Vol2, iss 5, Meat Packing Journal, Sep~Oct 2015 by Reby Media

The international magazine for the meat and poultry industry

MEAT PACKING J O U R N A L

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September~October 2015 volume 2 | issue 5 ISSN 2054-4685

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C o Mmen t

Labels, labels, everywhere

n the USA, the COOL battle continues, with Mexico and Canada threatening legal action costing the US taxpayers billions in fines if Country Of Origin Labeling on meat isn’t revoked, while consumers groups say they want the labels. In Europe COOL is required - though granted sometimes the labeling is so vague all you know is that the product was produced on Earth. Still, most countries are proud of their products and put additional labels on their meat so there is no doubt where it comes from. To me, ‘100% Mexican Grass-Fed Beef’ sounds like a selling point - not something to hide. So will US consumers win the debate - and what will actually be a ‘win’ for them? I have doubts that they know. For example, in almost all US polls regarding meat and poultry, shoppers say that the most important things to them are: the welfare of the animal; the meat is hormone and antibiotic free; it’s organic and nutritious; and then way down the list is cost. USA companies are responding. Major chicken companies have come out with antibiotic-free chicken. Restaurants are jumping on as well; Wendy’s is trial-marketing a grilled chicken dish which is antibiotic free. Chipotle’s proudly states that its pork comes from pigs not reared in gestation cages, and a course there is California’s Proposition 2 and roomier cages for egg production. My omelets feel better already. But I’ll let you in on a secret: what consumers tell pollsters and what consumers do at the check-out counter are about as far apart as possible and still be in this universe. Consumers care about price; they care about price; and ill Roenigk is this issue's Back they care about price. That is a lesson which has taken the fish industry over a Page interview. His insight into decade to learn. poultry is amazing but what makes On the micro-scale, there was a fish shop where I’d go to on a Saturday the interview is the advice he gives at morning to buy the day’s catch, and then I’d go again at closing time to see the end: "it's easy to fall into the trap what didn’t sale (the curse of coming from a long line of fishermen). In the of thinking things are obvious." morning there would be regular farmed salmon and because this was an upperPage 66 middleclass area, there was organic farmed salmon too. At the end of the day all the regular salmon would be gone but the organic – at nearly double the price – was almost still there. I asked Walter why he bothered stocking organic; he said it’s what the locals told him they wanted. It brought them in but when they reached for their wallets, they went with the cheaper option. On a macro-scale, it’s similar. Groups like the Marine Stewardship Council and others put labels on fish products to prove it came from sustainable stocks, because surveys show consumers care about this. But the reality is this; in polls held at the freezer case, barely a single person could identify the logo of any of these groups. Seafood Watch has an app so you can see if the fish you’re about to buy passes the sustainability test. In looking at cod, its first choice is cod grown in recirculating aquaculture systems. Excellent choice except they’ve all gone out of business. Despite consumers saying they wanted to eat only sustainable fish, when faced with a higher price they go with cheaper and unsustainable. What all these fish groups lost sight of was this: the average supermarket has 38,718 items (real figure). Shoppers have a lot of choice, little time, and a cart to fill. And, believe it or not, fish is not what they lose sleep about at night. Back to chicken. I’m a US chicken company; I’ve decided to move half of my production over to no antibiotics because I’m told that’s what customers want. And, because it’s costing me a bit more to produce chicken this way, I’ll label the pack ‘No antibiotics or growth hormones’ to justify the increase in costs. So, what about your label-free chicken in the cooler shelf? Does that mean you’re pumping them full of antibiotics and hormones? What I’ve been buying from you over the last 10-years was actually bad for me? In the States I would only jump on the no antibiotics bandwagon if it proved to be better for consumer health; if I could have my entire production go this way in a timely manner; and all my competitors were doing it as well and making a killing at the check-out. But if somebody came to a board meeting and said: “Have you seen the latest consumer survey….” I’d show them the door and continue on doing business as always. What the customer says isn’t always right. Velo Mitrovich velo@meatpacking.info @Meat_Packing

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September~October 2015 | Meat Packing Journal | 5

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C o n t en t s

africa 'Unprecedendent growth opportunities' in Africa says FAO. Will this region become known as the 'Cash Continent'?

dah for duck Russia Donstar says it is reintroducing the Russian classic in a huge way

foster farms The Californian poultry company has to be the most transparent in the world. Fosters explains what really is 'natural'

UK turkey Rod Adlington wants people to buy turkey year around but that's easier said than done. He tells what's working - and what's not.

Bob Goldberg explains all you need to know about vacuum packaging

50 on the cover Russian duck giant Donstar's processing line. Neglected in the West, duck is making a big comeback in Russia. Photo by Marel Stork

In the next issue There is pork and then there's bacon. In the States and Australia eating it seems to border on a near-religious experience. MPJ gets to the bottom of this craze, along with features on freezing, meat harvesting, selection, and water.

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Vacuum basics

meat central Want to save money and improve quality? Do what this supermarket giant did and go state-of-art grinding

shipping Nothing has changed the international meat industry more than container shipping and it will only keep growing

Also in this issue 6 - News 12 - Marketing news 16 - Weather 18 - Book review 64 - Product releases 66 - Back page interview with Bill Roenigk 69 - Directory 70 - Shows & events

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Huge growth in Africa

He UN’s FAO says there are unprecedented opportunities for agricultural growth in West Africa, according to a new 407-page report, which highlights some of the challenges ahead to make the most of the growing demand for animal protein foods such as poultry and red meat. Market opportunities for West African food producers are increasingly dynamic due to population growth, urbanization, income growth, dietary diversification and higher output prices. The strongest market growth potential exists for animal products, followed by rice, fish, and fruits and vegetables. Producing and marketing such products are labor-intensive and offer potential for substan-

tial job creation. Global demand for agricultural products is also expanding, especially in fast-growing emerging economies, providing increased opportunities for West Africa’s traditional and non-traditional agricultural exports. However, there is a reason why this area is underdeveloped and investors will have to overcome numerous challenges, both man-made and natural. According the report, West African agriculture is at a turning point. The combination of strong demand growth, sustained economic growth, higher global agricultural prices, and an improved policy environment has generated the most conducive conditions for agricultural

growth in over 30 years. West African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Helena, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sao Tome and Principe, and Togo) and their development partners now clearly recognize the sector’s vital importance for broad-based growth, food security, improved nutrition and poverty reduction. At the same time, a combination of old and new challenges ranging from climate change to increased price volatility threaten the ability of West Africans to seize these opportunities. The full report can be read at: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4337e.pdf

supermarkets criticized as lamb price slumps

he actions of UK supermarket chains that have been promoting foreign meat when there is a plentiful supply of Welsh lamb has been criticized by those representing Welsh lamb, which is struggling with cheaper imports, primarily from New Zealand. “I’m sorry to say that some multiple retailers have not shared our vision of cooperation within the industry and have been complicit in maintaining the supply of imported as opposed to home grown lamb,” said Dai Davies, chairman of Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales. “I urge them to reconsider their sourcing policies and decide whether they really want to sacrifice the long term future of the UK’s supply chain for a short term gain.” Farmers and other leading figures in the UK meat industry have been angered by the amount of New Zealand lamb that is still being promoted by certain supermarkets

at the expense of Welsh lamb. “Lamb prices have been in decline for most of the year, hitting worryingly low levels,” said Davies. “Low enough, in fact, to make some sheep farmers wonder whether there is a realistic future for them.” Farmers are receiving between £25 ($39) and £30 ($47) per head less for their sheep this year than during the same period last year. Davies said there were many reasons

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for the fall with the main one being an increase in imports due to the strength of the pound against foreign currencies. “We are increasingly finding imported lamb encroaching on our season, with product still on the shelves in July and into next month. To be frank they are taking liberties, undermining the competitiveness of our supply chain and putting the future of our sheep industry at risk.” www.meatpacking.info

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‘Ag-gag’ law struck down

US federal judge in Idaho has struck down the state’s ‘ag-gag’ which had made it a criminal offense for a journalist to investigate the agriculture industry. ‘Ag-gag’ is the nickname used to describe the laws which curtail – gag – agriculture news investigation. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled that Idaho’s law is unconstitutional. A spokesman for Idaho’s attorney general said the state has not decided if it will appeal the decision. Winmill stated that the purpose of the Idaho ‘ag-gag’ law was to “limit and punish those who speak out on topics relating to the agricultural industry, striking at the heart of important First Amendment values.” What prompted the law in Idaho was an animal rights group going undercover at a dairy farm and

filming workers abusing cows. Seven other US states have similar laws, most brought about after secret filming took place at a poultry processing plants by animal rights groups – not by professionally trained journalists. However, even some in the industry have called the laws draconian; in some instances even stopping by the side of a public road and taking a picture of a cow would be considered illegal. The Idaho law included criminalizing all employment-based undercover investigations, and criminalizing investigative journalism, whistleblowing by employees, or “other expository efforts that entail images or sounds.” Idaho legislators had publicly compared animal rights activists to terrorists, blackmailers and “invading marauders,” among other

descriptions, according to court documents. No one has ever been charged in Idaho under the “ag-gag” law. In Utah, five people who were facing prosecution under that state’s version of the law have all had their charges dropped. Cristina Stella, a staff attorney for the Center for Food Safety, who was also a plaintiff in the case, said even if no one is charged or convicted under these types of laws, the mere fact they are on the books creates a “chilling effect” on constitutionally protected speech. “Whistleblowers who would otherwise be free to expose the results of their undercover investigation or things they just learn in the course of their legitimate employment would be hindered from doing so under the threat and fear of being prosecuted,” she said.

Final nail in Greek agriculture

he cost of the new bailout agreement to Greek agriculture is going to hit its farmers to the tune of more than €2 billion a year (around $1.84 million), according to the Pan-Hellenic Confederation of Unions of Agricultural Cooperatives (PASEGES). This comes after six years of financial crisis and broken agriculture deals to Russia due to the ongoing EU/Russian tit-for-tat sanctions over the Ukraine. How any Greek farmer will still be in business by year’s end is anyone’s guess. The costs refer to: Direct taxation of all subsidies which would cancel the current exemption for incomes below €12,000. Farmers would then have to pay taxes valued at €506 million on the €2.3 billion in income they receive in the form of EU subsidies;

The new tax rate would go from 13 percent to 26 percent, meaning farmers would have to pay around €200 million than before; Farmers would lose a fuel tax benefit that was valued at €183 million in 2013, last year in which the benefit was offered; Farmers’ insurance costs would increase an additional €1 billion per year; and, The VAT for agricultural supplies would increase from 13 percent to 23 percent, accounting for an additional €283 million in costs. PASEGES President Tzanetos Karamihas said: “Measures required by our country's bailout agreement with the creditors are very harsh and will overwhelm Greek farmers. But it would be much worse if no agreement was reached at all and Greece was led to a disastrous exit from the

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Eurozone and the European Union.” The majority of Greek farms are small, run by an aging population. While the EU might claim that “small farms have always been a cornerstone of agriculture in the EU”, it seems that this has been forgotten in regards to Greece. For more on the Greek crisis and in particular how it is effecting the Greek meat industry, please see the latest issue of Meat Packing Journal (July digital edition) or listen to the MPJ podcast on Greece. www.meatpacking.info

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uk pigs fly east uk-china: UK pork exports to China soared 44% in the last five years generating £214 million ($332 million) a year, announced Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss. "UK food has an excellent reputation the world over, and China presents a fantastic opportunity for our farmers to take advantage of a growing demand for top-class British produce,” said Truss. In January, Truss visited China to discuss opening up the market further for British exports and expanding the number of UK plants that can export pork to China. As part of the trip she discussed pig trotters, which could bring an additional £7.5 million ($11.6 million) a year for the British pork industry, and negotiations with China are currently ongoing. The government is also working to extend markets for UK pig meat in other parts of Asia.

Syrian poultry crisis syria: A new report by the FAO highlights the difficulties experienced by Syrian farmers and other food producers since the start of the crisis in 2011, including a near-collapse of the country’s poultry sector. Poultry numbers have severely declined, now at just half of the levels five years ago. At that time, poultry was the main source of animal protein for the Syrian population. The sector employed, directly and indirectly, more than 1 million workers and there were significant exports of meat, eggs, and day-old chicks. Overwhelmingly run by the privatesector, many of the poultry units have been destroyed or abandoned, particularly in the regions of Dara’a and Aleppo. According to FAOstat, chicken meat production fell from a peak of 189,000 tons in 2010 to 142,000 tons in 2013, the most recent year for which figures have been published.

China to import pork

he world’s largest consumer of pork is looking for pig, according to the latest Rabobank Pork Quarterly report. The only question is: will this create a price rise across the world? The report states that the global pork market recovered during the second quarter of this year, with rising prices in almost all main exporting and importing countries. Supported by limited supply growth, the supply/demand balance clearly improved across the globe,

with the most notable recovery in the US, Canadian and Chinese markets. The EU and Japan were the exceptions, as pork prices dropped. This trend was supported by limited exchange rate movements. Rabobank animal protein analyst Albert Vernooij said: "The main questions are when Chinese import growth will start, how much volume growth there will be and what the support for pork prices will be across the globe."

consumers back origin lables

hile the US Congress considers repealing a law requiring country-of-origin labels on packages of beef, pork and poultry, marketing researchers at the University of Arkansas have found that such labels influence consumer perceptions about food safety and quality. Researchers found that consumers preferred meat from the United States when provided only with information about where the animal was born, raised and slaughtered – and not given information about country-specific meat-processing standards. “The country-of-origin requirement appears to provide consumers with additional information that has both direct and indirect effects on purchase intentions,” said Scot Burton, professor of marketing in the Sam M. Walton College of Business. “The requirement impacts inferred attributes, meaning that meat products from the United States are perceived to be safer, tastier and fresher than meat products from Mexico. Of course, these attributes, in turn, have positive effects on

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purchase decisions.” Congress passed legislation in the 2002 and 2008 farm bills requiring U.S. retailers to provide countryof-origin labeling for most meat and poultry products. The mandate requires meat labels to identify the country where the animal was born, raised and slaughtered. Backed by US ranchers competing with the Canadian cattle industry, the legislation was also intended to provide customers with information to help them make informed shopping decisions. But the mandate has been controversial. Previous research has suggested that consumers do not value US-labeled meat products more than those simply from North America. Some groups have estimated that implementation of these labeling requirements have cost retailers more than $100 million. Canada and Mexico claim the law discriminates against their producers and have threatened to impose billions of dollars in tariffs on American goods. In reaction to this, the U.S. House of Representatives recently voted to repeal the law requiring country-of-origin labeling. www.meatpacking.info

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power cuts hit sa

ower cuts are having a severe financial impact on South African food production, according to an expert at energy efficiency firm Energy Partners. "The interrupted electricity supply is costing the local food production industry millions every month and could be depriving South Africa of quality nutrition," said David Kriel. His comments follow a plea from the South African Poultry Association for government assistance to

help them guarantee electricity supply to the nation's biggest abattoirs. In the slaughterhouses, some of which can process as many as 13,000 chickens hourly, birds are stunned unconscious by electrocution before they are decapitated while hanging upside down. When power cuts interrupt the process, the birds "have been stunned but they haven't been killed; they're hanging upside down and they're coming back alive,” said Kevin Lovell, CEO of the poultry industry body.

