated opinion of the Journal or its Editorial Board. Those opinions expressed in areas other than editorial comment may not be taken as being the opinion of the Journal or its staff, and the aforementioned accept no responsibility or liability for actions that arise therefrom.

70 | Meat Packing Journal | March~April 2016

Jim Robertson

SUBscriptions Meat Packing Journal is a bimonthly magazine mailed every January, March, May, July, September and November. Subscriptions can be purchased for six or 12 issues. Prices for single issue subscriptions or back issues can be obtained by emailing: subscriptions@meatpacking.info

Europe One year: â&#x201A;Ź119, two year: â&#x201A;Ź199 North America One year: $169, two year: $279 Rest of the world One year: $199, two year: $299 The content of Meat Packing Journal is subject to copyright. However, if you would like to obtain copies of an article for marketing purposes high-quality reprints can be supplied to your specification. Please contact the advertising team for full details of this service. Meat Packing Journal is printed at Buxton Press Ltd, Derbyshire, UK.

Editorial advisory board Meat Packing Journal is advised and guided by an editorial advisory board formed of leading professionals and researchers

Jorge Ruiz Carrascal University of Copenhagen Fred W. Pohlman University of Arkansas Ian Richardson University of Bristol Graeme Rolinson Marel

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