Frisia Food incorporates new Meyn technology

Frisia Food has a tradition dating back more than 60 years in the poultry industry. The original company (J. de Vries & Zn BV) started out as a traditional chicken processing plant and developed into one of the larger processing plants of The Netherlands. In 2010, the slaughtering activities of J. de Vries & Zn BV were acquired and continued under the name Frisia Food b.v. The company is situated in Haulerwijk, in the Northern part of The Netherlands.
Over the years, the plant has been extensively refurbished. In 2011, the complete slaughtering department was replaced with new equipment, such as Quest stunner, electrical stimulation, footpad inspection system and jet stream scalder. Also incorporated in this department is a complete feet processing line as the company exports their feet products to Asia. One year later, in 2012, the refurbishment of the evisceration department took place and a new 12,000 bph Maestro evisceration line was installed.
This year, Frisia decided to incorporate several newly developed Meyn machines into their existing process. In the slaughtering department, the new tail feather puller was added, making the plucking process more efficient. For the automatic rehanging from the slaughtering line to evisceration line, the newly developed Syncom rehanger was installed. In the evisceration department, the new fat retention machine and cropping machine result in a reduced wear and tear.
Frisia is also the first company to be operating the new Meyn Mags automatic giblet harvesting solution. Anton Storteboom, CEO of Frisia Foods: “We are very content with the results of the Mags. The liver quality is very high and the reliable and constant performance and optimum end product presentation is exactly what we need in this highly delicate part of the process.”

Columbia Farms replaces defeathering line

House of Raeford Farms, Inc., headquartered in Rose Hill, NC, is a family owned, fully integrated poultry company with processing facilities located throughout the southeastern United States. One of their poultry processing facilities, Columbia Farms is located in Greenville, SC, and processes 11,000 large broilers per hour for deboning.
In order to improve their yields and overall plucking performance, Columbia Farms decided to replace their existing 6-inch defeathering line by a new 8-inch 11,000 birds per hour Meyn line. The newly installed line consists of a Quest waterbath stunner, jet stream scalder, four JM64 pluckers, one JMD2 plucker, new tail feather puller, hock plucker as well as two rehangers from slaughtering to evisceration. The rehangers hang the birds from the 8-inch slaughtering line to two 6-inch evisceration lines, which is the first of its kind in the United States.
Mr Luke Brewer, plant manager says, “We are very happy with the results of the new defeathering line. Over-scalding of the birds has been completely eliminated; both whole griller and boneless breast yields have increased; and quality checks confirm improved feather removal.”

Lawmakers urge USDA not to speed up poultry processing lines

On March 17, 68 U.S. Congress members signed a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack urging him to abandon plans to implement a new set of regulations that would increase the speed of lines in poultry processing plants.
"While we strongly support modernizing our food safety system and making it more efficient, modernization should not occur at the expense of public health, worker safety, or animal welfare," the letter said. "We therefore harbor serious concerns over what we believe are the [agency's] inadequate considerations to date of these issues in promulgating this rule."
The lawmakers argue that plans to remove some Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) inspectors who examine chickens for defects off the production line in poultry plants would leave much of the inspection duties to companies themselves, while also allowing the industry to speed up production lines, would threaten the safety of workers and the food supply.
The proposal, supported by industry groups including National Chicken Council (NCC), is intended to modernize the inspection process by allowing the remaining inspectors to focus instead on unseen dangers such as bacteria. To do so, a pilot program already in place would be expanded, phasing out an estimated 800 inspection jobs at a savings of nearly $95 million over three years, according to the department.
"So there's been an aggressive effort focused on this," Vilsack said. "The savings that's in this budget is a result of a proposal to modernize poultry inspection, which has not really changed much in the last 60 years. I think we know a lot more about where pathogens attach, what pathogens are most of concern, and how we might be able to improve the inspection process, while at the same time ... saving money."
Current rules require a federal inspector for every 35 birds that cross the slaughter line each minute; the total number of birds allowed to pass through is capped at 140 per minute, requiring four federal inspectors. The draft regulations would require one federal inspector on the line, with other inspection responsibilities falling to plant employees, while speeds would increase to allow 175 birds to pass by every minute, according to the letter.
"FSIS's proposal thus hobbles what should be a fundamental goal of modernization - to create a system that tracks rates of contamination and facilitates continuous improvement in the poultry industry to decrease those rates throughout the system," lawmakers wrote to Vilsack.

