Meat Packing Journal, Nov-Dec 2018, iss 6, vol 5

Meat global

data

and

November~December 2018 Volume 5, issue 6 ISSN 2054-4685

analysis

for

processors

p a c k i n g

and

exporters

J o u r n a l

L A N I G I R O THE S W E N E K FA t a e m t e g o dia is out t

e m e h t y h W

12 | Could a dairy cow started massive recall?

20 | the strange journey of Lawless Jerky's CEo

50 | want to save big in cold storage? read this

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le ad e r

I

start marketing

used to work in Turkey and spent my evenings flicking through TV channels all in a language I couldn’t understand. In the end, there was one 30 second television ad I started to look forward to more than any program.

It had a guy about 40-years-old – a real

man’s man kind of guy with a black-asmidnight beard – riding his motorcycle while

dressed in jeans and a leather jacket.

I don’t know how he did it, but he was always riding

in perpetual sunset, giving him plenty of time to stop his bike, look at the setting sun, ponder, and contemplate life.

Case in point, the UK banker TSB. In their animated

His expression said it all: He had seen plenty of life while

ads, the bad person is always a white, middle-aged,

on the back of that bike; wouldn’t have it any other way.

heavy-set man. I’m a white, middle-age, heavy-set man. I

The last shot finally showed what the ad was all about.

He and some like-minded biker mates were having deep and meaningfuls, while drinking Lipton tea in fragilelooking clear glass cups.

Do I drink tea? Seldom. If I did, would it be Lipton’s?

wouldn’t use TSB even if they were giving away free cash.

In San Diego there is Green Flash beer, named after a sudden green flash as the sun sets over the Pacific.

To someone like me from southern California, even looking for the green flash means you’re still at the beach

Doubtful. When I left Turkey was my suitcase full of Lipton

as the sun goes down, trying to catch that last perfect

tea and a set of fragile looking glass tea cups? Oh hell

wave, kissing your girlfriend one last time before getting

yes. That guy is who I aspire to be and if he achieved that

in the car and heading back to reality.

level of coolness through drinking Lipton tea, then so

To my London wife, green flash means nothing.

could I – plus it would be a lot easier than trying to learn

For me, it means everything, bringing back a million

how to ride a motorcycle.

memories, all good. Green Flash might not be the very

What a brilliant piece of marketing this was. I’m bringing this up because I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about the marketing of meat and poultry, what

best beer in the world, but I’m willing to put up with that to capture the positive emotions that it brings me.

Meat and poultry might seem like a harder sell than

works and what doesn’t. But you might ask – and rightly

beer, but some are proving otherwise. The best poultry

so – why even bother? Each year poultry consumption

ads are from the British Columbia Chicken Marketing

goes up another notch, pork is doing well, lamb is ding

Board and their Chicken Squad ads. It’s a perfect

okay outside of the USA, and beef – who can refuse a

combination of facts, humor, plus an on-going story.

good steak? Why waste money on marketing?

Part of being a magazine which covers the meat

For meat, hands down it’s Australia’s Lamb Day ads put on by Meat & Livestock Australia, which each year

industry, however, is to be always looking ahead to give

somehow surpasses the year before. Often completely

you plenty of time to act. What I see coming in the next

lacking political correctness, they are brilliant

decade – only a year away – is going to be lab-based

While some might say the top meat marketing for all

meats becoming commercially viable and the continuing

time is the US National Pork Board’s ‘Pork. The other white

growth of plant-based meats. In this decade, from out of

meat,’ for me, number one is ‘Beef. It’s what’s for dinner.’

nowhere to now, both industries have sprung up with a

With it’s catchy use of Aaron Copland’s Hoe-Down from

vengeance and agenda.

the Rodeo suite, the initial campaign ran for 17 months in

As an industry, now is the time to start laying down

1992 at a cost of $42 million. Since then the Beef Industry

a firm foundation for this coming tremulous period.

Council has run others, such as ‘Beef. Real food for real

Along with producing a quality product no lab can beat,

people’ and ‘Beef. It’s what you want.’ These were good,

marketing needs to be right up there as well.

but not as good as the original. How effective was it?