Meat consumption grows in DEE

rowth in meat consumption for Developing and Emerging Economies (DEE) is surpassing that for the Developed World, according the US Department of Agriculture. Given that two-thirds of the world’s population lives in the DEE, with its relatively faster population and income growth, potential opportunities to increase exports exist for major meat and feed producing countries such as the United States, Brazil, and Turkey. Per capita meat consumption for beef and veal, pork, and poultry has grown around 3 percent annually in DEE since the mid-1990s, while growth has been only about 0.4 percent for Developed countries. The greatest increase in per capita meat consumption is in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), followed by Southeast Asia and South America. For the MENA region, per capita meat consumption has doubled since the mid-1990s, from 12 to 24 kg, mainly reflecting gains in poultry. In Southeast Asia and South America, meat consumption per capita has increased from 10 to 18kg, and from 55 to 85kg, respec-

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tively. In contrast, per capita meat consumption in Developed countries, while higher than in the DEE, has increased by a smaller amount, from 86 to 92 kg. The various regions of the DEE are the main sources of projected growth for meat and feed demand, leading to projected increases in global trade for these commodities. Important factors for such growth are increasing incomes and urbanization along with an expanding middle class, implying that a greater percentage of the population can afford to consume meat and gain access to meat markets. These factors can change consumption patterns and preferences away from traditional food sources toward greater diet diversification and higher quality protein from meat. To meet the growing meat and feed products demand, the DEE is projected to both increase meat production and import more feed products and meat. Producing more meat requires expansion of feed grain production, and hence, the amount of cropland would likely be expanded. If projected increases in meat production are unable to meet future demand, countries will

El Nino surge global: Funds are flowing back into agricultural commodities for the first time since 2012 as investors look to capitalize on cheap prices, bullish demand, and the threat of crop damage from an El Nino weather pattern, reports Reuters. Figures from ETF Securities, one of the largest issuers of exchange traded products, show a small net inflow so far this year after an outflow of nearly 20 percent in 2014. “This kind of thing is definitely bullish for the agricultural sector,” said Romain Lathiere, head of dealing at Diapason Commodities Management. "It’s a really good entry point for commodity markets at the moment."

Ethanol raises feed prices USA: US ethanol biofuel mandates are being blamed for high chicken feed prices, according to the National Chicken Council (NCC), which wants to reduce ethanol production driven by the Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS). Although fracking has made cornbased ethanol redundant, the RFS mandates that it is still produced, which keeps up the price of corn. Rising demand for corn has sent chicken feed prices skyrocketing, which “has created an uneven playing field for chicken companies to compete for necessary foodstuffs,” according to NCC President Mike Brown.

likely either import more feed to expand meat production or import more meat products. The increased import demands for feed and meat could increase global prices.

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Fast food chain trials antibiotic-free chicken

S fast food restaurant chain Wendy’s is testing the sale of antibiotic-free chicken at restaurants in four regional markets. While the restaurant chain currently has a policy to not use antibiotics essential in human medicine, this will be the first time it serves chicken that were never treated with any antibiotics. According to a CNBC report, Wendy’s will be serving grilled chicken products using birds that were raised without any antibiotics at restaurants in Orlando and Gainesville, Florida, as well as in Austin, Texas, and Kansas City, Mis-

souri. The company seeks to gauge not only the public’s perception for antibiotic-free chicken, but also the availability of chicken served without antibiotics.

Wendy’s decision follows that of other restaurant chains concerning antibiotics, as consumer concerns about antibiotic use in animal production and its potential impact on antibiotic resistance grow. Earlier in 2014, McDonald’s pledged to phase out the use of medically important antibiotics in the chicken it serves, while Chickfil-A is transitioning to serving only antibiotic-free chicken. Recently, New York-based restaurant chain Shake Shack introduced a new antibiotic-free chicken sandwich, and California poultry company Foster Farms introduced its first antibiotic-free turkey product.

Partnering with retailers pays off

onsumers have more choices than ever when shopping the supermarket meat case, which means the US Pork Checkoff must work diligently to ensure that fresh pork has a dominant presence. Partnering with key retailers on innovative marketing programs helps keep fresh pork top-of-mind for consumers and encourages them to put pork in their shopping carts. Consumers make some of their biggest supermarket purchases at the meat case. More than 3 billion pounds of fresh pork are sold through US retail stores annually, with pork representing 21.5 percent of total fresh meat sales volume in 2014, according to Freshlook data. The Pork Checkoff’s retail marketing program has been a significant component in the growth and success of supermarket fresh pork sales. Building close relationships with key retailers and developing

targeted marketing programs deliver a great return on pork producers’ investment. In 2014, every Pork Checkoff dollar invested on customized marketing promotions resulted in 20 incremental pounds of fresh pork sold. In 2015, the Checkoff continues to work hard to stimulate demand for pork and bring value to produc-

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ers. For the balance of 2015, US beef prices are expected to continue to increase, with sticker shock causing consumers to pinch their wallets. As more pork comes into the market and retail prices come down, fresh pork will be ideal for consumers looking for a delicious center-ofthe-plate protein without breaking the bank. www.meatpacking.info

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Danepak relaunches its range

anepak, the UK’s favorite bacon, has unveiled a relaunch for its range, including new re-closable packaging. To support these changes, there is a new website– www.danepak.com, and a social media campaign with ‘The Serious Bacon Club’, launching at the beginning of August. The Serious Bacon Club community will be a place for bacon lovers to congregate and will act as a springboard for engaging content and experiential, trade and point of sale activity. Kate Charman, brand and licensing manager at UK-based Tulip Ltd, said: “When we began this project we knew that we wanted to offer consumers much more than a simple brand makeover. We’ve been very ambitious and spent over 18 months

extensively researching the bacon category and the motivators that trigger consumers to buy, which has led to a number of fantastic new and innovative product and packaging formats. “The really great news for consumers is that Danepak products will now have exclusive use of a patented re-closable packaging format, which is a first for the UK,” added Charman. “Our research showed us current bacon packaging is a real bug bear for consumers who, nine times out of ten, will go for a knife or scissors to open the pack because it is so hard to do by hand. Our new packaging uses a wider seal around the edge of the pack, making it easy to open, easily re-closable and a joy for consumers to use.”

As well as the new packaging, two of Danepak’s products will also be reintroduced with a modern twist. Rapid Rashers will return in a new microwaveable packaging format that requires no piercing and cooks the bacon in 90 seconds with no mess while Lean & Low will also be making a return to meet the growing demand from consumers looking for a healthier option, with the benefit of being 20% lower in fat than standard bacon. The entire range will continue to exclusively use Iposol, a solution of water and sea salt which when used in Danepak’s curing process, delivers the same taste and eating experience with 30% less salt than standard bacon, first introduced in January this year.

Mail order butcher shop

eorge Foreman, world champion boxer, Olympian, and the man who brought us the George Forman Grill, is launching direct-to-consumer artisanal meats with George Foreman’s Butcher Shop. Foreman said his Butcher Shop is bringing back what he cherished most about growing up in Houston, Texas – the old-style butcher www.meatpacking.info

shop, providing the highest quality, best premium meats, poultry and steakhouse side dishes right to your door. “Anything worth doing is worth doing right,” said Foreman. “My beef, poultry, pork and gourmet sides are some of the finest I have ever eaten and my family and I are so excited to be able to share these through my new online market-

place.” “What I love about being at home here in Texas is being on my ranch and grilling with my family,” added Foreman. “I love this meat and you know I believe in it, because I put my name on it. When you come to my Butcher Shop you know you’re getting George’s favorite meat at George’s highest standards!”

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Lack of meal planning hits meat sales

hanging shopping habits over the last 50-years have caused meat to disappear from shopping baskets in supermarkets. According to the UK-based Cooperative’s ‘Back to the Future: 50 Years of Convenience Retailing’, which examines how shopping habits have changed in its stores between 1965 and 2015, meat, bacon and ham were the second most common item found in shopping baskets in 1965, with only milk ahead of them. However, fast-forward 50 years later and meat, bacon and ham do not even make the top 10. The Co-operative cites a reduction in customers planning and cooking from scratch as the reason why meat is no longer as big a player for the retailer. “In 1965 there were no ready meals, so shoppers bought individual items to make a meal from

scratch at home,” said Steve Murrells, chief executive of retail. “That is why lard, suet and yeast were also popular products [but not found on the 2015 list].” Research conducted by Opinion Matters found that only 19% of UK households now plan their meals for the week ahead – with 31% only deciding that day what to eat and

7% only deciding on what to eat when in store. The survey reasoned that the decline in menu planning was down to not knowing what you want that far in advance (32%), uncertain weekly schedules (22%), menu planning killing spontaneity (20%), and getting stuck in a food rut (14%).

Barbecue battles it out in DC

orrential winds, rain, and the summer heat in Washington, DC, could not stop the 23rd annual Safeway National Capital Barbecue Battle. The National Beef Checkoff, through its Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative (NEBPI) and in

partnership with the South Dakota Beef Industry Council (SDBIC), sponsored the two-day event. As an official product sponsor of the two-day event, Checkoff Executive Chef Dave Zino held cooking demonstrations in the Safeway pavilion, while attendees were invited to visit the NEBPI booth for recipes, games and more information on the versatility of beef. Thousands of festival visitors also visited the NEBPI booth on Pennsylvania Ave for beef recipes and information on cooking with beef. While there, they were encouraged to use #DCLuvsBeef on social media to win an ‘I Love Beef’ t-shirt, play beef cut identification games to win a flexible beef cutting

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board, and mix their own cutting edge beef rub. After an extremely wet Saturday, NEBPI mascot Miss Patty Melt celebrated the sun’s return on Sunday by greeting and entertaining the crowd. The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval. www.meatpacking.info

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TEXAS HOLD’EM Texan and Oklahoma cattle ranchers are holding on to their cows, calves, and heifers as abundant grass means the US cow herd will expand during the rest of the year. Cow slaughter is lower compared to a year ago and dramatically lower than what it was in 2012-13 during the drought when farmers were forced to thin their herds.

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MIDWEST MIXED BAG Farmers in the US Midwest are reporting a large variance in grain production – used for poultry and meat production – depending on the state. For the most part eastern Corn Belt states, such as Missouri, Indiana, and Ohio, are doing poorly while those states west of the Mississippi River are doing well. North and South Dakota and Minnesota are showing excellent soybean and corn production.

FISHMEAL HIGHER El Nino has not affected Peru's first anchovy season with the quota nearly caught, but fishmeal producers are concerned about the impact of the weather phenomenon on the second fishing season, following the latest forecasts. According to Enfen, the Peruvian committee watching El Nino, the weather event will be strong through the winter in Peru – from May to November. With it being an El Nino year, fishmeal prices have been high. This news can only drive prices higher. 18 | Meat Packing Journal | September~October 2015

CARIBBEAN DROUGHT Dry weather, which meteorologists say is caused by Pacific warming pattern El Niño, has spread across much of the Caribbean, affecting countries like Cuba and the Dominican Republic as well as crops and livestock. In Puerto Rico, some reservoirs have come within 30 days of running out of water. Farmers across the region are reporting that it is becoming difficult to feed cattle due to lack of grass.

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weather RAIN HURTS WHEAT China might have to double its wheat imports after rain damage could result in the loss of production of up to 3 million tons of wheat. The country, which is the world’s top wheat producer, has completed its harvest for the year. While total production is actually up over last year – despite the rain damage – quality is down with some of the harvest unfit for human consumption.

MONSOON SLIGHTY DOWN Although India’s overall monsoon rain totals were down by around three percent, in the main grain producing areas it was either average or above average. India’s Central Water Commission, which monitors reservoir levels, reported that all of India’s 91 major reservoirs have levels higher than last year. Grain and feed crops should then experience a rise in production.

WAR THREATENS FOOD The UN Food and Agriculture Organization announced that Iraq faces a serious lack of food security due to the Islamic State’s advance, disruptions in transportation and marketing, and the Iraqi government’s shrinking budget. Islamic State militants control an area in northern Iraq that produces about one third of the country’s wheat supply and livestock.

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DOWNPOUR SAVES CROP A weekend downpour in Western Australia – dumping almost five inches on some farms – was all it took to deliver a $1 billion bonus to WA grain growers whose crops were starting to feel the pinch from a dry start to winter. Agricultural consultant David Falconer said the rains were “game changing” for WA farmers, who had been stressed by the long dry period. “It’s hard to explain what rain means to people in the city, who just think it ruins their weekend,” he said. September~October 2015 | Meat Packing Journal | 19

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British lads do barbecue right

Taste and be saved

hat MPJ is about to say here will generate controversy for years to come but we have to say it: one of the best all-around barbecue books available today, which champions meat cooked slow and low over smoke, has been written by two lads from Britain. Yes, Britain, home of fish & chips, toadin-the-hole, spotted dick – and now barbecue. LET THERE BE MEAT: the ultimate barbecue bible is the work of James Douglas and Scott Munro who have taken on an almost religious zeal to bring decent barbecue to the UK with what is now a small chain of five restaurants called Red’s True Barbecue. Along with the restaurants is an extremely well-done website, an online shop with merchandise such as T-shirts, aprons, and hats, a BBQ blog, and an excellent barbecue cookbook. Yes, the book uses grams instead of ounces, liters instead of cups and pints, and probably hidden away between pages is some sort of secret Masonic code to the words to ‘God Save the Queen’, but armed with this bible, you can make excellent barbecue, sides, and sauces. Also, while it was most probably not their intentions, the book, website, and social media used by the duo could be used to create a decent business plan if you want to join the legions of those bringing smoke to the world. Scott Munro had spent his childhood in South Africa where ‘braai’ was an integral part of his culture. His love of barbecue was honed further by frequent trips across the southern USA where he tackled the behemoth beef ribs and brisket of Texas, the baby backs of Memphis, and the pulled pork of the Carolinas. James Douglas is a dedicated foodie and meat lover as well, and his own exploits would lead to the development of Red’s Kansas City BBQ sauce. The book’s recipe section starts with rubs and crusts and then quickly moves into 80 full pages of meat which includes basics such as pulled pork, smoked brisket, and then some truly USA creations such as the donut burger.