Annual Poultry Processors Workshop features industry experts

The 2013 Annual Poultry Processors Workshop, co-hosted by The Poultry Federation and the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, will be held October 2-3. The two-day educational event addresses current issues for the poultry processor including HACCP, QA, human resources, and environmental maintenance. The Supplier Showcase portion of the workshop is the largest local tradeshow for poultry processors and purchasing personnel to attend.
The first day of the conference will be held at the Holiday Inn in Springdale, located at 1500 South 48th St. The second day of the conference will be held at the University of Arkansas, Center of Excellence for Poultry Science in Fayetteville, beginning with an omelet breakfast hosted by the Poultry Science Club.
The conference continues its long-standing tradition of bringing together poultry processors and industry experts to discuss everyday issues of the poultry industry. Campylobacter, Salmonella, and water sustainability are just a few of the topics to be addressed at the educational conference. In follow-up to a recent conference hosted by The Poultry Federation, Campylobacter and Salmonella continues to be an important topic for the poultry industry and this will be addressed at the workshop by Dr. Peggy Cook of MCA Services and Dr. Scott Stillwell of Tyson Foods.
Other activities include a reception with door prizes during the Supplier Showcase, a networking event on Wednesday evening, and a golf tournament on Thursday afternoon.

Paul Fox -- Keynote Speaker, Wednesday: The Poultry Industry -- Looking Around Corners
Paul Fox is president and chief executive officer of O.K. Foods Inc., Bachoco USA LLC. Prior to his current position Fox was managing director of The Marfrig Group, a multinational protein company based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Fox spent 17 years at Tyson Foods, Inc., as vice president of domestic and international operations and was a private equity CEO for the leading vegetable ingredient company.
Fox received his Masters of Science in Leadership and Ethics from John Brown University and his Bachelors of Science in Animal Science from Missouri State University, where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order and hosted a radio talk show, "The Noon Farm Show." Fox currently resides in Fort Smith, Arkansas with his wife, Perla of 17 years, and their four daughters. He enjoys managing a six-generation family farm. He is a board member of the Fort Smith Regional Council, Union Christian Academy, and National Chicken Council.

Michael Gooch -- Keynote Speaker, Wednesday: The Value of Human Resources
Michael L. Gooch, author and retired executive consultant, specializes in providing practical, take-home information delivered in high-energy, high-impact presentations. He has shown numerous organizations how to make the best possible human resources decisions. Using a "folksy" humorous delivery, he defines true human resources management as more art than science. Gooch is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources.
Gooch is the former corporate director of human resources for Pilgrim's Pride Corporation. He recently retired from Perdue Farms as a complex HR manager. Prior to this, he worked in a variety of human resources positions at several locations for ConAgra Foods. Through the years, Gooch has won numerous eminent industry and governmental awards in leadership, teamwork, and safety. He has authored newsletter articles on a variety of management topics and is the author of the book Wingtips with Spurs and Lessons from the Ranch. 

Roddy Rogers -- Keynote Speaker, Thursday: Drinking Water Supply for the Future: A Regional Issue
Roddy Rogers is a native of Springfield, Missouri, and attended the University of Missouri-Rolla. He received his BS, in Civil Engineering in 1981, a Master's Degree in Geotechnical Engineering in 1983, and a second Master's Degree in Engineering Management in 1990. He is currently manager of water treatment and supply for City Utilities of Springfield, Missouri.
Rogers is a past president of two engineering societies, past chair of the Missouri Section of the American Water Works Association, and a Leadership Springfield alumnus. Rogers is a four-time Governor appointee to the Missouri Dam and Reservoir Safety Council and has served a total of nine years, four as chair. He is a past president of the Tri-States Water Resource coalition seeking to establish a water supply source for the region and has participated in volunteer engineering/mission projects in several impoverished countries.
Conference pre-registration fee is US$60 for TPF members; US$75 for non-members; US$25 for university personnel; students are free of charge. On-site registration is US$15 extra. The registration fee covers all session presentations, receptions, showcase, and accompanying meals. Exhibitor table top space fee is US$100 for TPF members; $200 for non-members. The workshop golf tournament will be held at Springdale Country Club on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 1:00 p.m. Individual entry is US$100 per person or US$400 per team; box lunch provided.
Hotel registrations are available by calling Holiday Inn in Springdale: +1.479.751.8300.
For more information on the workshop, visit The Poultry Federation's website.