I think the best campaigns are those that work on an emotional level – not logical. A problem with this approach, however, it what pulls your positive emotional strings, might do the opposite for me.

meatpacking.info

Nearly 90 percent of Americans were familiar with it.

Don’t wait until the fakes are at the gate, plan your campaign now.

Velo Mitrovich, Editor

November~December 2018

3

c on t a c t s

contacts Velo Mitrovich Editor velo@rebymedia.com +44 (0)1442 780 591 Jim Robertson Head of sales jim@rebymedia.com +44 (0)1442 780 593 Josh Henderson Sales executive josh@rebymedia.com +44 (0)1442 780 594 Jon Young Publisher jon@rebymedia.com Reby Media 42 Crouchfield, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP1 1PA, UK

SUBscriptions Meat Packing Journal is a bimonthly magazine mailed every January, March, May, July, September and November.

Subscriptions can be purchased for six or 12 issues. Prices for single issue subscriptions or back issues can be obtained by emailing: subscribe@meatpacking.info

International One year: $749 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 Stephens & George, Merthyr Tydfil, UK.

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.

4

November~December 2018

Meat Packing Journal

c on t e n t s

contents 18

24 30

55

34

COVER: the real 'fake news' 15 - What you have always thought about the media when it comes to the meat/poultry industry is true – they are biased against meat.

cholrine can mask pathogens

MAp – far from down and out

7 - Used to wash vegetables and slaughtered chicken, spring water might be better

34 - New developments in plastic recyling means MAP has a strong future

china going elsewhere for pork

ippe to start late

10 -Like circling vultures, the world's pork is waiting to take advantage of the tradewar

dairy link to recall 12 - One the largest recalls ever to hit ground beef might have got its start with a dairy cow

lawless jerky 20 - Former sports attorney and now CEO of Lawless, Matt Tolnick talks jerky

40 - The world's larget annual poultry and meat show is coming this February

Plant burger bunwar 44 - High over New Zealand's skies, plant burgers are facing off against the real thing

soy based meat 46 - Still room for the old standby?

save money in cold storage japan report 24 -Are Japan's days as a beef exporter over as young people reject life on the farm?

50 - Viking Cold Solutions' way of storing cold could easily be the product of the decade

People can be scary Australian drought 30 - Is this the new permanent future for one of the world's largest beef producers?

meatpacking.info

58 - Marketing columnist Elliot Begoun talks about finding new employees

November~December 2018

5

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Study demonstrates foodborne illness caused by common agricultural practice

C

hlorine, commonly used in the agriculture industry to decontaminate poultry and fresh produce, can make

foodborne pathogens undetectable according to new research led by the University of Southampton.

The study, titled ‘Viable but nonculturable Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica Thompson induced by chlorine stress remain infectious’ has been published in mBio, the lead journal for the American Society for Microbiology.

Foodborne disease presents a consistent but frequently preventable threat to public health, and is responsible for an estimated 2.2 million deaths worldwide annually. In the UK, it is estimated that each year one million people suffer a foodborne illness, resulting in 500

thousands of years in the environment. Bacillus anthracis,

deaths.

which causes Anthrax, is one example.

The research team’s findings may help explain

Many bacteria, however, cannot form spores

outbreaks of Salmonella enterica and Listeria

and instead survive a stress by entering a viable but

monocytogenes among produce in recent years.

nonculturable (VBNC) state in response to environmental

The study highlights an impact post-Brexit trade agreements, with countries insisting the UK import their

stresses.

In their study, the team incubated Listeria

chlorine-treated foodstuffs. This new research shows

monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica populations

this may not actually be safe. The US poultry industry, in

on spinach leaves and then subjected the spinach to

particular, is looking at the UK post-Brexit market.

chlorine washes. The viable Listeria and Salmonella

As a consequence of the research one of the

populations became VBNC by 50 and 100 parts per

collaborators, Vitacress Salads, has become the first UK

million (PPM) chlorine, respectively. Further experiments

company to obtain supermarket approval to sell fresh

revealed that roundworms that ingested VBNC cells had

produce washed in spring water without chlorine.

shortened lifespans.