This is followed by seafood – rarely seen in most barbecue books – and then feasts for when you want to get really serious. Side recipes include the standard coleslaw and cornbread, but then adds in a truly epic dish; mac-and-cheese baked in a bacon weave bowl. Towards the end are barbecue tips and setups along with a recipe for IPA beer. MPJ gives Let There Be Meat two-thumbs up; recipes, binding, cover, and photographs are all about as perfect as can be. You will not regret adding this to your meat library.

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LET THERE BE MEAT: the ultimate barbecue bible James Douglas and Scott Munro Orion Books Available worldwide through Amazon

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Value added poultry

Upping the game ‘Poultry production continues to rise around the world’ – a statement which could be repeated every day for the next 10 years and never be wrong. But the market for value-added items is beginning to tighten in the USA, EU and ANZ. Growth is becoming sluggish and markets are getting close to saturation. MPJ says the need for quality and innovation are more important than ever. We look at three setting the example.

hat has to be the easiest job in the world is creating the poultry industry growth chart at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Chicken production and consumption charts have been on a straight growth line for the last 40 years and the USDA shows this line continuing upwards until 2025 when the chart ends. And, while this chart shows the USA, it is the same throughout the rest of the world. While beef, pork, and lamb industry growth charts look like a seismograph on California’s San Andres’s fault line – ups and downs and ups and downs – chicken shows consistent positive growth, even in traditional beef eating countries such as Mexico. In the early 1960s, nearly everyone bought whole chicken at supermarkets – something like 88% of the market was whole. Today that figure is 12%. Most raw chicken is sold cut-up in portions or with some sort of value added to it such Chicken Kiev or barbecue style. A growing amount of turkey is sold as ground as consumers trade in ground beef for what they believe to be a less expensive and healthier

choice. In the States some of the up-market burger restaurants such as Red Robin for some time have given customers the choice of turkey burgers instead of beef. It all sounds great but it’s not across the board. In particular, the one value-added market that is in the greatest need of a shakeup is the all-important supermarket lunch meat market. According to Nielsen Perishables Group, a Chicago-based foods and consulting firm, lunch meat sales were flat in the USA last year, with a volume increase of only 1.1 percent. Part of the problem is that this market is saturated; some 96 percent of shoppers report their households already buy lunch meat or other lunch sandwich products, states Mintel Group. Beyond population growth, there is little expectation of new shoppers entering the market. Part of the problem with this market is that MPJ finds little difference between the products of the major players. Taste, appearance, flavors, and costs are similar throughout the products range. While supermarket ‘own-brands’ might lean towards the lower end of quality, there is not much difference separating own-brands from market leaders such as Oscar Mayer, Tyson/ Hillshire Farm, and Bernard Matthews in the UK.

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low quality of canned water-packed tuna chunks which resembles “mush on a platter” according to one tuna executive. The only way to make this industry-leading style of tuna palatable for most is to mix it with mayonnaise, kill its taste, and use it for a sandwich filling. Bumblebee, however, wasn’t satisfied with the product and sales so it launched about six years ago a canned solid-pack white albacore tuna. Behind closed doors at Bumblebee, it was referred to as “the hockey puck” due to its dense nature and appearance. It was about as far removed from tuna mush as possible. Still enthused from a holiday in Italy, the company’s head of marketing at the time envisioned Americans eating canned tuna Italian-style where a large tin of tuna is inverted on a plate, given a slug of olive oil, and people pick at it during the meal, instead of eating the tuna in a sandwich. Although the ‘puck’ is still sold by Bumblebee, the idea of eating it without bread or other flavors has never caught on in the USA. But taking this bold step seemed to propel Bumblebee forward with other creative uses of tuna and the company has since produced new products with exciting flavors such as tuna & chipotle; tuna & jalapenos; and tuna & sundried tomatoes, all available in a pouch or can. Bumblebee has kept the basic tuna staples that consumers are always buying, but have then added new products to keep what has been seen as a boring staple on a crowded grocery shelf, enticing to shoppers.

clean label “We haven’t seen much merchandising innovation within the deli meat category in recent years,” says Sarah Schmansky, Nielsen Perishables Group director of account services. “A few new meat varieties have made their way into the service case, such as bacon, and specialty meat continues to define its space within the specialty cheese section. But overall, there are no real merchandising changes.”

here are ways, however, to kickstart sales and this would be to bring in new products that can stand out in a crowd of mediocracy, giving shoppers exciting new tastes, quality, and uses for deli meat. Value-added poultry producers should take a leaf out of the marketing book of Bumblebee Tuna. Across all brands, tuna sales have been flat for years, with part of the problem being the

onsumers are now more concerned with what is in their foods, how they are made and where the ingredients come from; none of these bode well for lunch meats. Mintel research found that 20 percent of consumers age 18 and over say prepackaged lunch meat is too processed for their tastes, and 45 percent say all-natural ingredients are important to their purchase decision. The clean label driver, while encouraged by some governments and food safety authorities, has grown out of straightforward consumer demand. According to UK-based Clean Label Insights, a culture for checking food labels has emerged particularly prevalent in developed markets such as Western Europe and North America. Linked to the health and wellness trend and a more recent emphasis on provenance and sustainability, this change in behavior has meant that many consumers have become label critics.

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Quality & Taste

MPJ says that to succeed, you have to clearly show shoppers what they are looking for on the label: • No additives / preservatives • Real ingredients they could find in their kitchen cupboard • Short, clear ingredient lists • Natural, minimally processed foods “Lunch meat brands should introduce new products or product lines with completely new packaging and positioning as the natural, goodfor-you and safe lunch meat option,” Mintel states. “Product packaging can also explain where the meat comes from in order to reassure consumers.” Incremental changes in consumer behavior indicate a trend away from packaged and processed center store foods toward healthier and “free from” selections, according to a report from Fung Business Intelligence Centre of New York. “This is a very real trend [that will] continue to trickle down to mass-market consumers, and economic recovery is likely to strengthen it,” Deborah Weinswig, executive director and head of global retail and technology for FBIC, says in the report, “The Middle-Aisles Exodus.” The report cites a survey by Deloitte, released in January, indicating that 86 percent of the 4,000 consumers surveyed said they prefer “convenient options that are also healthy,” while 75 percent look for products with fewer ingredients, 74 percent pay attention to the nutritional content of foods they buy, and 72 percent avoid products with preservatives and other chemicals. “Grocery shoppers are increasingly looking for products with as few added ingredients as possible,” says Weinswig, “which is why the most popular attributes associated with healthy products all focus on the absence of processed and unhealthy ingredients.” Indeed, there are ample opportunities for deli operators to add lines of health-oriented proteins as 90 percent of the deli meats sold have no declared health benefits, Schmansky says.

Millennial market

eveloped world Millennials, whose birth years range from the early 1980s to the early 2000s, will yield more spending power than any previous generation, with annual spending power of $2.45 trillion this year, says Mackenzie King, director of design research and insight translation at US-based Lextant research. By 2018, they are expected to exceed Baby www.meatpacking.info

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Above: The cashrich Millennial generation wants quality.

Boomers’ spending, hitting purchases of $3.39 trillion. This group has a whole new set of expectations for living and for the products they purchase. J T Johnson, director of marketing for Foster Farms turkey, says: “Millennials want things that are real – experiences, foods, etc – and products need to change to go after this market.” Examining Millennials’ shopping habits specifically as to how they relate to buying meat products yielded some “mind-blowing” numbers, according to Chris DuBois, principal, and John Crawford, Client Insights principal with IRI Worldwide, who presented their data at the National Chicken Council’s annual Marketing Seminar. Among the data points they included were: • 36% of millennials research their retail purchases before shopping • 81% of meat and poultry buyers make a list, BUT • 90% do not list a preferred meat brand • 64% are open to making a meat-related buying decision in the store Those facts represent a “huge” opportunity to influence shoppers at the point of sale, says DuBois. This is true particularly in light of the trend in purchasing power over the next five years: As more millennials enter their “prime buying” years (between the ages of 25 and 54), their aggregate buying power is expected to increase by 70 percent by 2020. Meanwhile, Baby Boomers are aging out of those prime years, and their attendant buying power is calculated to dip by 16 percent in the same timeframe. September~October 2015 | Meat Packing Journal | 25

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duck processing at speed Often neglected and forgotten by the poultry market, duck holds a huge potential in a growing worldwide market. Some producers, such as Gressingham Duck in the UK, not only sell whole duck, but are also entering the valueadded market with a series of duck products. MPJ looks at Donstar’s ultra-modern duck processing facility in Russia. Marcel Veenstra reports

All photos Marel stork poultry

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ussia’s first large-scale duck meat manufacturer in Russia, called Donstar, is situated in the Rostov region near Millerovo. The vertically integrated company produces a wide variety of duck products, known under the brand name ‘Utolina’. For creating this duck processing factory, the company teamed up with Marel Stork Poultry Processing. A high capacity duck processing plant was built using the latest available technologies and highest level of automation. Because of the huge success of this plant, further extension plans are being developed. Vadim Shalvovich Vaneev, CEO of the Eurodon Holding (mother company of Donstar), says: “Our brand represents high-quality fresh, tasty, tender, and succulent duck meat. We are reviving this great forgotten Russian tradition of eating duck; it’s a classic. Our duck is a 100 percent Russian product, made in Russia for Russians. “Duck is becoming an affordable luxury product and is growing in popularity just like turkey meat is here. Consumers can choose September~October 2015 | Meat Packing Journal | 27

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from a wide variety of Utolina products such as whole ducks, half ducks, legs, quarters, fillet, wings, giblets, etc. They are superior to what the market had been supplying until now,” he says.

he whole Donstar project involved the construction of a feed mill, a hatchery, over 60 growing sheds, a processing plant, and a waste treatment facility. Having complete control over the whole production chain was important for the company as this ensures quality control at all stages of production. It also guarantees consumers a consistent product, safely produced and processed in an optimum environment. The ducks are processed at a high capacity

plant with a current speed of 4,000 ducks per hour (66 pm). While Donstar says that the initial yearly capacity of this project is 26,000 tons of duck meat, expansion plans are being developed to expand the plant up to 40,000 tons and more. Vaneev says that the modern state-of-the-art duck plant employs 900 workers and is unique for Russia – or elsewhere. “A duck processing plant of a similar high capacity with such level of automation is a rarity anywhere in the world,” he adds. The project includes a Stork GP Live Bird Handling system. This way of supplying live ducks makes a significant contribution to the overall efficiency of the processing plant and safeguards the quality of the duck, according to Vaneev. After stunning and killing, ducks are scalded.

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full control

Above: Scalded ducks go through a waxer to removed all pins and feathers

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The dedicated duck scalders are equiped with extra agitation, which is necessary to ensure that ducks are kept immersed, and that the temperature of the scald water throughout the unit remains constant.

de-feathering

fter scalding the ducks are defeathered; this is of crucial importance for product presentation. Plucking action will also determine the extent to which the epidermis remains attached and is especially important if whole ducks or portions are to be sold fresh, skin on. Marel Stork’s duck pluckers are based on the well-known ‘A-frame’ concept and have adaptable plucking speeds and adjustable www.meatpacking.info

Above: The plant uses Marel weighers and Innova software to speed the packaging proocess. The software allows plant managers to track production at all stages.

individual beams. Their position can be altered and there are frequency converters at the breast side, all to optimize the plucking result. In duck processing, perfect breast skin presentation is essential. Feathers have to be completely removed, but the skin must remain undamaged. A Marel Stork fully in-line, compact waxing system has been installed at Donstar, including an efficient wax recycling system. Slaughtered ducks are conveyed through a bath filled with plucking wax and are then immersed in a wax cooling tank. Here the wax solidifies and is ready to be removed automatically in a wax peeler, taking off pins and smaller feathers. The wax is then recycled, going through a process where it is melted, filtered, and brought back into the process to be re-used at the correct temperature. September~October 2015 | Meat Packing Journal | 29

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evisceration

he entire viscera pack is removed completely in a single automated operation and is hung over the breast side. In a series of automated steps, the ducks are prepared in the best possible way for chilling and other downstream operations. Giblets harvested are chilled in-line and distributed. Feet are processed into valuable products. After air chilling, using the Stork Downflow Plus chilling concept, whole products are selected by weight and quality and processed in a cut-up area. At the end of the process products are 30 | Meat Packing Journal | September~October 2015

Above: The plant's duck meat is sold throughout Russia under the Utolina brand

weighed, batched, packed and labeled in the most efficient way using a Marel Weigh Price Labeler. Labels are produced with support of user-friendly Innova software. The labeling module is part of the complete Marel Innova software solution. This solution enables plant management to oversee the processes and their KPIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, allowing any necessary remedial action to be taken at an early stage. For Donstar, this plant is its latest successful, high speed, automated duck processing greenfield project. It brings the best and latest dedicated duck processing technology together and enables Donstar to stay in pole position in duck processing. The Utolina brand has every opportunity to build on its popularity. www.meatpacking.info

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California poultry goes natural The US west coast’s leading producer of chicken and turkey is expanding its line with a new product line of high-quality ‘natural’ turkey products including turkey lunchmeat and organic ground turkey. But before talking turkey, we need to know what ‘natural’ actually means. MPJ’s editor Velo Mitrovich investigates.

But California-based Foster Farms is not your average poultry company. At its Central Valley headquarters in Livingston, the 76-yearold company actually prides itself on its transparency. That’s about as common today in a poultry company as farmers using chicken grit from Pluto. Fosters, too, has a special relationship with its customers on the west coast. What MPJ has actually heard in grocery stores is shoppers referring to chicken as ‘Fosters’. Probably only

all photos foster farms

im McConnell, research and development chief for Foster Farms, is not the person your average poultry company would put in front of a microphone to do podcasts. At most companies, the marketing team would be exchanging nervous glances as he begins to go on a roll, wondering which of them will have the courage to unplug McConnell’s mic.