Poultry processors urged to take control of animal welfare programs

John McGlone, director of animal welfare services at Texas Tech University, urged poultry processors to take control of their animal welfare programs. Failure to do so is not only irresponsible, but it could also greatly hurt the company's image and overall financial success, McGlone said at the USPOULTRY Financial Management Seminar, held recently in Orlando, Fla.
Animal rights activists not only target poultry farms and processors, but they also target the retailers who sell their products. And when the public learns about mistreatment of the animals by processors or by their growers, all three are perceived as abusive.
"When you attack the brand, you attack the image. Brand is very important to any company that sells a product," McGlone said.
McGlone gave several examples of how when retailers learned of animals being treated with disrespect at the farm or processor levels, they went elsewhere for their meat and poultry supplies.
The best way to eliminate this risk is to not only have an animal welfare program in place, but to also have everybody on board.
"From the CEO to the middle management to the workers, every single person should be familiar and conversational about animal welfare," McGlone said. 

Poultry companies can’t afford to operate without yield technicians

When poultry processors allow even the smallest piece of meat go to waste, they are also allowing money to go to waste. By hiring special yield technicians, companies can help maximize yield from each bird and improve the bottom line, Kevin Ingram, quality assurance manager for Koch Foods, said during the recent Poultry Processor Workshop.
Ingram estimated that a 1 percent yield loss can cost a processing plant $5,200 per day, which adds up to $1,326,000 annually. When a manager looks at those statistics, the question of whether the company can afford to hire a yield technician gets answered with a definitive "yes."
"There are so many little areas, with so many pieces of equipment that we touch in a poultry plant where we can find yield that it justifies the extra technicians. If they can help us find that 1 percent, they've paid for their salary," Ingram said.
Lost yield can be found at all stages of the plant, Ingram said. Receiving, live hang, kill room, picking room, evisceration, chilling, second processing and further processing are all stages where yield loss can occur.
All employees need to be aware of yield, Ingram said. He suggested that all plant workers be trained in yield awareness, that daily and weekly yield data be posted, and employees be given frequent feedback on performance. 

Chicken processing: Staying lucky in Salmonella roulette

“Our product has Salmonella on it, and some people will get sick. We want to reduce the risk of people getting sick,” said Dr. Randy Singer, epidemiologist, departments of veterinary and biomedical sciences, University of Minnesota.
Singer spoke at the Poultry Federation Salmonella Summit, which was held at a casino in West Siloam Springs, Okla. He asked, “Why do regulators continue to focus on prevalence? That isn't a good indicator of risk. We should be focused on [Salmonella] loads, not prevalence.”
A casino provided an appropriate backdrop for a discussion of risk assessment and calculating the odds of keeping people healthy. Singer said that it absolutely matters which strain of Salmonella is present on a food item when considering risk of someone getting sick. He said that there is a dose-related effect to getting sick. “You get sick from a food item with an infective dose, not from one that is ‘positive’ for Salmonella.” He estimated that an infective dose would tend to be a minimum of 1,000 to 10,000 cells of Salmonella and that one cell would not make someone sick.
Singer said that the USDA is using models to estimate risk that use prevalence of Salmonella and not the infective dose. If you take real data and plug the data into the models, they don’t work. “The models aren't working,” he said. "Prevalence is not an indicator of risk." Singer said that the USDA calls for Salmonella interventions to provide log reductions of Salmonella, and that this recognizes that load is part of risk not prevalence.