“This important work is a major breakthrough, after

Dr. Keevil added: “VBNC cells cannot be detected

100 years of relying on chlorine to sanitize foods and

by standard laboratory culture techniques, presenting

drinking water, and may explain the many unrecognized

a problem for the food and water supply industries,

or untraceable disease outbreaks relying on the gold

which uses these techniques to detect potential disease

standard of culture recovery,” said lead author Professor

contaminants.

Bill Keevil, Head of the Microbiology Group at the University of Southampton.

“The problem with fresh produce, such as lettuce and

“Chlorine induces the VBNC state in foodborne pathogens Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica and chlorine was ineffective at killing total

spinach, is that many people eat it fresh, so it misses

populations of these pathogens. The data shows that

the cooking step which would kill most pathogens, one

VBNC foodborne pathogens can both be generated and

reason why companies have relied on chlorine washing

avoid detection by industrial practices, while potentially

before sale.

retaining their ability to cause disease.”

“It will likely impact on post-Brexit trade agreements

Dr Steve Rothwell from Vitacress Salads added:

with countries insisting the UK import their chlorine-

“Some years ago Vitacress recognised real consumer

treated foodstuffs which this new work shows may not

concerns regards the use of dilute chlorinated water in

actually be safe because the sanitization does not kill

the preparation of ready to eat salads.

any bacterial pathogens present that are still capable of

“Through working with the University of Southampton

causing disease. One example is chlorine treated chicken

the company was able to validate a first to market ‘spring

carcasses.”

water wash’. Instead of using chlorinated water to try to kill

In response to stress such as extreme temperatures,

bacteria that might be present on salad leaves this natural

nutrient starvation, or significant dryness, some Gram-

process works by simply detaching them and flushing to

positive bacteria can form tough spores and survive for

waste."

meatpacking.info

November~December 2018

7

n e ws

Danes attempt to fence out ASF I t’s either an animal control fence built along Denmark’s border to keep African swine fever (ASF) from

Belgium, also to block African swine fever.

Although AWF has not yet affected Germany’s pig

contaminating one of its leading exports, a way of

industry, it has already appeared in Romania, Bulgaria,

asserting a border that’s moved over the years, or the first

eastern Poland, and Belgium, along with seven Chinese

step in taking a firmer hand against illegal immigrants and

provinces. Work on the fence is expected to begin early

asylum seekers.

next year, though environmentalists have appealed to the

The Danes’ wild boar fence along its border with Germany is not without its controversy.

Denmark’s $20 million answer to ASF includes a public

European Union to stop it.

Those planning the fence believe that wild animals like deer, otters, and other will still be able to cross the border,

awareness campaign, expanded permission to kill wild

but not boars. People familiar with feral pigs question

boar, and a fence about five feet tall along the 42-mile

that, considering pigs intelligence and curious nature,

land border, running across the neck of the Jutland

how would a fence allow a deer to cross but not a boar?

peninsula, from the North Sea to the Baltic.

Indeed, in a recent report, the European Food Safety

According to the NY Times, France has revealed

Authority said that there is no evidence that large fences

plans for fences along parts of the country’s border with

have been effective for the containment of wild pigs.

$35 million distribution center

the States, it also sells to Europe, Latin America and Asia.

C

reekstone Farm, which supplies branded premium USDA-certified Black Angus beef and Duroc pork

products, has announced the groundbreaking of a new $35 million refrigerated distribution center at its plant in Arkansas City, Kansas.

The warehouse will be a total of 41,334 square feet, consisting of a 35,311-square-foot main floor footprint and 6,023-square-foot mezzanine area, and will include

Is faster better with Arctic route?

S

hipping between Europe and Asia via the Arctic has a lot going for it on paper. In trials this past summer, it

showed that 10 days could be shaved off the sailing time via the Suez Canal. In 10 days a ship can burn up a lot of expensive fuel.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Arctic routes are

an automated storage and retrieval system capable of

drawing greater attention as the global climate warms

handling 27,000 boxes in a nine-hour day with more than

up and polar ice recedes, potentially opening new paths

37,000 box storage locations.

between Asia, Europe and North America. The Northern

“This new distribution center will help our company

Sea Route, a mostly frozen seaway that runs from Alaska

manage our expanding business and ensure that

to the Baltic Sea, is considered a likely lane because it

we continue to meet our customers’ service level

already is used in the five months of warmer seasons to

expectations,” said Kazunobu Nomura, Creekstone

move part of Russia’s massive energy exports.