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Perdue Chicken on the east coast of the USA has this same brand loyalty. Fosters is willing to let customers see its operations side through videos, podcasts, blogs, and social media to keep this connection valid. Its ‘natural’ turkey line is no exception. “Everybody says ‘natural products – natural products – natural products’ and for the US Department of Agriculture, ‘minimally processed’ are the words which comes to its mind in describing natural. That sounds pretty vague, doesn’t it,” says McConnell. “What the hell is a ‘minimally processed’ product?” A course he knows the answer, but he says that it’s easier to give examples than explanations. According to the USDA, a minimally processed meat product can be ground (minced), cooked, frozen, materially alterating in size, or fermented. “Those are all minimally processed products, you’re not putting in any artificial flavors, colors, or ingredients, or synthetic items into the product,” says McConnell. “In that statement, we’re taking out all the goodies us in meat science love to have.” If your end product is poultry lunch meat, this means sodium nitrates, phosphates, and erythorbate are suddenly off your list of ingredients. In the 1970s when the first sodium nitrate ‘scares’ took place, just removing it from a products such as hot dogs with no viable alternative led to severe cases of food poisoning from Clostridium botulinum, the bacteria that

causes botulism. “Sodium phosphates, that the magical thing that holds in moisture, color and adds to shelf life,” says Connell. “Remove sodium nitrates and suddenly we don’t have the [preservative] ingredient required to make smoke or cured meats. Sodium erythorbate is a big word but you see it on our labels, you need it as a color stabilizer so when you get a pink color, it won’t fade under light.” What meat scientists were forced to do was to look at fruits and vegetables which have a naturally high level content of these chemicals and see if they could be used as replacements. Numerous companies have since been formed to create these products. “Can we say our natural product doesn’t contain sodium nitrates? Yes, we’re not adding sodium nitrate – absolutely we’re not,” says McConnell. “But we are adding celery juice which naturally has a level of sodium nitrates which we can concentrate to get a high level of sodium nitrates.” On product ingredient lists it will state: ‘No Nitrate’ but next to it will be two asterisks. These take you further down on the list where it will state: ‘Except which is naturally occurring’. Along with celery juice, Fosters uses cherry juice to fix the turkey’s color and fermented vinegar which is produced in such a way that you do not get the sour vinegar taste in the final product. “We add the fermented vinegar to the

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antibioticfree turkey

product as it’s been shown to be an excellent anti-microbial stature which limits the growth of pathogens - specifically listeria – for many, many days.” According to McConnell, the goal at Fosters was to use a natural product that would allow poultry cold cuts to remain in good condition for around 10 days. “We figure the product will be in the case for three days, three days at home, and then another three days to be eaten after the pack the open.” He says that the ferment vinegar gives Fosters the 10 days, plus 10 additional days as well. “The final ingredient to replace is sodium phosphate, for us in meat science this is the silver bullet in our world.” When sodium phosphate is eliminated, the product loses the ability of the muscle to hold moisture and to keep the product moist and succulent. The taste you are left with is described by McConnell as “dry, chalky, and like toothpaste.” Foster adds lemon juice concentrate to hold in the moisture, but a problem with lemon juice is that it won’t mix properly with water. Rice flour is added to allow the lemon juice to be uniformly dispersed throughout the muscle when injected. What Foster then does with some of its products is to use high pressure pasteurization to kill off potentially harmful organisms, loading product into blue cylinders for an experience similar to going deep in the sea. www.meatpacking.info

Above: Foster Farms is hoping its new 'All Natural' line will be the start of something great.

oster Farms has introduced its first antibiotic-free turkey product; Foster's organic ground turkey is now available at retailers and Costco locations throughout California and the Pacific Northwest. The release of the new antibioticfree, organic turkey product comes less than two months after the company launched its organic fresh chicken line and announced that it would soon be introducing antibiotic-free turkey products. Foster Farms Organic Ground Turkey is USDA-certified organic, antibiotic free, raised free-range on organic land and is fed an organic vegetarian diet. As with all Foster Farms products, Foster Farms organic ground turkey is 100 percent natural with no added hormones, steroids, salt, chemicals or artificial enhancers. The product comes in one-pound packages. In the coming months, the company has plans to introduce additional organic turkey products including Foster Farms organic whole turkeys, which will be in California Costco stores in time for Thanksgiving. "Foster Farms is committed to producing premium turkey products that provide consumers a variety of high-quality, lean protein options," said TJ Johnson, director of marketing for Foster Farms turkey. "We are seeing more consumers using ground turkey as a substitute in recipes to make them leaner and lighter. In line with this trend, the next logical step for Foster Farms was to add an organic option." Ground turkey sales on the US west coast are up 11 percent from 2014, and organic ground turkey sales are up 76 percent, according to IRI market research.

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“We hit these products with 87,000 psi, which is like diving a mile beneath the surface of the ocean,” says McConnell. “The pressure takes these microorganisms and blows them apart.”

the product

hile turkey makes up only around 15 to 20 percent of Foster Farms total production, it’s growing in popularity. Indeed, ground turkey is increasing in use in the USA and around the world by consumers who perceive turkey as a healthy alternative to ground beef. “We have ground turkey sales throughout the year, with white, dark, mixtures, and a new organic line, and then whole turkey at Thanksgiving,” says T J Johnson, director of marketing for Foster Farms turkey. Other Foster turkey products include: turkey sausage; boneless, skinless breast items; deli slices; bone-in fresh turkey; turkey patties; and frozen and refrigerated turkey meatballs in various flavors. In addition, Foster Farms makes turkey products for food service and retail deli counters, which most major supermarkets have in the USA. Fosters will be coming out soon with Nature’s Ridge all-natural turkey for foodservice operators. What Johnson is especially proud of is the new premium all-natural sliced turkey lunchmeat which is available in California and the Pacific Northwest in two flavors; slow oven roasted turkey breast and honey roasted & smoked turkey breast. “Research showed that customers wanted something of higher quality lunchmeat than most companies offer. Most lunchmeat products

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Above: TJ Johnson, director of marketing for Foster Farms turkey .

on the shelves are pretty generic, all based on similar production methods,” says Johnson. “Well these are different. “We wanted something that tasted like turkey. You know the day after Thanksgivingtaste when you slice some pieces off the leftover roast turkey for a sandwich, that’s the flavor we wanted.” While most product launch cycles take around two years from conception to store shelf, Johnson says that with these new products there was a sense of urgency due to market demand. The all-natural sliced turkey is free of nitrates and nitrites (what nitrates convert into) and 98 percent fat free. Simply roasted, sliced and packaged, the new line of premium turkey lunchmeat is made with 100 percent turkey breast and contains no chemicals, preservatives, artificial ingredients, or colors. The slow oven roasted turkey breast has 35 percent less sodium than the average sliced turkey breast. “We wanted to create a new line of premium lunchmeats that boasted nutritional benefits without sacrificing great taste or quality,” says Johnson. “We have received great feedback from consumers who love the product taste and appreciate the lower sodium content.” At Fosters product development can be viewed as a circle with marketing, research & development, and operations all leading to and from each other, with the customer in the middle. “Good ideas can come from anywhere; we try at Fosters to be always collaborative,” says Johnson, who adds that it would be wrong to assume that new product ideas always come from marketing or consumer research. “With consumers, sometimes the challenge is trying to figure out what they really mean. They might say they want less fat but maybe reducing the fat content of a product isn’t exactly what they do mean.” While rolling out a new product with consistency is a challenge for some producers, Johnson says that it isn’t a problem at Fosters, which McConnell echoes. He says that for example, if marketing will tell the R&D side that customers want products with less salt, they figure out how to do and then approach the operations side to see if it can be done commercially, at a consistent standard. If not, McConnell says they’ll tell him to take it back and refigure it. Dhup Mangal, quality control manager, says that there are 32 checks on the production floor every hour and major checks of a product twice a day. “Products are rated for packaging, color, texture, blinding, and taste, using a scale of one to five,” he says. “Most product checks fall around three to four; I seldom give out a five.” www.meatpacking.info

Lower costs, higher yields, better quality Marel introduces, DeboFlex, a groundbreaking new way of de-boning and handling pork fore-ends. Increases “knife in meat” time 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. marel.com • info@marel.com

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Niche turkey farm

spread its wings Turkey was once seen as only a two-month product in the USA, but today inexpensive value-added turkey can be found year around. Turkey breast meat is used in everything from ready-to-eat sausages to sliced Cajun deli cuts; thighs and wings get ground to become burgers and meatloaf; and one of the most popular items at State Fairs is smoked turkey legs. However, in the UK and Europe turkey remains something eaten mostly at Christmas, with an extreme lack of imagination shown when it comes to value-added. British farmer Rod Adlington is out to change this.

ou’re driving down Hob Lane in the Warwickshire countryside of England looking for Rod Adlington’s turkey farm. There’s no sign – at least not one which can be spotted when driving with a tail-gating 100 decibel tractor inches away from your rear bumper. Tall hedges crowd both sides of the narrow country road making it near-impossible to see beyond the road. As you begin driving down the lane for the third time you see an old gentleman doing his morning constitutional walk. “Excuse me, sir, do you know where Adlington’s turkey farm is?” you ask. The old man thinks for a moment. “Yes, yes, also known as Pheasant Oak Farm. Yes, yes, indeed I do,” he says, continuing on his way. As you begin wondering if there is a hidden camera and this is all part of a British comedy sketch called ‘Fool the Yank’, you also have to wonder if this somehow symbolizes niche valueadded products in Europe. The public is looking for something new and exciting products, made with better quality ingredients than usual supermarket fare. Then you have small farmers and producers who are putting all their time, money, and family life into actually creating these products that the big players lack the imagination to produce. They know too, that to increase in size, they need products which will make them stand out. But, keeping both sides hidden from each other is the impenetrable

hedge of inflexible supermarket buying power and limited shelf space, combined with a lack of proper marketing, and product availability and consistency. If it was only as easy as taking a chainsaw to this hedge. Rod Adlington is known in the UK for his gourmet, free-range bronze turkeys, but today when you are talking to him he has chicken on the brain. He takes out of the refrigerator a 500 gram (about 1 lb.) pack of smoked chicken which is in the shape of large pin cushion like your grandmother had. He thickly slices the chicken and watches your expression as you take your first bite. It’s been smoked in a mixture of English oak and cherry giving it a slightly more subtle flavor than if smoked in a typical US hardwood like hickory or mesquite. While in the States people like to be hit over the head with smoke flavor, in the UK they want the taste of the meat to remain the strong point. The chicken cushion is good, very good. You don’t have to be encouraged to take a second slice. Adlington knows as far as taste and customer appeal goes, he’s onto a winner. The question he has though, will it sell? And perhaps more importantly, will it be sold? Rod Adlington has been in the turkey business since 1989 when he took over the family farm and immediately started coming up with ideas to sell turkey year around. Since the 1950s, Pheasant Oak Farm sold turkeys at Christmas, but turkey production was treated

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all all photos photos mpj mpj

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Clockwise from top: Young turkeys that will enter the Christmas market; turkey breasts being smoked; breasts are brined in an Orbital Meat Mixer; packaging is with an Ilpra vacuum sealer

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more as a hobby than a proper business. That changed with Rod who sold 6,000 turkeys during his first year as managing director. He’s never looked back and has expanded operations by using nearby farm lands to raise more turkeys and by using selected farms to grow chickens and other poultry items such as pheasant, guinea fowl, duck, partridge, and quail to his standards. This gives him a total production of around 2 ½ to 3 metric tons of product a week. Christmas remains a big seller for Adlington, who sells around 10,000 turkeys at this time with about half raised free-range and the other half in large open barns. The barns give turkeys three-times the space required under EU laws and in walking through one, the only smell you can make out is that of the soft, deep litter barley and oak straw which is refreshed every day. Adlington’s turkeys are fed on a diet of cereals plus whole and crushed oats from neighboring farmers. He says that the slow-burning fat in the oats gives the turkeys a creamy taste which is synonymous with his birds. After slaughter, the birds are hung for 12 days to give them increased taste and a soft texture. Bronze free-range turkeys are sold in sizes ranging from 4kg (about 9 lb.) to 9kg (about 20 lb.). From small to big they range in price from £57 (about $89) to £98 ($153). In what has become popular in the UK, Christmas turkeys are stuffed with other birds as well. Adlington has several types of three-bird combinations including; turkey, pheasant, and duck; goose, chicken, and pheasant; and turkey, duck, and guinea fowl. Between each layer of bird is a layer of apple/apricot sausage meat stuffing. The piece de resistance is a six-bird behemoth with consists of turkey, pheasant, duck, guinea fowl, chicken, and quail. This serves up to 20 people and costs around £200 (about $311). Like all Adlington’s turkey, this item sold out as well during the run-up to last year’s Christmas.

But. As good as these sales are, anyone in the poultry business today who puts all their eggs in one basket is asking for major problems. Avian influenza has hurt badly turkey farms in the USA; and it seems like not a day goes by without hearing of another country’s poultry being infected. Most believe that it is spread through wild birds infecting domestic flocks. This thought alone is enough to keep any farmer who raises free-range poultry awake at night. If you are completely dependent on Christmas sales and your flock of turkeys get infected by late September or so during the migratory season – depriving you of the chance of restocking – there is no other way to put this except as: you’re screwed. In addition, it doesn’t make economic sense to mothball processing equipment for 11 months of the year and to not keep competent workers employed for the entire year.

smoked breast

ne of Adlington’s consistent year-round sellers is the company’s smoked turkey breast. The breasts are first brined in an Orbital Meat Mixer. They are then rested, cold smoked for five hours in an up-down process, and then cook. Vacuum sealing is done with an Ilpra sealer. Adlington doesn’t sell to the major UK supermarket chains such as Tesco, Sainsbury, or Waitrose, instead selling to independent grocery stores and butchers. However, the company has had a major coup in being selected by Ocado, the world’s largest dedicated online grocery store. Nationwide throughout the UK, much like how Amazon is able to provide an ‘endless’ book shelf for stock, Ocado is able to carry more