Correlating the farm with the plant
Singer and other researchers wanted to find a simple measurement that could be taken at a broiler farm before the flock was brought to slaughter that would correlate well with post-chill Salmonella samples for the flock. They found that “boot sock” environmental samples taken in the broiler house a week of two prior to slaughter correlated fairly well with post-chill Salmonella and Campylobacter samples for the flocks when they were marketed. A “boot sock” sample is just a sock worn over a boot while you walk through the broiler house. In their studies, Singer said that they walked in between the feed and water line in the houses.
If you introduce live side Salmonella interventions, Singer continued, you can predict the impact on post chill product samples by doing boot sock tests in the houses. This allows for quicker feedback on what interventions are working.
Singer said that the poultry industry needs to attack those strains of Salmonella that are causing problems to animal health and human health.

VIV Asia highlights future directions for Asia’s meat, poultry processing

As part of its MeatTec educational program, VIV Asia 2013, being held in Bangkok, Thailand, looked at how the meat processing sector in Asia is developing and will continue to evolve. Like other markets, Asia is expected to see growing pressure on resources, including food, water and energy, and water is expected to be a particular problem in those countries with particularly hot and dry climates.
A variety of aspects of meat processing will have to become more efficient and more automated if the sector is to continue to prosper.
The rising middle class is an oft-quoted factor contributing to, and developing from, Asia's growing economies. While this is good for meat consumption, with it comes the problem that, with rising aspirations, ever-fewer people want to work in meat processing plants.
In some Asian markets it has already become difficult to recruit mid-level managers, while in others it is increasingly hard to recruit any staff at all. The answer to this is to create an environment that needs fewer staff, i.e., less human capital.
In Asia, many processing operations are still performed manually. This has worked well while labor has been cheap, but processors will have to look at automating those operations that are currently performed by hand if they are to overcome growing labor shortages.
The physical as well as the economic climate also presents its own challenges in hot and humid countries. Within the processing plant, not only temperature, but also humidity need to be kept under control. Clearly, this demands energy. In most plants, more energy is expended on controlling temperature and controlling humidity can result in particularly high energy bills.
However, a failure to control humidity can result in unpleasant and potentially dangerous conditions, as humidity can result in equipment maintenance issues, the growth of mold and bacteria, musty odors, slippery floors and even temporary plant closures. Delegates were shown a liquid chloride dessicant option for controlling humidity that not only results in energy savings of some 40 percent, but also helps to kill bacteria in the air.
Attendees at MeatTech were also given an overview of the various ways that the shelf-life of meat can be extended. Key in shelf-life extension is the addition of preservatives. Currently, Asian meat processors often rely on a chemical approach to meat preservation. However, as the market becomes increasingly sophisticated, there is expected to be greater use of natural preservatives.
Yet, a long shelf-life starts before the addition of preservatives, and delegates were shown various hygiene measures and procedures that can be put in place before workers even enter the plant and extends right through to the type of packaging used.
Labeling is another area that is undergoing change. For example, in the wake of a number of food scandals, China is trying to introduce a labeling policy that is stricter than that demanded by the EU. How well this will be enforced, however, remains to be seen.
Consumers in all markets want to know exactly what they are buying and where it has come from. QR codes are a way of delivering this information and these matrix codes can deliver significantly greater amounts of data than the old style bar codes and are much harder to corrupt. Delegates were also shown a label that changes color as the meat in a package reaches the end of it shelf-life. Although currently only being rolled out in Europe, this type of technology is expected to become more common place across continents.

Heat treatment should be part of Listeria control for poultry products

Daily sanitation programs in ready-to-eat meat and poultry product plants are employed to keep product contact surfaces in ready-to-eat production areas clean and Listeria-free. Some surfaces, like electrical boxes, wiring harnesses, or other interior surfaces of equipment are difficult or impractical to thoroughly clean at all, let alone on a daily basis. Steve Tsuyuki, senior director, food safety, Maple Leaf Foods, explained how heat treatment of equipment can successfully reduce microbial counts in even the most difficult to clean places.
Tsuyuki told the participants at the Improving Food Safety, Maintenance and Sanitation Workshop, presented by the American Meat Institute, during the International Production & Processing Expo, that heat treatment is like the semiannual teeth cleaning that we all get at our dentist’s office. We still brush our teeth every day, just as we perform daily sanitation in the processing plant, but the dental hygienist is able to remove tartar that our daily brushing just doesn’t remove.