President and CEO. “This major investment by

The route’s season, too, has the potential of being

the Marubeni Group shows the commitment that

extended with new classes of vessels being built that

Creekstone’s parent company has in Creekstone Farms,

have reinforced bows to plow through sea ice.

its employees and customers. We are very excited to get

But, using this route is more complicate than it seems,

this project completed as it will be a catalyst allowing for

especially for some of new behemoth size container ships

growth to meet our customer demands.”

that can carry over 20,000 containers each. With so much

Construction of the new facility will be handled by Integral Strategic Solutions. Integral’s team consists of Kuecker Logistics Group, Weitz Company Inc., Interstate

volume being carried, saving 10 days is not such a big factor for them.

There is also the problem of a lack of facilities and

and Schemmer Associates, Inc. The new distribution

infrastructure at either end, with no trans-shipment ports.

center is expected to be fully operational by the fall of

In addition, the larger class of container ships draw too

2019.

much water for some of the route.

Creekstone Farms supplies many of the USA’s top

For the Russian meat industry, which lacks a way to

grocers and restaurants with a variety of high-quality meat

ship massive amounts of pork and beef to China, the

products, including Black Angus beef, antibiotic-free

Northern Sea Route is a dream come true. However, will

Duroc pork and its own value-added products. Besides

the dream become a reality?

8

November~December 208

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n e ws

Chinese tariffs on US pork means opportunity for others O

nce upon a time, if you talked to any US pork

China needs pork and it’s now going elsewhere. The

producer, they had a swaggering confidence

question is: if and when the trade war ends, will Chinese

when it came to the Chinese market. The world’s largest

buyers return to US sellers or will the countries that have

population – 1.41 billion – as well as being the world’s

jumped into the Chinese market be there for the long haul

largest pork consumer, loved US pork. This was a

and effectively squeeze out US producers?

marriage made in heaven for Chinese consumers and US producers alike with no end in sight.

While the US per capita pork consumption is expected

According to the Wall Street Journal, to fill the void, Chinese customers are increasingly looking to companies in Europe and South America to fill their orders – and

to be 51 pounds this year – little changed from two

those companies aim to turn that opportunity into long-

decades ago – Chinese consumers will each eat 87

term business. The shift raises the prospect of not just

pounds this year, or 123 billion pounds of pork annually.

a short-term problem for American hog farmers, but a

This is up around 30 percent since 1998.

fundamental realignment in the global supply chain in

The US produced pork and the Chinese bought it.

But that was before the trade wars began and now it’s a whole new ball game.

one of the world’s hungriest markets.

Already in Spain and Chile new slaughterhouse and production centers are being constructed. Combine this

As a result of President Donald Trump’s clash with

with a rise in pork production in Denmark, Russia, Poland,

China, and a tit-for-tat exchange of tariffs, US pork prices

France, and elsewhere, it’s going to be a hard slog for US

in China have risen as high as 70 percent. At the same

pork producers to fight their way back in, especially at the

time, an outbreak of African swine fever in China has hurt

prices they were used to getting.

local production.

Butchers face violence from vegans

F

rench butchers and vegan groups are going headto-head in France after a series of attacks by vegans

have been conducted against butcher shops and a slaughtering plant.

Butchers' and livestock farmers' representatives called on President Emmanuel Macron to halt attacks by vegan activists on the meat industry, following an arson attack

across France, French butchers met them head-on and hung posters which said: “Save a farmer; eat a vegan.”

Worker peeing to cost $190k

A

worker at the Smithfield Foods plant in Smithfield, Virginia, has been accused of urinating while working

on a pork production line. Local news stationed WAVY reported the alleged incident was captured on camera.

WAVY was given video from the production line inside

on a slaughterhouse in eastern France. If not, some in the

Smithfield Foods. In the video, the employee takes off

industry are saying it will lead to civil war.

his gloves and appears to relieve himself under the

Since summer vegan activists have written grafetti on several butcher shops. A slaughter house in HautValromey was badly damaged by a fire that police are treating as arson.

"We have no personal enemies, we have no

production line.

He then puts the gloves back on and continues to work.