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products than other stores. For example, it lists 777 breakfast cereals and 112 different types of sliced meat. However, in looking at the reviews on Ocado’s website for Adlington’s smoke turkey breast, one of the problems of being a smaller company becomes apparent – consistency. Out of the 15 reviews, 12 were five-star with three onestar. Two of the negative reviews came from those who sounded like they weren’t aware of what smoked turkey should taste like. But the remaining one-star review had the strong reverberation of something slipping through the production line which should have been caught. Adlington is expecting that Ocado will pick up its chicken cushion, but the consistency of the product has Rod Adlington concerned. “It’s easy to launch a product but it’s hard to produce consistency,” he says. “That’s the challenge of going nationwide, always having the product being the same no matter where it’s sold.” For example Adlington is working on a turkey bacon product. While in the States turkey bacon is quite common with competition between brands, in the UK there is only one brand, Mattessons, which is far from being a superior product. For Adlington it looked like a market they could enter quite easily but, with only weeks to go before its turkey bacon was to be launched, Rod Adlington decided not to release it. “We were 98 percent there but it just didn’t look right in its packaging so I pulled it,” he says. “We haven’t given up on it, it just needs more work.” Other products in the immediate pipeline include a raw chicken which has been coldsmoked with cherry wood and juniper berries. The chicken will be sold in a Krehalon cooking bag so consumers will never have to touch the raw chicken. One of the challenges of having such a completely different product like this is using packaging that makes you stand out. With clear packaging, the product looks all the other chicken on the supermarket shelf; no one would realize the chicken’s unique selling point of being cold-smoked. Rod Adlington believes a way to get around this could be to have a more rustic-looking, non-see-through bag which would go directly into the oven. However, MPJ wonders if consumers looking at this bag would realize that the chicken inside is raw and not cooked, due to the bag resembling slightly a supermarket cooked rotisserie chicken bag. Would they buy it and take it on a picnic without noticing the sticker which states ‘Raw chicken’? While the flavor and appearance has been www.meatpacking.info

Right: Rob Adlington with his turkey cuts

up to Adlington’s standards, the reception it has received so far has been a disappointment to Adlington. The company is used to winning when they enter products in competitions, but the cold-smoked raw-chicken hasn’t got beyond the first stage placings. The fact that this has happened is making them rethink it. “With new products if you’re ahead of your time, forget it,” says Adlington. “To be successful with a new launch, you need to have the right product, right time, right price, right everything.” And that will remain the challenge for Adlington. The UK public is already abandoning in droves products like pork dinner sausages due to the high fat and sodium content, and questionable meat used. A fully cooked chicken or turkey sausage – like how Aidells makes them in the States – would check many of these boxes. But, would the public and grocery stores be ready for this? Rod Adlington would like to take the time and peer into a crystal ball and get an answer, but right now he has turkeys to go feed. September~October 2015 | Meat Packing Journal | 41

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For the last 50 years there has been a major shift in how people produce and buy protein around the world and one of the major contributors behind this is the humble packing tray. While few consumers give packaging a single thought, without it, JBS, Tyson, Cargill, and all the others would have no way of bringing their product to market in the volume that they do. MPJ’s editor Velo Mitrovich takes a look at packaging and tells you what growing market is being ignored.

f you could transport a shopper from the early 1960s to a present day supermarket’s meat counter – except for prices – almost everything in the red meat section would look the exactly the same. A T-bone remains a T-bone, as goes for pork chops, roasts, ribs, ground chuck, and ground round. But, point our time traveler over to the poultry section and they would suddenly realize that the universe had fundamentally shifted. In 1962 nearly 85 percent of chickens purchased in the USA were bought whole. By 2012, only about 12 percent were bought this way, the remainder being cut, packaged, and distributed as parts or prepared portions, confirming the massive shift in the last 50-years to consumer-convenient poultry products and packaging. But if our time traveler now looked for Pete

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the friendly butcher to explain what happened, they would be in for a greater shock. Today, supermarket butchers are about as rare as white rhinos, and those beef, pork, and lamb portions which seemed so familiar to our traveler were all cut, weighted, and packaged hundreds of miles away. What has allowed this tremendous change in supermarket meat sales around the world has been the one thing customers seldom notice – the packaging the meat comes in. When our 1960s shopper brought chicken home, they had only around a day or two before it went off. Today, thanks to developments in packaging, a raw chilled whole broiler can last for almost two weeks; if sealed in a vacuum skin pack some cuts of red meat can last for up to six weeks. This means that fresh chicken parts, along with steaks, ground beef, and pork chops, can www.meatpacking.info

usda

More than a pretty tray

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be packaged at a central location with enough shelf-life for distribution, retail display, and customer storage. According to the packaging association Ameripen, modern central processing facilities ship fresh product in forms that consumers prefer. Major chains prefer this as well, saving money in the processing process by use of robotic and high-tech machinery as much as possible. Improved packaging protection means avoiding contamination from the outside as well as preventing “leakers” which could contaminate other foodstuffs and surfaces with pathogens such as Campylobacter. Besides the food safety element, fewer leakers reduce spoilage, helping to keep consumer costs down. These benefits, says Ameripen, are the direct result of advances in heat sealable materials, package design, and packaging equipment to produce leak-proof seals that ensure product www.meatpacking.info

integrity from the point of packaging to use. Proper packaging as well leads to less food going bad and being wasted. In the USA, food waste is estimated to be around 30 to 40 percent of the food supply. This estimate, which is based on data from the US Department of Agriculture in regards to food loss at the retail and consumer level, corresponds to around 133 billion pounds of food, worth $161 billion. This is the single largest component going into municipal landfills, which quickly generates methane, helping to make landfills the third largest source of methane in the US. In the UK, with a population of around 20 percent that of the USA’s, 15.4 billion pounds of food is wasted each year, with a meat breakdown of this waste being: beef – 75 million lb; pork – 218 million lb; and chicken – 242 million lb. Besides leading to a three-fold reduction in September~October 2015 | Meat Packing Journal | 43

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food waste, packaging optimization has reduced the amount of packaging required to protect the product. For example, Ameripen says that today a five-pound broiler can be packaged with only 10 grams (less than 0.5 ounce) of flexible packaging. Does it matter? With almost every city in the world being faced with rubbish overload, reducing the amount of packaging material will only grow in importance. “Almost 90 percent of people believe that packaging waste is more prevalent than food waste,” says Ian Perkins of FaerchPlast of Denmark, adding that both industry and the public needs to do more in reducing both. “Pack sizes don’t necessarily fit modern family eating habits; over 60 percent of us eat on our own,” says Perkins. “One solution then is to use packaging that makes it easy to take out just a single portion such as with re-closeable film hinge packs or ‘Eat me, keep me’ packs that let you tear off just what you need.”

seafood was sold either fresh, which could go off in a day, or frozen with an ice-glaze coating. In countries such as Italy, Greece, and Spain this frozen seafood was often kept loose in chest freezers without even the protection of a plastic bag. Skin packs have helped to eliminate these problems with seafood and has drastically increased seafood sales throughout the world. Meat and poultry producers were slightly slower on the uptake of adopting skin packs, but now they have come on strong as well, especially with more expensive cuts of meat. According to up-market UK grocer Waitrose, the new packaging increases shelf life, reduces wastage, and ultimately increase sales of the meat products. The retailer saw a 17 per cent sales increase of its own brand Essentials range of steaks when the skin packs were introduced and Waitrose boasts that it saves 30 metric tons of packaging per year as a result of the change. UK restaurant burger chain Gourmet Burger Kitchen which sells raw burgers at Waitrose, re-launched its grocery range in a skin pack format. The replacement for the traditional tray packaging can double the shelf life of the top quality burgers, which boast the highest meat content of any burger on the UK retail market. With shelf life set to be nine days as a result of the new pack, rather than the previous five, All About Food, which produces the burgers under license for Gourmet Burger Kitchen, expects to see a positive impact as a result. Declan Lockett, marketing director at All About Food says: “The Gourmet Burger Kitchen burgers boast the best product out there, with 100 percent British beef and added seasoning of salt and pepper only, so the new pack reflects this exceptional quality. “Retailers are set to benefit from more on shelf stand out, increased shelf life and reduced packaging as a result of the new packaging format. With that comes less wastage, which in turn means better availability in store, ultimately driving sales volumes.”

skin packs set pace

hat continues to lead the packaging revolution is vacuumpacked skin packs. Sold under a variety of brand names, such as TraySkin by SealPac and Cryovac with Darfresh, vacuum skin technology consists in the sticking of two plastic materials. As a result, the cover film is stuck to the tray in the area where there is no product, enhancing its presentation. First adopted by the seafood industry which found that by using vacuum skin packs not only was the package presentation much better, but the shelf life was extended as well. Before,

challenge brings big profits

multivac

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hile they would hate to admit it, the Baby Boomer generation is no longer seen as the driving force in retail sales and it is the Millennials that are beginning to capture the interest of food companies. Following hand-inhand with marketers will be packaging. Mackenzie King, director of design research and insight translation at US-based Lextant research, says that Millennials, whose birth years range from the early 1980s to the early www.meatpacking.info

2000s, will yield more spending power than any previous generation, with annual spending power of $2.45 trillion this year. By 2018, they are expected to exceed Baby Boomers’ spending, hitting purchases of $3.39 trillion. This group has a whole new set of expectations for living and for the products they purchase. Savvy packagers and marketers are transitioning from “selling a product to be consumed” towards “providing an experience to be unlocked,” says King. What packaging companies need to do is to join forces with supermarkets to tap into this market; something that no company has yet to embrace. According to ‘Supermarket Guru’ Phil Lempert, the growing semi-homemade category offers an “unbelievable opportunity” for retailers, as Millennials want to feel like they’re making dishes themselves. “When it comes to recipes, they don’t want step-by-step directions, what they want is a picture they can make themselves,” he says. “Supermarkets have an unbelievable opportunity to build on this semi-homemade category. What if in the prepared foods case, what if half of this case was semi-homemade; what if you took a product – the hard parts of cooking the product – already prepared, bring it home, heat it up, and add your finishing touches,” says Lempert. Already there are jabs at this market, says MPJ, but no one is taking it full one. Almost every large supermarket has vegetables already www.meatpacking.info

Varanese Sawhill

pbs

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Above: A beautiful steak cooked sous vide. Ignore this style at your own risk.

prepared for making a Chinese stir fry, but no one has come up with a successful way of also packaging meat with the dish. While there are now poultry packaging which lets consumers put the chicken directly into the oven without touching it, with some like SealPac’s Mylar bags that open up when a dish is almost fully cooked, allowing the skin to brown, the addition of other products into these bags except for sauces isn’t taking place and there is some question whether the Millennials will buy into it. But MPJ believes this is what they will lock, stock, and barrel. In the late 1960s pre-microwave era, US supermarkets carried frozen-in-bag sandwich fillers like pork in barbecue sauce or meatloaf, which customers would boil for 10 minutes and September~October 2015 | Meat Packing Journal | 45

Couse baker

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serve in a bread roll. While not very expensive, costing $0.25 at the time, the bags contained more sauce than meat and the concept quickly died out. A much more sophisticated version has come from France called sous vide meals. Sous vide cooking involves prepping the food (pre-searing a steak, for instance), vacuum sealing it in a polyethylene bag, and slowly cooking it in a low-temperature water bath; cooking times can vary depending on the protein from eight to 20 hours. Afterwards, it’s chilled or frozen until reheating for the end customer. Full meals can be vacuum packaged and frozen in high temperature-enabled, vacuum packaging cooking film or TEPC film, then placed directly in the oven and cooked from frozen within the pouch. If done properly, tasty meals and product applications can be as wide ranging as a chef’s imagination, with consumers never thinking these meals were cooked in a pouch. Consumers can take the finish product and then add side dishes to it, giving it the feel of a homemade meal. “It’s in a food business owner’s best interest to avoid blindly jumping on trends, but to identify the best opportunities and fully commit to doing it right. That’s why I’m not

talking about investing in steaming or other cooking methods that don’t hit everything on a consumer’s checklist: flavor, taste, texture, and nutritional value,” says Jamie Calvetti of Innovative Food Creations of Chicago. “I’m talking about oven-friendly packaging and sous vide meals. Consumers get better bang for the buck and vendors save on the bottom line. “Consumers are getting smarter about food and demand options that reflect their everincreasing expectations. In fact, well-read consumers already know about sous vide and can’t wait for it to become less exclusive. It’s niche for now, but we’re swimming upstream to make it available to the masses,” he says. According to Calvetti, advantages of hightemperature-enabled films include: Food products are cooked directly in the pouch for ease of use Tremendous food safety benefits since raw food is never handled Drastically reduced cooking times provide better moisture, vitamin and mineral retention Consistent heat transfer means more tender and uniform cooking The films allow meat, breading, and other foods to brown within the vacuum-sealed pouch “All this translates to better margins up and down the supply chain,” he says.

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Packaging solutions Reduce stacking height for major cost benefits

“First” hygienic vacuum pump The first vacuum pump with hygienic design in the world has been introduced by Busch Vacuum Pumps and Systems. This new rotary vane vacuum pump was developed specially for foodstuffs packaging with tray sealers and thermoforming machines, and is designed to be cleaned using steam jets and conventional detergents. The unit surfaces are smooth and slightly inclined, allowing water and detergent to drain away after cleaning to leave a residue-free finish. Initially only the models RAH 200 A and RAH 300 A with pumping speeds of 200 and 300 m³/h will be available. The new vacuum pumps are based on the proven oil-lubricated Busch R 5 rotary vane vacuum pumps, which have been installed in many packaging machines and remote centralised vacuum systems. The rotary vane technology of the new hygienic vacuum pumps guarantees a permanent vacuum of 0.1 mbar and high pumping speeds for the entire range between atmospheric and ultimate pressure, allowing rapid evacuation and short packaging cycle times.

www.meatpacking.info

Leading European manufacturer of plastic packaging for the food industry, Faerch Plast of Denmark, says meat & poultry processors and packers can have major cost benefits and increase production efficiency by continuing to reduce the stacking height of its wide range of high performance trays produced from materials such as PP, APET, CPET and MAPET® II. Developed to meet the growing trend for more sophisticated and efficient supply chains, Faerch Plast’s meat & poultry trays now provide up to 50% reduction in stacking height, allowing better optimization of storage space, less frequent feeding of automated de-nesters, and enhanced logistics handling. Faerch Plast achieves lower tray stacking height using a combination of specialist tooling, advanced materials, and design features, such as asymmetric negative de-nesting, which ensures uniform quality and fast and precise automated handling. Easier to transport and store than regular packs, Faerch Plast packs fit standard distribution equipment and work seamlessly with the latest high speed automated de-nesting, filling, conveying, and robotic packing machinery. Jason Gale, sales director at Faerch Plast says: “Faerch Plast has always recognized that the size, shape and design of trays can impact on ease of handling, how easily they can stack within a trailer and how much room they take up in the warehouse. “As well as cutting costs for our customers, reducing the stacking height of trays has significant environmental benefits as more trays can be packed on to pallets meaning less transportation and deliveries are required.” Gale adds: “It also offers major stockholding and handling advantages at the customer facility. There is less storage space required; reduced internal transport from stock to shop floor; less refilling of de-nesters by operatives; faster filling, sealing and packing, and reduced labor costs.” Faerch Plast works closely with market-leading providers of automated de-nesting equipment to provide a complete solution. Jess Kristensen, area sales manager at Carsoe for the Anytray de-nesting portfolio says: “The low tray stacking height offered by Faerch Plast sets a real benchmark for the food industry…having a positive impact on profitability and production efficiencies.”