Killing Listeria where daily cleaning can’t
Listeria is easily killed by heat, and Tsuyuki said that heat intervention attacks bacteria where they live and grow. He said that raising the temperature of the equipment to 160 F for at least 30 minutes is usually enough to kill off bacteria, particularly Listeria, on equipment.
Tsuyuki said that steam tenting is a relatively simple heat treatment process that can be used on many pieces of equipment. He said that when they started steam tenting they had to develop their own protocols. Besides wet steam, you need compressed air, sheet polyethylene to wrap the equipment, a steam manifold, temperature probes, tape and shrink wrap. The compressed air is used to keep the steam out of sensitive areas where it could be detrimental to components.
Maple Leaf uses 10 psi of compressed air to provide positive pressure in sensitive areas and the compressed air also helps to inflate the tent. Shrink wrap and the tape are used to seal the tent. Tsuyuki said that they use 30 psi saturated steam to provide the heat and moisture. He said that wet steam is required to get a good kill of the microbes. By trial and error, he said they learned that you need to turn off any air handling equipment near equipment that you are steam tenting, otherwise it can take too long to get the temperature up inside the tent.

Microbial data determines success
It is important to swab the equipment both before and after steam tenting, so you can determine how much of an effect you are having. The steam and the air pumped into the tent form a sauna bubble. You have to cut back the steam when you reach the target temperature. Tsuyuki said that you need temperature probes to monitor hot and cold spots and to maintain the target temperature for at least 30 minutes, or longer depending on your program. When you are done, you cut the plastic to let the steam come out.
Swab results will let you know how long you need to maintain the target temperature for, and over time you can develop a protocol for steam tenting each piece of your equipment. Tsuyuki said that you don't have to steam tent, because ovens or smoke houses can be used to heat treat some portable equipment, but you need to have moisture as well as heat for effective treatment. He said that clean-out-of-place tanks can work well for small pieces of equipment. Portable steamers can also be effective for small localized areas that can’t go into a clean-out-of-place tank.
Benefits outweigh risks
Steam tenting can be used for things like conveyors, basically anything you can wrap. He stressed that heat treatment is not a replacement for regular cleaning; it is an addition to it. Tsuyuki said that heat treatment can be a replacement for a total tear down.
He said that some companies still don't steam tent equipment, but that they should. Tsuyuki said that benefits of heat treatment far exceed the risk.

Georgia researchers develop intelligent poultry cutting, deboning system

Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute have developed a prototype system that uses advanced imaging technology and a robotic cutting arm to automatically debone chicken and other poultry products.
The Intelligent Cutting and Deboning System employs a 3-D vision system that determines where to cut a particular bird. The device automatically performs precision cuts that optimize yield, while also reducing the risk of bone fragments in the finished product. “Each bird is unique in its size and shape," said Gary McMurray, chief of the institute's food processing technology division. "So we have developed the sensing and actuation needed to allow an automated deboning system to adapt to the individual bird, as opposed to forcing the bird to conform to the machine.”


Gary Meek
A robotic system used in the Intelligent Cutting and Deboning project prepares to slice through the shoulder joint of a chicken. 


The system, developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute's food processing technology division, is pursuing two goals: cutting close to the bone to maximize breast meat yield and ensuring food safety by avoiding creation of bone chips.
McMurray said he expects the intelligent deboning system to match or exceed the efficiency of the manual process. Testing of the deboning prototype system, including cutting experiments, has confirmed the system’s ability to recognize bone during a cut and to avoid bone chips — thus demonstrating the validity of the institute's approach. “There are some very major factors in play in this project,” said McMurray. “Our automated deboning technology can promote food safety, since bone chips are a hazard in boneless breast fillets. But it can also increase yield, which is significant because every 1 percent loss of breast meat represents about $2.5 million to each of Georgia’s 20 poultry processing plants.”