Smithfield Food officials confirm that the employee was urinating on the line. They said there was a swift

professional enemies and our competitors are not

internal investigation and production was immediately

terrorists, so, yes, in the present climate you can draw

stopped.

your own conclusions," Christelle Gesler, the daughter

More than 50k pounds of pork had to be thrown away.

of the business's founder, told the AFP news agency.

WAVY investigated the average size of hogs the plant

"Anyway, as long as responsibility has not been claimed,

slaughters, and 50,000 pounds would equal roughly 350

the one thing we can be sure of is that we are dealing

hogs that would have cost the company $190,000.

with cowards."

When the 269 Libération Animale group called for night-time demonstrations outside slaughter-houses

10

November~December 208

Officials said the processing line was fully cleaned and all the equipment was sterilized multiple times before operations resumed.

Meat Packing Journal

n e ws

Dairy cow link to massive salmonella outbreak?

A

rizona-based meat producer JBS Tolleson Inc. has

Besides the chance that an infected culled dairy

voluntarily recalled 6,500,966 pounds of "various

cow’s meat was mixed into the JBS’s production, there

raw, non-intact beef products" due to an outbreak

could also be a sanitation issue as well. For example,

of salmonella, announced the US Department of

if processing equipment wasn’t sanitized properly, the

Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

disease could spread into meat that no dairy cows were

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the recalled products may be

used in, such as 100 percent grass fed.

So far, there have been 57 cases of salmonella illness

contaminated with Salmonella Newport. It’s the largest

in 16 states that has been linked to JBS’s meat. Most

recall of beef since the Rancho Feeding Inc. recall of 2014

of these illnesses were diagnosed from 5 August to 6

and it’s the largest ever recall of ground beef related to

September. It took several weeks for the USDA, CDC, and

salmonella.

others to discover JBS was the common supplier linking

The recall was issued after health officials identified

the cases. While to an industry outsider this might seem

JBS as the common supplier of raw ground beef

like an extreme amount of time, this was actually quite

products, found to be the "probable source."

fast and praise should be given to JBS for quickly raising

According to investigative reporter Joe Fassier of

their hand. For example, a listeria outbreak in South Africa

The New Food Economy, there is a strong link between

last year killed in the hundreds, due in strong part to the

outbreaks of Salmonella Newport and dairy cows

company involved denying any involvement.

processed for meat.

Fassier claims that the smoking gun is epidemiological:

Around 1.2 million Americans get sick from salmonella every year with 450 dying, with often times packaged

Salmonella enterica serotype Newport. The unusual strain

raw salad or vegetables being the source of the illness.

of Salmonella implicated in this recall, has been linked

Most people get over it within a week without any

to dairy cows in the past. “In fact, since the mid-1980s,

need for hospitalization, but the antibiotic-resistant

scientists have identified dairy cows as the primary

stain, Salmonella Newport, implicated in the current

reservoir of Salmonella Newport,” he states.

outbreak is more difficult to treat and more likely to cause

Due to extremely tight profit margins, it doesn’t pay for a dairy farmer to nurse a sick cow for any length of

hospitalization and death.

While the FSIS prohibits the sale of ground beef

time which is not producing milk – Salmonella Newport

contaminated with certain strains of E. coli, there is a

in particular causes milk production to drop. For various

loophole when it comes to salmonella. This is due to the

reasons, around one quarter of all dairy cows are

FSIS believing that in normal usage, eg, cooking ground

removed from dairies each year, with the vast majority

beef to an internal temperature of 160 deg F, salmonella

of culled cows sold on for meat production. Fassier said

is destroyed. Although different groups over the last 40-

there is a greater chance that a sick dairy cow is more

50 years have tried to get the FSIS to change this ruling,

likely than a healthy one to make its way into the food

the FSIS won’t budge.

chain. He can find no reference that a Salmonella Newport outbreak did not come from a dairy cow.

12

November~December 208

Due to this loophole, JBS wasn’t required to do a recall, but did so at their own volition.

Meat Packing Journal

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The media and ‘meat in the posttruth era’ If a certain US president seems consumed by what he sees as “fake news”, he should take a look at what the meat industry goes on a daily basis in the world’s press. MPJ reports from Brussels

me with the facts.”