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Antibacterial protection in packaging material Government health officials in the USA, Europe, and ANZ are expecting poultry processors to come up with real solutions on how they can reduce pathogens such as Campylobacter. A well-established fact is that packaging materials can be the source of pathogen contamination. But, there might be a real answer to this problem from Biomaster of the UK which says its antibacterial technology guarantees fast, effective, and long lasting protection in your packaging material. Independently tested in thousands of applications, Biomaster is proven to inhibit the growth of bacteria such as Campylobacter, MRSA, E.coli, Legionella, Listeria, Salmonella, and many others. Easily incorporated into any plastic, textile, paper, paint, or coating, Biomaster becomes an integral part of the manufacturing process to provide effective and lasting antibacterial protection for the lifetime of the product. Biomaster is used extensively in meat processing, consumer packaging, and in the food service industry to reduce the risk of food poisoning. It says its range of formulations can be blended to suit just about any application. Silver is a natural antimicrobial and Biomaster pioneered the modern day use of silver-ion technology and is recognized as the world’s leader in this field. When bacteria come into contact with a Biomaster protected surface, the silver ions prevent them from growing, producing energy, or replicating; therefore they die. Biomaster Protection is incredibly durable, long lasting, and highly active. When added, it is dispersed throughout the entire item and becomes an integral part of the product. Silver is inorganic and non-leaching which means that, unlike organic antimicrobial technologies, it stays within the item to which it is added and doesn’t leach out. The active ingredient provides maximum antibacterial protection for the lifetime of the product. Throughout the food chain, good hygiene practices are essential to prevent the spread of pathogens. Biomaster reduces food contamination from bacteria - and the risk of food poisoning - throughout its preparation, processing, packing, and distribution. For example, it will inhibit bacterial growth on the outer packaging of fresh meat products through every stage between farm and fork. Processors and restaurants can also use Biomaster antimicrobial technology on surfaces, appliances, flooring, and wall paint. Biomaster has developed masterbatches and compounds for every type of polymer and every manufacturing process. It doesn’t affect the physical properties of the plastic in any way and can even be used in clear grades. “We can supply masterbatch or compound samples free-of-charge, or alternatively, manufacture plaques of your chosen polymer incorporating Biomaster,” says the company. Biomaster is also easily added to any water, solvent, oil or powder based paint, coating, ink or lacquer to inhibit the growth of micro-organisms such as bacteria, yeast, and mold, making them more hygienic, durable and ideal for use in both hygiene critical and high traffic environments. “We know Biomaster is highly effective at reducing bacteria levels but it is essential you are just as confident that your finished product is effective,” says the company. “That’s why our antimicrobial testing to the latest ISO standards is completely independent and conducted only at leading microbiology laboratories.” The Biomaster regulatory service will ensure your product complies with all the relevant legislation for biocidal products including: Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR); Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Customers using the Biomaster Protected logo in their marketing material can rest assured all their claims are valid and regulatory requirements are fulfilled, bringing benefits to your business.

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Easy change from product to product Repak’s horizontal form/fill/seal packaging machines are simple for workers to use and can be quickly changed from one product to the next, according to Reiser. The company manufactures a complete line of horizontal form/fill/seal equipment for meat and poultry packaging. These machines - also known as thermoformers or vacuum packaging machines produce vacuum and modified-atmosphere packages from flexible and semi-rigid materials, as well as vacuum skin packages (VSP), and packages with formed top webs. Machines can be manually and automatically loaded, with a variety of sizes are available from the compact configuration of the RE15 for low volume production, to the high performance of the RE30 for the highest production rates in the industry. Repak uses the rapid air forming method as a standard. This method maximizes the distribution of film into critical areas such as corners. This allows package engineers to choose thinner forming films with potential cost savings of up to 20%.

www.meatpacking.info

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Fail proof cooking with Mylar Cook films

Skin-pack differentiation with rPETeCO

There is a growing interest from shoppers for value-added meat and chicken which comes prepacked in Mylar Cook films from German-based Multivac. According to Lilly Schmidt, culinary expert at Multivac, Mylar Cook enables food in the pack – either fresh or frozen – to be cooked directly in an oven or microwave. “Thanks to this process, the aromas, vitamins, minerals, and inherent moisture of the product are retained to the maximum possible extent during the cooking process,” says Schmidt. “The seal seam of the pack opens by itself after a period of time due to a combination of oven temperature and the steam pressure that is created in the pack. “This enables the food to be browned in the pack, and for the example of the skin of a chicken, to become crispy,” she says. Schmidt says due to a more consistent heat transfer during the cooking phase, overall cooking time is reduced. With all of the concern about Campylobacter, you would assume consumers are using products in Mylar Cook films to avoid touching raw meat, especially chicken. But, according to Tanya Nickels of Multivac, the focus for most consumers is on fail-proof cooking, easy handling, and no clean-up. The fact that there is no contamination with microorganisms while preparing food is seen more of an extra benefit. Nickels says that Mylar Cook films can run perfectly on any Multivac thermoforming machine, ranging from the smallest model, R 085, to the largest, R 535. Depending on the machine layout, some settings will need to be adjusted. “Multivac has accompanied many companies during the market launch of a wide range of products and same rules apply with Mylar Cook as with any new product,” says Schmidt. “The manufacturer should make sufficient time to develop the product – ideally with us – since it is a case here of a new cooking method which requires the product development to be taken very seriously. “We can support our customers in this area with a great deal of application knowledge and many years of experience.” She says that trends towards high-quality convenience solutions with guaranteed success - such as the Mylar Cook films – can be seen everywhere. “Various aspects and developments play a role in this; a growing number of working people and single households, less knowledge about cooking and more disposable income all increase the demand worldwide for product solutions like Mylar Cook.” Mylar Cook was launched in the USA market several years ago; since then Multivac has had enquires from over 40 countries.

O’Brien’s Fine Foods is using Holfeld Plastic’s eCOPET vacuumed skin packaging for its award winning Irish sausage. eCOpet, more familiarly known as rPETeCO, is a low carbon, lightweight packaging which was developed, blended, and manufactured in Ireland by Holfeld Plastics, part of Waddington Europe. Besides having a reduced density of rPET material, rPETeCO has a more natural touch and feel, is easier to cut than a standard rPET/APET sheet, and retains up to 90 percent of the gas barrier performance of rPET. O’Brien’s is a family business established in 1978, which produces premium quality cooked hams and breakfast meats under the Brady Family and Rudds brands using Board Bia approved pork. “Our products have been ideally complimented in this natural feel, organic-looking tray,” says O’Brien’s Food. “On-shelf our trays are outstanding with strong product differentiation. We are especially pleased with the performance, look and feel of the six cavity vacuumed skin-pack tray.” Versatile Packaging, Holfeld’s key distribution partner in Ireland, was briefed to rebrand O’Brien’s wellestablished breakfast range of Roulade Puddings Sausages and Filled Back Bacon products.

www.meatpacking.info

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More profit with vacuum packaging While vacuum packaging has been around for years, new developments and less expensive machines put the technology in reach of small, niche food companies. When displayed in supermarket chiller shelves or freezers, nothing shouts out ‘fresh’ the way vacuum packaging can. MPJ talks to Bob Goldberg of California-based PAC Machinery.

he consumer demand for tasty, visually appealing, nutritional, packaged foods has grown exponentially in that last decade and this market-driven need has motivated foodpackaging professionals to seek new and innovative approaches to shelf-ready packaging, says Bob Goldberg. One thing, however, has not changed. Serving the needs of both the packager and the consumer, vacuum packaging remains at the center of today’s food packaging industry as it has the proven ability to extend the shelf life of the product by days, weeks, or even months. Though many foods respond to vacuum packaging differently, the shelf life and quality of vacuum packaged food can greatly exceed that of bagged or wrapped packages. This can lead to processors, wholesalers, and supermarkets seeing less waste and an increase in profits. What users of vacuum packaging equipment have found, meat and poultry can last up to six weeks when refrigerated and foods that are both vacuum packaged and frozen can retain both taste and texture for a year or more. It’s not surprising that in the specialized practice of vacuum packaging, there is no standard approach as each food product presents with different requirements. Fresh chicken, for example, require a different set of criteria — pouch material, machine type, packaging process, etc — than value-added prepared meals. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is an excellent means to extend the shelf life of fresh foods. Using MAP, the oxygen that surrounds the food is driven out of the packaging and is replaced by a carefully-formulated mixture of inert gases — usually a combination of carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Typically, the shelf life of perishable, non-

respiring products, such as meat, fish, and poultry, can be prolonged using MAP as it slows the undesirable effects of microbial and enzymatic activity. The specific mixture of gases and the packaging materials used depends on the type of food and its storage temperature. Non-respiring foods require the use of impermeable, high-barrier films. The initial flushed-gas mixture will be maintained inside the modified atmosphere package. MAP offers an alternative to other food preservation methods, such as vacuum packaging, freezing, canning, or bottling. When considering vacuum or modified atmosphere packaging for your product, it is essential to understand the following three items: 1. Not all foods benefit equally from vacuum or MAP. Raw pork, poultry, and beef may be vacuum packed and frozen, as long as it is thawed at 41°F or below. 2. Vacuum packaging can extend shelf life of frozen and refrigerated foods, as well as many foods stored at room temperature. In some cases, the process of vacuum packaging can increase shelf life by four to six times. Foods such as ground meat will normally last up to four months stored in the freezer. The same product, under the same conditions, may remain in very-good condition up to one year if it is vacuum packaged. 3. There are two central issues that can affect food spoilage: microbial activity and enzymatic degradation. The development of both can be slowed through the use of vacuum packaging. Microbial and enzymatic degradation in beef, for example, can cause undesired changes in food appearance, texture, flavor, color and nutritional value. About 80 percent of beef leaves the packing plant sealed in vacuum packaging using impermeable barrier film, but

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Right: The CV 152 Tabletop Vacuum Sealer by PAC Machinery

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not all of the oxygen present can be removed during packaging. However, residual oxygen is consumed by the respiration of aerobic microorganisms. The result is decreased oxygen and increased carbon dioxide which leads to longer shelf life. In general, vacuum packaged meats are considered very-safe foods and free from most pathogenic species of bacteria. According to Goldberg, vacuum packaging equipment can be found in a wide variety of configurations, but usually follows two general approaches: nozzle-style vacuum machines and vacuum chambers. “Nozzle-style vacuum packaging is an extremely-versatile method of vacuum packaging. Designed for horizontal or vertical use, nozzle-style vacuum sealers range in sealing lengths from 12 inches to over 120 inches and are available in both tabletop and floor-standing versions,” says Goldberg. “This style of machine is ideal for vacuum-sealing solid or bulky food products.” Nozzle-style vacuum packaging is a simple process. Here is how it works: A filled bag or pouch is placed between a set of sealing jaws, over stainless steel vacuum nozzles that extend between the jaws. The jaws grip the bag while air is evacuated through the nozzles by means of a vacuum pump or venturi system. If desired, gas is flushed through the same set of nozzles into the bag. At the end of the vacuum or gas cycle, the nozzles retract from the bag, and the sealing cycle begins. Unlike the nozzle approach, the bag – as well as the entire chamber – is evacuated with chamber vacuum sealing. This results in a higher level of vacuum and a lower residual oxygen level. Though not as fast, chamber vacuum sealing is the right choice when a high vacuum is required, such as when packaging meat. Large vacuum chambers are commonly used in applications with high-vacuum demands. Models vary from small tabletop units to large, floor-standing, single and double chambers. Like nozzle-style vacuum packaging, vacuum chamber packaging is a fairly straightforward process. A filled bag or pouch is placed on the bed of the chamber with the open end positioned in contact with the seal bar. The hood of the chamber is closed after the product has been loaded, and the vacuum cycle begins automatically. A vacuum pump removes air from the entire chamber. This step may be followed by gas flush cycle(s), if required for Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP). The sealing cycle begins immediately after the vacuum or gas cycle has completed.

The hood of the chamber opens automatically at the end of the sealing cycle. With bags lined up along the length of the sealing bar, vacuum chamber machines can package as many bags per cycle as the sealing bar length will accommodate. Analyzing Package Integrity There are a variety of industrial instruments that are used for the measurement of seal strength, seal quality, bursting pressure, compression resistance, and leakage of flexible packages, aseptic packages, and many other packages. Basic leak testing is fairly simple. The test specimen is fully submerged into a vacuum chamber that is filled with water. The vacuum chamber itself is evacuated to form a differential pressure between the inside and outside of the specimen under test. Evidence of leakage is obtained by observing the steady progression — or absence of — bubbles from the seal and how the specimen expands and restores to its original shape after vacuum release. Standards for this level of testing are detailed in the international test standards’ ASTM D3078 (Standard Test Method for Determination of Leaks in Flexible Packaging by Bubble Emission). “Vacuum packaging, in one form or another, has been at the center of food preservation for generations,” says Goldberg. “Although once exclusive to commercial food packagers and processors, vacuum packaging is now available to small-scale food processors and even in home 'food saver' models. September~October 2015 | Meat Packing Journal | 51

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600t makes a lot of burgers Three daily shifts, 600 tons of fresh meat every day, Germanyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s supermarket giant Edeka doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do anything small and that includes how it makes ground meat for its thousand-plus stores. But looking ahead, Edeka sees formed hamburger patties and meatballs in its future. Mark Boom reports

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deka’s meat processing plant in Rheinstetten is considered to be one of the most modern in Germany. With around 900 employees, the plant processes and packages up to 600 tons of fresh meat every day. It is a massive plant, sprawling across an area of 40,000 square meters (430,566 sq ft), where you will find the complete chain of meat processing, packaging, warehousing, and transport.

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Above: Supermarket giant Edeka uses a central grinder to supply its stores.

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In large halls, fresh and processed meat production takes place in up to three shifts a day, seven days a week. The end products - of which around 2,500 items are continuously in stock in Rheinstetten - are transported to 1,250 retail stores in the five German states that belong to the Edeka Südwest region. The best-selling and at the same time most sensitive product in the case-ready segment is ground (minced) meat. Supplied in various grades and types – pork, beef, mixed, organic – it is manufactured and packaged daily

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in Rheinstetten under the strictest hygiene conditions. In order to guarantee reliable deliveries to the Edeka supermarkets in the southwest of Germany, a state-of-art and high-output ground meat packaging line was implemented with the involvement of committed partners. Edwin Mantel, production manager at Edeka Südwestfleisch, explains the special requirements in setting up this line.