Albertville Quality Foods purchases poultry further processor

Alabama-based Albertville Quality Foods has purchased poultry further processor Sunrise Foods LLC, adding over $100 million in additional revenues to its business, according to reports.
The acquisition significantly expands the profile and capabilities of Albertville, said the company, which will service a marquee list of foodservice, restaurant and retail customers through its operation of three facilities and eight production lines. As part of the acquisition, Sunrise CEO Joseph Blancato will join Albertville's board.
“This acquisition is the culmination of efforts to establish a leading position in the protein further processing sector," said Richard Stokes of H.I.G. Capital, the global private equity investment firm Albertville is part of. "We are very excited about the growth prospects of the combined company. We have great confidence in the management team running the operations. We intend to continue to actively support the company as it builds on its well-deserved reputation for superior quality and excellent customer service.”

Maple Leaf Foods to consolidate poultry operations

Maple Leaf Foods has announced that it will consolidate its further processed poultry operations into its Brantford and Mississauga Ontario, Canada facilities, increasing efficiencies and providing opportunities for growth in the value-added chicken market. The company will transfer production from its 42,000-square-foot facility in Ayr, Ontario and close the plant in May 2012. Investments totaling approximately $6.5 million will be made in Mississauga and Brantford to support the production transfers. In addition, Maple Leaf Foods will incur approximately $5.6 million before taxes in restructuring costs, of which approximately $4.2 million are cash costs. The investment in the Mississauga facility will create approximately 75 new hourly and salaried positions at that facility. The closure of the Ayr plant will result in a net reduction of approximately 100 positions. The company is working with affected employees to assist them in finding employment either within Maple Leaf Foods or in the broader economy.

USPOULTRY accepting Clean Water Award applications

The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association is accepting applications for the 2012 Clean Water Awards, which recognizes outstanding water treatment plant performance in the poultry industry.
“Environmental stewardship is an important aspect of daily operations for poultry companies, and they do a terrific job in their water treatment operations,” said Gary Cooper, chairman of USPOULTRY.  “They reclaim most of the water used to process poultry and return it to the environment in first-rate condition. We are pleased to sponsor this annual competition to highlight poultry operations and their environmental management programs that safeguard our natural resources."
There are two categories for the award: one for full treatment facilities, which are those facilities that fully reclaim their wastewater prior to discharge into receiving water or a final land application system; and one for pretreatment facilities, which are those facilities that discharge pretreated effluent to publicly-owned full treatment facilities. Any USPOULTRY member company is eligible to submit one nominee in each category.  Facilities which have previously won the award may not be re-nominated for five years. The deadline for submitting applications is Nov. 15, 2011.
For the application form and more information, go to www.poultryegg.org/environment.

USDA releases poultry, meat compliance guide for salmonella prevention

An FSIS study that suggests “small” and “very small” establishments are more likely to test positive for salmonella.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service has posted a regulatory compliance guide focusing on FSIS best practices to help small poultry and meat producers and processors avoid salmonella and other pathogen contamination.
The document has been released in conjunction with an FSIS study that suggests “small” (between 10 and 500 employees) and “very small” (fewer than 10 employees or less than $2.5 million in annual sales) producers and processors are more likely to test positive for salmonella. According to the 2000–2008 study, all but one of the salmonella-positive samples taken were obtained from small or very small facilities.
The compliance guide provides directions and links to further information regarding processes, lethality requirements, stabilization and post-processing handling and sanitation.

High pressure processing for poultry offers increased food safety

High pressure processing uses elevated pressure levels as a kill step for pathogens and other spoilage organisms, resulting in sustainability through longer shelf life and less food waste. (Photo courtesy: Avure Technologies)

Concern for better food safety and the use of fewer preservatives in poultry and other meat, both ready to eat and raw, is a challenge some companies are meeting with high pressure processing. The process uses elevated pressure levels as a kill step for pathogens and other spoilage organisms, resulting in sustainability through longer shelf life and less food waste.
The use of up to 87,000 pounds of pressure per square inch eliminates the need for the certain preservatives, which also answers to current consumer demands.
HPP is experiencing huge growth, especially as consumer habits are trending toward fresh and healthy while maintaining convenience, said Glenn Hewson, vice president of global marketing for Avure Technologies Inc., a company that offers custom high pressure processing systems.
The company assists meat processors in moving to HPP systems, from product development through market launch.
Tyson, Perdue Farms and Cargill are a few of the companies using this type of processing. Cargill's Fressure fresh ground beef patties, for example, use no preservatives or high heat and have a "double-the-industry-average shelf life," according to the company.