During the last 40 years, the world’s meat industry has come under more and more attacks from the media, which might as well be shouting out Howland Owl’s catch phrase as well. The end result has been that there is no debate left, due to self-proclaimed nutrition and animal rights experts, leaving people confused as to what is

by velo mitrovich

B

healthy to eat.

At the recent, well attended Round Table Belgium Meat Office talks, Professor Frederic Leroy (University

ack in the 1950s-60s a US syndicated

of Brussels) addressed this in his presention based

comic strip, Pogo, ran thoughout the USA.

on his research paper: “Meat in post-truth ear: Mass

Set in the Okefenokee Swamp, one of the

media discourses on health and disease in the attention

charcters was a know-it-all owl, Howland

economy.”

Owl, who used to proclaim: “Don’t confuse

meatpacking.info

If you have long suspected the media perceives and

November~December 2018

15

S pe c i a l

r e p or t

meat

in

the

media

covers our industry inaccurately, you are sadly, correct.

reporters are bounced from story to story, subject to

Leroy, in looking at 15-years worth of coverage in the UK’s

subject, forcing them to rely on press releases and/or

Daily Mail from 2000 to 2105, found that the majority of

single source stories. Even the renowned BBC is guilty

stories were anti-meat, that research cited was flawed or

of this. Recently MPJ observed a morning news interview

the reporters did not understand the significance of it, and

with a vegan who saw the meat industry as one of the

there was little attempt by the reporters to discover the

world’s great evils, eg, destruction of land, waste of water,

source of research funding.

and health issues. At no time were any of her statements

“The debate on meat’s role in health and disease is a rowdy and dissonant one,” says Leroy.

He says that he chose to use the Daily Mail because

challenged and instead, the two morning presenters just nodded their heads in agreement.

“It’s easy to say that something is wrong or bad for you,”

of its extensive online library, it’s the UK’s second largest

says Leory, “it’s very hard to prove that said something

newspaper by circulation, and that its website has been

said is wrong.”

the most visited newspaper site in the world, with almost 200 million unique visitors in 2014 alone.

The period he choose to exam ranged from the fall-

With information providers today being everyone from the NY Times to a blogger with an audience of one – creating a worldwide information overload – there is

out of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or

a massive need by all in the media industry to attracted

Mad Cow) crisis and its associated food safety worries,

attention, driving a need for sensationalism and novelty,

over the Atkins diet-craze in 2003, the avian flue episode

favoring manipulation by political or social activists.

in 2007, to the highly influential publication of the report

In a global quantitative analysis of 1,310 news items

on colon cancer by the International Agency for Research

during the period Leroy’s research covered, 52 percent

on Cancer (IARC) in 2015.

of meat articles were negative, 35 percent were positive,

What Leroy finds interesting is how meat was perceived throughout most of mankind’s history. From

and 13 percent were ambient.

Exactly half of the stories referred to either official health

one of the earliest references in Homer’s Iliad where

agencies, research institutes, or specific scientific studies.

the Greeks require meals based on meat to give them

Eighteen percent did not cite specific references, 14

strength to fight the Trojans, up through the 1940s, 50s,

percent remained vague on their sources, and 18 percent

and early 60s where meat was seen as a food which

referred to naturopaths, food writers, midwifes, etc.

was a complete protein, highly nourishing, and strength builder for the entire family.

“An unquestioned health food, evoking strength and

A&B PROCESS While citing science research papers might seem as SYSTEMS

an end-all way of ending controversy, many published

papers today have not gone through a robust peer review

vitality in most cultures during their past, has increasingly

process. Due to the requirement of being published to

become a scapegoat and poison,” says Leroy. “The reason

maintain teaching or research positions, there is now

why we have this anti-meat trend is that it’s tolerated and

a huge industry envolved with this that pretty much

it’s money driven.”

guarantees your work will be™ published, with favorable

Say something outrageous that is picked up by the media and your book suddenly becomes a best seller.

According to Leroy, science-based nutritional

AVURE

peer reviews, all for a price.

With so much material out there, the Daily Mail, as in most media, think nothing of publishing articles that

policymaking is in the eye of the storm. We have all

present opposite views, and always going with the

seen uncertain, conflicting, and biased data, whereby

sensational. Will the average reader be attracted to a

nutritional opinion all too often emerges via conformity-

headline that proclaims: ‘Steak is good for you’ or one that

inducing forces, agendas, and power gradients, rather

states: ‘You’re one burger away from death’?

through an objective chain of proof.