THREE TONS AN HOUR

Above: SealPac designed the entire packaging line. Right: Handtmann's grinders ensures a constant product.

“Our experience had shown that a close and trusting cooperation between all partners involved is essential – otherwise we would never have reached the current solution. The cooperation started in October 2010, with the first equipment already being installed in May/ June of the following year,” he says.

PORTIONS & TEXTURE

or our new meat processing plant in Rheinstetten, handling and packaging large volumes of ground meat requires a high-output line, consisting of meat grinding, portioning, and tray-sealing,” says Mantel. “We set up a list of requirements which, for example, contained a demanded output of 3 tons an hour – this translates to around 120 trays per minute. Furthermore, we wanted a particular texture and image of the end product, as well as an efficient production process.” To complete this task, Mantel and his team met with several suppliers and in the end decided to move forward with Handtmann and SealPac as Edeka’s partners. Although the individual requirements in terms of capacity, flexibility, and product quality seemed to be relatively uncomplicated, the main focus was on the interfaces where all parts of the plant would come together in achieving a final product. This, according to Mantel, is where optimal coordination between the individual components determines the efficiency of the entire line.

HE line starts with Handtmann’s VF 630 vacuum filler, which grinds and portions the meat to its exact weight in one single step. The combination of a vane cell-feed system with a separately controllable drive of the in-line grinder reduces the cutting load and shortens process steps. The geometry of the vane cell-feed system ensures a safe transport and a constant product flow, which is important for weight accuracy. All process data is constantly monitored and visualized with the touch of a button. Batch traceability is supported by HCU software. As for the product texture, with the applied cutting set and settings of the grinder drive, the grain size and bite of the ground meat are determined. Therefore, different cutting set parts are used in the production, which are customized to the individual product. Usually ground meat has a grain size of 2.2 to 4 mm. When changing products, only a different end-hole plate has to be applied. The optimum machine setting is stored in the product memory of the machine. This allows for short set-up times and rules out faulty operation. After portioning and check-weighing, SealPac takes over in the line with its tray de-nester,

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ground meat loader, as well as its lane divider that ensures double lane transport of trays into the SealPac A10 tray sealer. This machine is capable of sealing 120 trays per minute under modified atmosphere (MAP). After sealing, the trays go through metal detection and labeling, and are placed directly into their transport boxes. “At Edeka we almost exclusively use transparent mono PP trays, as customers are very critical and want to see exactly what they are buying. The tray configuration has changed during the project due to the many test runs. We are currently using ultralight 10g trays, which is absolutely not standard in our business. But lighter trays mean less materials, resulting in more sustainability and cost savings,” says Mantel. According to Mantel, lighter trays also make the sealing process more challenging, as you encounter a physical limit when transporting these trays at higher speeds. It is common that with a double lane in-feed, rectangular trays are transported narrow-side leading as it provides more stability in transport. However, this means that the capacity of the tooling is not fully used and faster cycle times are required, which negatively affects the smoothness of the line as well as its maintenance costs. This is why SealPac works with patented snap grippers on its tray sealers in high-output lines, which allow for an ergonomic and reliable long-side leading transportation of the trays. As such, tray transport speeds are reduced by 30 percent, requiring less cycles per minute. For Edeka it has meant more plant efficiency and improved cost savings. “Next to highest output, we also demanded a flexible line, because in the area of case-ready meat we are offering a wide range of products, which also differs in the time of the year, such as during the summer barbecue season. This 56 | Meat Packing Journal | September~October 2015

Above: Lighter weight trays are used making the sealing process a challenge.

requires a flexible set-up of the line,” says Mantel. “At the moment we are supplying a large variety in ground meat products on the new line, but also the popular Cevapcici [kebab]. Product changes can easily be made with minor changeover times. Service support also plays a major role in remaining flexible, which is something both Handtmann and SealPac offer us by having technicians nearby in the area.”

FUTURE IS FORMED

round meat may be the top seller in the case-ready segment, but Edeka also sees a trend towards fresh burgers and meat balls, which are already quite common in the UK and Belgium. According to Mantel, an increase of shelf life for ground meat products will remain an important item, especially when going with more processed items. SealPac says that it is providing the plant with a MAP+ system that requires less vacuum resulting in reduced product exposure, shorter cycle times, consistent gas values, and reduced gas consumption when packaging fresh meat. In addition, color should remain stable during the entire shelf life of the product. “In the future, our production process will become more open. Product safety and traceability are playing an ever greater role for consumers. We will have to be highly productive and flexible at the same time. “For manufacturing particular products, manual processes will always have a certain share, but in other areas we will be forced to further automate. Naturally, we rely on our established partnerships to achieve equally good solutions, such as our high-performance ground meat line.” www.meatpacking.info

CONSISTENTLY ACCURATE WEIGHTS. NOTHING MORE. NOTHING LESS. The Vemag Process Check virtually eliminates giveaway, reduces rework, and increases profitability in your chub product. The Vemag Process Check is an inline check-weigher that virtually eliminates off-weights and productgiveaway. Your product weights can be affected by a number of variables, including changes in raw material, lean-to-fat ratios, product temperature, density, and even machine wear. The Process Check communicates directly with the Vemag Stuffer to compensate for those variables, continuously fine-tuning each portion to increase your on-weight percentages. In fact, we’ve developed a spreadsheet that can calculate your annual cost savings with the Vemag Process Check and prove its ROI. Take back your giveway – contact Reiser and arrange a demonstration. www.reiser.com Reiser • Canton, MA • (781) 821-1290 Reiser Canada • Burlington, ON • (905) 631-6611 Reiser UK • Kingston, Milton Keynes • (01908) 585300 2014

Calculate your savings. Tell us the cost of your raw materials, your current giveaway, and your daily output. We’ll quickly calculate just how much the Vemag Process Check can save you and what your ROI would be.

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Transporting meat across the globe

The cold chain New Zealand lamb is sold cheaper around the world than locally-produced lamb. This means for people living in San Francisco, lamb coming from New Zealand – over 6,500 miles away – is less expensive than lamb produced 40 miles up the road in Petaluma. For better or worse, nothing has made an impact on the global meat market more than the container ship.

n a Hills Brothers Coffee commercial from years back, it showed an old cargo ship full of coffee beans docking in San Francisco. In the story line, before starting work the longshoremen would ‘claim’ a 50 lb. burlap bag of coffee as their own and brew up a pot. While this commercial somehow tried to glamorize the dock workers and their love for Hills Bros coffee, it showed exactly why nearly 60 years there came a revolution in the world’s shipping industry with the first container ship. Today, outside of air cargo, there is no faster, reliable, or safer way of getting your product from one side of the world to the other. There is almost a 100 percent certainty that products loaded at your meat company will arrive thousands of miles away in perfect condition, without spoilage or theft. And costs? It’s so low that some producers barely figure it into their prices. With container ships getting larger and more economical to run, and with work finished on the Suez improvments and already started on the new Nicaragua Canal with its much wider locks, relative costs will only get cheaper. Indeed, liner shipping today is the most efficient mode of transportation of goods bar none. In one year a single large containership

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can carry over 200,000 container loads of cargo. If all the containers from a single 11,000-load container ship needed to go on the same train, the line of rail cars would stretch for 44 miles. What has powered the international meat market has been the use of refrigerated – or commonly called ‘reefer’ – containers onboard container ships that now account for the majority of the frozen/chilled meat being transported around the world. With established ISO dimensions, any reefer container – carrying from 20 to 25 tons of refrigerated cargo – can be quickly loaded and unloaded by crane at any established containership port throughout the world. There, once clearing customs, the container can be unloaded onto a rail car or truck trailer and transported directly to a warehouse without the product being disturbed in any way. While most transported meat products are frozen, the speed of which sea transportation takes place means that chilled products are also viable by reefer containers. The complete supply chain, from supplier, to transporter, to buyer, is referred to as a ‘cold chain’. When it works, as it does most of the time, it’s seamless. However, the reality is this: while globalization might have made the relative distance of the world much smaller, the actual distance remains the same. As US pork September~October 2015 | Meat Packing Journal | 59

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producers discovered last year as product piled up along America’s west coast due to longshoremen strike action, when things go wrong, they can go very wrong and at times there is little you as the supplier or buyer can do about it. When moving a shipment across the cold chain, to avoid suffering any setbacks or temperature problems it helps to have a quality management system in place. According to Dr Jean-Paul Rodrugue, Professor at the Department of Global Studies and Geography at Hofstra University, concerns that need to be thoroughly thought out range from the preparation of the shipments and loading, to final verification of the integrity of the shipment at the delivery point. Specially, these include: Shipment preparation: Meats should already be at the desired temperature before loading. Advanced checks need to be made to see if during the journey there will be extreme heat or cold weather conditions along the transport route to the ship. Especially with heat, will the reefer’s cooling system be able to cope? Transportation: To reach the ship will a truck or rail be used? While reefer containers used strictly for land transport are often times owned by the meat company – which can use them for auxiliary storage – by sea almost all are owned by shipping companies and leased. Is this something the shipping agent will arrange or is it up to the meat company? Shipboard: Once onboard, most container ships have around 10 to 20% of their container slots adapted to carry reefers, with some ships having up to 25% of their slots being dedicated when servicing routes with a higher intensity of refrigerated cargo. Custom procedures: If the freight crosses boundaries, custom procedures can become very important, since cold chain products tend to be time sensitive and more subject to inspection than regular freight. The Last Mile: The last stage is the actual delivery of the shipment to its destination, which in logistics is often known as the "last mile". Key considerations when arranging a final delivery concern not only the destination, but the timing of the delivery so the critical labor and warehousing space is available.

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Refrigerated cargo ships, reefers, and banana boats

ot all meat is shipped by refrigerated reefers onboard a container ship. Refrigerated cargo ships are basically fast general cargo ships with extensive refrigerated spaces for the transport of meat, fruit, and dairy products. The first reefer ship for the banana trade was introduced in 1902 by the United Food Company. This enabled the banana to move from an exotic fruit that had a small market because it arrived in markets too ripe, to one of the world's most consumed fruit. Its impacts on the reefer industry were monumental, and many in the industry still refer to these ships as ‘banana boats’. Meat may be carried frozen or chilled. Hold volume is less than an equivalent sized cargo ship because of the space taken by insulation. If all cargo spaces are refrigerated, the ship is called a fully refrigerated ship, or reefer. If only some of the holds are refrigerated, the ship is a partial reefer; the refrigerated holds are generally those closest to the machinery spaces. Cargo volume is an important factor since refrigerated cargo has a fairly high stowage rate: chilled beef stows at about 127 cubic feet per ton and frozen beef at about 94 cubic feet. Chilled beef is hung from hooks and chains, with approximately one foot clearance between the meat and the deck for air circulation. Frozen meat is usually stacked; storage height is usually less than 20 feet to avoid crushing the lower tiers. Below the decks a reefer ship resembles a large modern warehouse, and cargo is usually carried and handled in palletized form, moved about on conveyors or by electric fork lift trucks.

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However, for the majority of these concerns a good shipping company will actually be the ones ensuring that these take place. George Mead at DSV Air & Sea Ltd – one of the major international players in the shipping industry – says that it’s not expected that a meat company itself would know how to arrange all of these links in the cold chain.

reefer basics

he reefer container has become the industry standard temperaturecontrolled transport unit used due to its range of temperature settings and ability to carry around 20 to 25 tons of meat undisturbed from seller to buyer. While there are numerous companies willing to sell you a reefer, unless you are a major company, it doesn’t pay, according to Mead. When loading at your plant, proper air circulation must be insured. Reefers have gratings on the floor and a clearance of about six inches (15 cm) must be kept between the cargo and the ceiling. Cold air coming out of the refrigeration unit flows through the bottom part of the reefer and as it warms up it climbs towards the ceiling to flow back to the refrigeration unit, usually 3 °F to 6 °F warmer. 62 | Meat Packing Journal | September~October 2015

The heat is the outcome of ambient temperature permeating into the reefer (this is particularly the case when ambient temperature is high) as well as the cooling of the cargo if it was loaded in at a warmer temperature than the one maintained in the reefer. Most reefers are painted white to increase the albedo (share of the incident light being reflected; high albedo implies less solar energy absorbed by the surface). For instance a low albedo container can have its internal temperature increase to 120-130 °F when the external temperature reaches 80 °F on a sunny day while a high albedo container sees its internal temperature increase to only around 100 °F under the same conditions. It is important to underline that the refrigeration units are designed to maintain the temperature within a prefixed range, not to cool it down, says Rodrugue. This implies that the shipment must be brought to the required temperature before being loaded into a reefer, which requires specialized warehousing and loading / unloading facilities. A new generation of reefers is coming online, which are equipped with an array of sensors monitoring effectively the temperature and shutting the cooling plant when unnecessary. This enables to improve the reliability of temperature control of the reefer. www.meatpacking.info

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I NEVER KNEW THAT ABOUT SHIPPING The Father of Containerization was Malcom McLean (1913-2001). In 1956 he developed the metal shipping container to replace the traditional break-bulk method of goods handling. He later founded Sea-Land Service and his business began to grow. Adding several transpacific routes, in 1967 he was invited by the US government to start a container service to South Vietnam, which developed into 40% of the company's revenue in 1968-69. McLean was named "Man of the Century" by the International Maritime Hall of Fame.

dry freight products are produced in China. It's easier to produce the container close to the cargo, than to reposition and ship empty container around the world.

There are currently over 20 million shipping containers in the world. In total, they make around 200 million trips a year.

All commercially used containers are tracked with a BIC code, similar to a license plate on a car, and they all carry a standard format [XXX-U-123456-1]. The first three letters signify the owner, the next letter is the category of the container (U = freight container, J = freight related equipment, Z = trailers or chassis), followed by a six digit serial number and finally a check digit.

Shipping is the ‘greenest’ mass transport. Compared to the energy expended moving goods by plane or truck, shipping is far less damaging in terms of greenhouse gases released. Sending a container from Shanghai to Le Havre, France, emits fewer greenhouse gases than the truck that takes the container on to Lyon. However, because the shipping industry is so large, if you added shipping to the list of the world's most polluting countries, it would come in sixth place. Each year there are from 3,000 to 10,000 shipping containers lost at sea. Most lost containers are damaged by waves and sink quickly. Those that do float, tend to do so just below the surface becoming a shipping hazard. Shipping is incredibly cheap. It's less expensive to ship Scottish cod 10,000 miles away to China to be filleted and then sent back to Scotland than it is to pay Scottish filleters to do the job. Inspection of containers is rare. Only five percent of the containers shipped to US ports are physically inspected, and that number is even lower in Europe. Roughly 97% of all dry freight shipping containers are manufactured in China. This is primarily due to the fact that much of the world’s

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Shanghai is busiest container port in the world, seeing 32 million containers pass through last year. That converts to 2.66 million monthly, 88,000 daily, or an astounding 3,700 hourly! The port of Los Angeles processes 8.3 million annually, making it the lead port in the United States.