What MPJ has noticed over and over again is when someone attempts to set data correct, for example Nina Teicholz and her book The Big Fat Surprised in which she

C.A.T.

According to Leory, the fall-out from this is that generations are now growing up with the accepted message that meat is bad for you.

Add to this is that most people’s exposures to animals

shows how the sugar industry was successful in pushing

today are only dogs and cats – petting animals who are

blame for obesity on fat, she, too, seems to cherry-pick

anthromorphized – they do not accept that killing and

her facts just as much as she accuses others as doing.

eating an animal is part of our biology.

When MPJ challenged her on this, she stopped all

“When something does happen, the media asks for an

DOUBLE D

contact, saying she was “too busy to respond” and we

immediate response: ‘What are you going to do NOW?’”

should “just read her book”.

says René Maillard, manager of the Belgium Meat Office.

With the majority of the media no longer to afford staff writers who only cover the food/nutrition industry,

16

November~December 2018

“You’re not given to time to investigate; you’re not given the time to think.”

DSI

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s e c t or

meat

snacks

It’s hard to go wrong with meat snacks Another year has come and gone from our last meat snack feature and the only thing that’s changed in the industry is its growth ¬– put another digit in front of ‘billions’. Editor Velo Mitrovich reports on his favorite subject

the market. Manufacturers are launching new flavors, like jalapeno, teriyaki, and habanero. The increasing number of mergers and acquisitions is expected to boost the market growth, during the forecast period. The meat snack market is an attractive sector, with a large untapped market. Cost-effectiveness and convenience make meat snacks travel-friendly.

A majority of consumers prefer meat snacks as a

by velo mitrovich

E

source of high-protein content, and the low-calorie content is an added advantage for meat snacks, especially in jerky-based products. Due to the abundant

ach year MPJ thinks the bubble will burst and

availability of convenience stores along the road, sales

meat snacks will be resigned back to their

are more concentrated in this channel. Jerky holds around

place in gas service stations – and each year

50 percent of sales in the product category

we see the growth continue upwards. What’s

North America dominates

amazing, there is still room for growth in this

industry from both large and small suppliers.

What some punters have attributed meat snack

growth during the last five years has been the popularity of the ‘Paleo-diet’, where we’re supposed to eat like our ancient ancestors with a diet high in meat and unprocessed foods.

However, while the Paleo-diet seems to have faded,

N

orth America accounted for the major share of the market, globally, during 2016, and it is expected to record a CAGR of 7.2% between

2018 and 2023. The United States is the largest market in the North American region, due to higher consumption

the global love of meat snacks hasn’t. Figures are being

of meat snacks, after salty potato chips, due to its

tossed around – which frankly sound insane to us – but

convenience. The high-protein content in the product

according to ReseachAndMarkets, they see a global

acts as an appetite suppressor and energy booster, which

growth of 45.4 percent CAGR over the next decade, and

drives the growth of the global meat snack market. Jerky

hitting $19.93 billion by 2025 alone.

consumption is high among the developed markets, beef

According to Mordor Intelligence’s Market Insight, the global meat snack market is expected to register a CAGR of 9% during 2018 to 2023 (their forecast period) which should be the value up around $9 billion globally.

Modor says that meat snacks are popular in the savory

jerky sales, in the United States, grew by nearly 7 percent in 2017.

Due to high adoption of these products during the last decade, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at faster rate. New marketing strategies adopted by players,

snacks category, and this market is witnessing a strong

such as Jack Link’s and Slim Jim, are driving sales, by

growth rate, since the past five years, mostly targeting

targeting millennials, with new packing models and

travelers, as these snacks are a convenient option. They

exotic flavors in the European and Asia-Pacific region. As

also have a high demand from the millennial generation.

consumers are snacking more on-the-go, the demand for

The introduction of new products and flavors drives

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November~December 2018

handheld protein has never been higher.