A standard 20' shipping container can hold 1,150 cubic feet, while a 40' high cube contains 2,700 cubic feet. Just for reference, a 20' container can hold around 3,596 shoe boxes, and a 40' high cube can hold 8,443 shoe boxes. A whopping 95% of the world’s cargo moves by ship. While FedEx and similar logistics companies are quick, they only manage a small percentage of goods. Due to higher costs, it still makes more financial sense to transport goods in high volume ships. Line up the containers belonging to Maersk alone, and they would stretch nearly halfway around the planet. Stack them up, and they’d reach to 7,530 Eiffel Towers. Their largest container ships can hold 745 million bananas in 15,000 containers. That’s one banana for every American and European. From Ninety Percent of Everything by Rose George who spent months at sea onboard container ships.

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picking a partner Partnering with the right transportation, technology, or logistics provider is one of the most important ways in which you can bring together your cold chain. But more importantly, the right agents can give you the expertise to drive true change and expansion to your company. MPJ looks at just a small sample of the companies out there who have the tools and expertise to align your supply chain management with go-to-market strategies.

DSV

NYK Line

Inchcape Shipping Services

DSV is a global shipper with offices in more than 70 countries around the world. The company offers seamless door-to-door services including domestic logistics, storage, and distribution.

NYK operates 447 logistics centers in 38 countries and is capable of providing a variety of transport services by sea, land, and air among a large number of locations around the globe.

Hovedgaden 630 P.O. Box 210 2640 Hedehusene Denmark Tel.: +45 43 20 30 40 www.dsv.com

3-2, Marunouchi 2 Chome, ChiyodaKu, Tokyo 100-0005 Japan Tel:81-3-3284-5151 www.nyk.com

Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) provides global strategic maritime, cargo and supply chain solutions to shipowners and operators who span all geographies, market segments, vessels and asset types. ISS operates globally from over 300 offices across 68 countries.

DB Schenker

Amber Road

CLX Logistics

DB Schenker offers air and ocean freight, land transportation, as well as comprehensive logistics solutions and global supply chain management from a single source. It has 95,000 employees working around the world.

Amber Road is a leading provider of on-demand Global Trade Management (GTM) solutions. Its GTM solutions automate import and export processes to enable goods to flow unimpeded across international borders in the most efficient and profitable way.

CLX is a provider of comprehensive logistics management and technology services that together with its supply chain consulting resources enable its clients to improve performance with on-demand global real-time shipment status.

One Meadowlands Plaza East Rutherford, New Jersey 07073 USA Tel: 1 201 806 7595 www.AmberRoad.com

Philadelphia, Pennsylivania Tel: 1 800 288 4851 www.clxlogistics.com

150 Albany Avenue Freeport, New York 11520 USA Tel: 1 602 458 6200 www.dbschenkerusa.com

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Po Box No 33166 Dubai United Arab Emirates Tel: +9714 3038613 www.iss-shipping.com

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Orient Overseas Container Line OOCL is one of the world's largest integrated international container transportation, logistics, and terminal companies. It provides customers with fully-integrated logistics and containerized transportation services, with a network that encompasses Asia – specializing in China - Europe, North America, and Australasia.

Matson

Hamburg Sud

A leader in Pacific shipping, Matson’s China- Long Beach Express has established a strong reputation in the transpacific trade from Xiamen, Ningbo, and Shanghai to Long Beach.

Hamburg Sud operates a fleet of 103 modern containerships, with high-tech, integrated refrigerated containers. Regular independent surveys indicate that Hamburg Sud consistently ranks as one of the world’s top two or three most reliable service operators.

1411 Sand Island Parkway Honolulu, HI 96819 1-510-628-4000 www.matson.com

Postfach 11 15 33 20415 Hamburg, Germany Tel: +49 40 37050 www.hamburgsud.com

31/F, Harbour Centre 25 Harbour Road Wanchai Hong Kong Tel: 852 2833 3888 www.oocl.com

Seaboard Marine

Yusen Logistics

The Maersk Group

Seaboard Marine’s fleet of over 40 vessels supports direct service between the USA and major ports of call throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Yusen Logistics has more than 400 offices worldwide. Internationally, Yusen Logistics provides ocean and air freight forwarding, customs, and origin consolidation services. It can develop, plan, and deliver supply chain solutions addressing today’s toughest market demands.

Maersk Line is the world’s largest container shipping company, known for reliable, flexible and eco-efficient services. The Maersk Liner business also includes Safmarine, Seago Line, and MCC. The company operates in over 120 countries around the world and has a fleet of over 600 ships which sail every major trade lane on the globe.

8001 Northwest 79th Avenue Miami, Florida 33166 USA Tel: 305 863 4444 www.seaboardmarine.com

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300 Lighting Way Secaucus, New Jersey 07094 USA Tel: +1 201 553 3880 www.usyusen-logistics.com

Esplanaden 50 1098 Copenhagen K, Denmark Tel: +45 3363 3363 www.maersk.com

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P r o duc t s

Product news Vent cutter controlled Jarvis Products Corporation of the USA has produced a new pneumatically-powered vent cutter which can be used on all types of poultry. Lightweight and reliable, the Model VC is the ideal tool for high precision and economical poultry vent removal - for any type or size bird. High speed, efficient vent, and rosebud gland removal provides lower labor costs and increased yields, says Jarvis. Cut size is controlled by the vent cutter, not by the operator. This tool reduces contamination, as fecal material is sucked away. Low maintenance cost is an additional benefit; doing a weekly greasing and keeping the blade sharpened are all that is required for proper maintenance. The blades are hardened, surgical stainless steel, and can be re-sharpened.

Rosemary extracts

Detect animal species Sciex of the USA says that a new meat species authentication method designed for halal food verification has been developed with its Qtrap 6500 LC-MS/MS system. This tester can detect multiple species simultaneously while achieving the lowest limits of detection, even in cooked and highly processed meats. This allows robust, specific, and simultaneous detection of protein peptides of multiple meat species including beef, chicken, pig, goat, lamb, deer, and many more, at levels as low as 0.02%, and can be used to support Halal certification testing programs. Sciex says by using the Qtrap, processors can significantly advance the science of combatting food fraud. For Muslim and Jewish cultures, in particular, it is critical for consumers to know that foods have been prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs.

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Kemin rosemary and green tea extracts help preserve the appearance, taste and quality of meat and poultry products, keeping them fresher, longer. Color is initially the key factor in consumers' meat purchases â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and flavor brings them back for more. The USA-based company offers natural plant extracts that help delay color and flavor degradation. These â&#x20AC;&#x153;label-friendlyâ&#x20AC;? plant extracts can be identified as natural flavors. Also, Kemin offers the technical expertise and protein knowledge to answer production challenges while providing customized shelf-life solutions. The company provides food processors, manufacturers and formulators the ability to reduce costs and control inventory, all while meeting demand and providing the visual appeal and flavor protection consumers insist on.

www.meatpacking.info

P r o duc t s

Automated sausage lines A new series of automated meat product lines are available through Karl Schnell, headquartered in Germany and available worldwide. KS experienced project engineers will develop in close cooperation production lines that customer products can be produced efficiently. A variety of product flows can be implemented to produce highquality sausage meat or coarse-grained products on the same system, which covers all production steps from meat preparation to filling. An online system is used to analyze the meat standard before the mixing. Spices and other additions can be added automatically over dry products metering systems or KS Process Automats in which liquid suspensions are homogenized. By way of touch panels with visualization, the operator always maintains the survey of all production processes.

Full traceability control CSB of Germany’s Manufacturing Execution System (MES) provides full control of production in real time. This then gives the benefits of an integrated traceability system that links all areas of operation – from raw material procurement, processing and packing to onward despatch – through a single central database to monitor and report back on the progress or whereabouts of a product at any time. It also helps to meet secure batch traceability requirements, and the ability to retrieve qualityrelated process data eliminates the need for any sub-systems. Each traceability system is tailored to specific customer requirements taking into account particular national and international standards or regulations.

Boneless power cutter Falcon of Germany says its portion cutting machine Falcon Power works at very fast speed while keep extremely precise cutting of fresh or crust-frozen boneless products such as minute steaks. The product is loaded in continuously, end-to-end without a gap, and does not need a gripper hook. This, claims Falcon, thereby delivers power, speed, and a high yield. The proven 4D camera system for product measurement guarantees the machine’s excellent results. It driven contour down-holder makes sure that the product remains secure and stable during the cutting process. Products are then cut leaving “virtually” no trim.

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Q& Bill Roenigk A

illiam ‘Bill’ Roenigk has been a US industry leader in the chicken industry for over 40-years. While he claims to now be retired, ‘consultant’ would be a better description for he remains an industry go-to-guy for advice. As senior vice president with the National Chicken Council (NCC), Roenigk was responsible for a variety of issues, especially those involving economics, marketing, and international trade. Prior to his tenure at the National Chicken Council – which started in 1974 – Roenigk served as an agriculture economist at the US Department of Agriculture. NCC President Mike Brown described Roenigk’s contributions to the industry as “countless and his encyclopedic mind on the history and issues of importance to our industry is unchallenged.” In 2013 Roenigk was honored with the Poultry Industry Lifetime Achievement Award. MPJ talks chicken with this fascinating man. Some of us remember when chicken was an expensive once-a-week treat and value-added consisted of a supermarket butcher cutting up a broiler to fry at home. Now chicken in most places around the world is so inexpensive, consumers don’t think twice about buying it. How amazing has the growth been? In the USA, 30 billion pounds of chicken were produced in 2000; this year it should be around 40 billion. While whole chicken used to be how most of us bought it, today only around 10 to 12 percent of the total chicken market is whole. Parts and cut-ups are the way most chicken goes to the market with that being around 50 to 60 percent, with value-added making up 30-35 percent. The value-added, which is the chicken nuggets 68 | Meat Packing Journal | September~October 2015

and similar products from retail and food service stores, continues to grow and this is what’s driven the growth in the last 15-years. Each year seems to set new records around the world for broiler production; do you ever see it levelling off? You look at the redwood trees and they’re huge and tall, but eventually even their growth slows down and levels off. Right now in the USA people are eating around 90 pounds of chicken a year, this will probably go up to 100 lbs. Worldwide, however, is a different story and there will be many more years of development. In China, Russia, many parts of Asia and South America, there are lots of opportunities for chicken. In India the industry is on track to making chicken more affordable and this will be a country to watch. In a Canadian survey by the Poultry Research Center in Alberta, consumers said they were willing to pay more for a value-added product over a conventional chicken product anywhere from 24.5% to 36.2%. Is this what drives the industry to produce more value-added products? It’s not necessarily true that consumers are willing to pay more; but when both householders are working, they need something fast for dinner and have more income so they can afford to make life easier by purchasing valueadded chicken. It still needs to be seen as affordable. What are consumers asking for in value-added chicken? Consumers say that the number one thing they look for in the product is that it’s a healthy choice and high in nutrition. The second is ease of preparation, and third would be price. www.meatpacking.info

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And the reality in what they buy? People in surveys want many things, but at the checkout they make trade-offs. For example, in most surveys people say that they want organic chicken, but organic chicken only makes up around two to three percent of the total. Consumers want all the bells and whistles, but they’re not willing to pay for them. Perdue is now raising half of its chickens without antibiotics; will this be the growing trend? Yes, very much so. Oddly enough, part of the push towards going antibiotic free is coming from the industry itself; it’s a selling point. Of course, there are a few companies out there who say they do things the right way in regards to antibiotic usage and see no need to change. Walmart has said that it wants Campylobacter cut by 95 percent by August next year. Do you think this is achievable? Yes. At one point salmonella was a major problem in the poultry industry with a high number of birds infected; now the number is under five percent. I’m confident companies will be able to get it down, maybe through genetic means to breed birds which are more resistant. Listeria, too, will be brought down. With your crystal ball, what changes to you see coming in the industry? In 2005 around six percent of chickens grown in the USA were in the heaviest weight category of around eight to nine pounds. Now, the share is well over 20 percent and this figure will only continue to grow. Value-added www.meatpacking.info

products need chicken breasts; growing a large sized bird gives more white meat. Genetics will continue to play a major role in the poultry industry. They will lower the feed conversion ratio, growing chicken with less feed requirements, but giving more yield on the carcass. You said once that when we have the future absolutely, positively figured out, we need to ask ourselves a few questions: How might things be different in six or 12 months? What are the chances it won’t happen? What are the things that could change our thinking or make the situation turn out completely opposite from what we’re thinking. Yes, these are questions I try to remember to ask myself. More often than not, I have to relearn the lesson because it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking things are obvious. But what’s obvious and expected does not always happen. This is a valuable lesson. You’re barbecuing in the backyard; will it be a T-bone steak or chicken you put on the grill? While I would be tempted to go with the steak, now that I’m retired and watching my money, a chicken leg quarter will fit more into my budget than a steak selling for $89.00. The enjoyment I would get from eating the steak would be gone knowing what I paid for it. September~October 2015 | Meat Packing Journal | 69

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 Tools

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

70 | Meat Packing Journal | September~October 2015

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e v en t s

2015 15 - 18 September Process Expo Chicago, US www.myprocessexpo.com 5 - 9 October Agroprodmash Moscow, Russia www.agroprodmash-expo.ru 22 - 24 October International Meat, Meat Products & Equipment Exhibition Shanghai, China http://www.chinaexhibition.com 27 - 29 October ProPak Cape Johannesburg, South Africa www.propakafrica.co.za 25-27 November Poultry India 2015 Hitex Hyderabad, India www.poultryindia.co.in 26-28 January IPPE 2016 Atlanta, USA www.ippexpo.com 16-18 February VIV MEA 2016 Abu Dhabi, UAE www.viv.net 21 - 23 February Meat Conference Nashville, USA www.meatconference.com 23-25 March ILDEX Saigon, Vietnam www.ildex.com.vn 18-20 April FOODEX Birmingham, UK www.foodex.co.uk

www.meatpacking.info

September~October 2015 | Meat Packing Journal | 71

C O n tac 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

Josh Henderson

Accounts Manager +44 1442 780 594 josh@meatpacking.info

Executive

reby media

Jack Young

Reby House

Publisher jack@meatpacking.info

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.

72 | Meat Packing Journal | September~October 2015

Jim Robertson

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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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