Meat Packing Journal

meat

Though dried meat snacks are traditionally consumed,

snacks

s e c t or

up pouches are easy to carry, can be resealed for

sales have declined, due to various reasons. However,

later consumption and are available in vibrant colors

new marketing strategies, such as the introduction of

and designs, whereas, flat barrier bags form the best

new flavors, innovative packaging, impressive offers or

packaging format for beef jerkies as they exhibit various

discounts, partnerships and franchise, have revived sales

other features such as oxygen absorbers and tear

and the market is growing at a good rate.

notches for easy opening. All these factors are increasing the potential of global meat market.

Global meat snacks

G

lobal Meat Snacks market revenue is expected to be driven by various factors, according to Modor.

Some key macroeconomic factors expected to

boost the sales of the product include manufacturers offering unique flavor profiles and new marketing

Worrying trends & opportunity

W

hat MPJ has noted with some trepidation is that when bank checks with many, many zeros are waved at jerky founders, they sell

– who could blame them. All then claim that the sell to

approaches backed by R&D and product innovation,

major food players will not affect the quality in one bit, but

growing demand for healthy snacks that have a familiar

instead will add to the brand. MPJ hasn’t seen this yet.

taste and are suitable for daily consumption is also

Case in point, Duke’s which used to have MPJ’s all-time

contributing to the sales. Ready-to-eat snacks such as

favorite, a spicy BBQ brisket jerky. Originally, the bbq

meat snacks are becoming increasingly popular among

sauce used was Stubbs and the brisket was of a quality

consumers as they save time and effort.

and taste that a Texan BBQ champ would appreciate.

Rising consumer awareness regarding nutritional ingredients and the perception wherein meat snacks are considered as affordable comfort food is acting as a significant market driver.

The industry is also characterized by mergers and

However, once Duke’s was sold, Stubbs is no longer used and the brisket quality is no longer as good.

If there are any exceptions to this rule, please let us know.

MPJ believes firmly that US manufactures of quality

acquisitions. The meat snacks sector is an attractive and

jerky need to take a lesson from Jack Links and build a

growing sector with many relatively untapped markets.

plant in Europe. As it is now, shipping jerky to Europe from

The acquisition of Hillshire Brands by Tyson Foods is a

the States is expensive and difficult. Even air travelers are

recent example of a strategic acquisition in the market.

at risk at Heathrow or Frankfurt by having a single pack of

To meet the changing preferences of customers, manufacturers are coming up with innovative packages

jerky in their carry-on.

What Jack sells in Europe is the company’s lesser

that are convenient to carry and enable consumption

brands, but it’s fooled even European jerky makers into

directly from the package. Consumers are now

producing a similar product to match Jack’s. The market

demanding smaller pack sizes and packaging materials

is wide, wide open for a quality meat snack. San Diego’s

that are environment friendly. New modes of packaging

Stone Brewing set up a brewery in Berlin and now sells

such as stand up pouches and flat barrier bags are

throughout much of Europe. Do you have the courage to

gaining popularity in the meat snacks market. Stand

do the same?

meatpacking.info

November~December 2018

19

s e c t or

meat

snacks

Matt Tolnick, CEO of Lawless Jerky, is not your average jerky founder. He was an athlete in college; a sports attorney/ agent turned disenchanted litigator and now maker of fine jerky which has the MPJ seal of approval – if we had one. MPJ talks to this fascinating entrepreneur

by Velo Mitrovich

success in other categories/businesses/industries.

When Ballast Point Brewery in San Diego was sold for $1 billion, there was an outcry of ‘sell-out’ (as if anyone would not accept that check). Yet, well over a year later and quality has remained high. Duke’s Meat, on the other hand, was bought by Conagra and it’s no longer the quality it once was. Can a jerky company grow too big?

Timing, Product, Packaging, Presentation, Access to It all depends why you’re in business and your #1 goal every

A Google search shows that for the last five years, pundits have been warning that craft beer has hit its saturation point too many breweries. However, while many have closed, each year there is a net gain. Do you think jerky has hit a saturation point or is there more room for growth?

day. If your #1 goal is a laser focus on bringing the best version of your vision for your craft to market every day, it doesn’t matter who owns the company or how big they are. Having the funding of a big CPG company can be a huge advantage if deployed wisely.

Any entity can grow too big, but “bigness” in and of itself isn’t the problem. When there are problems, they

Tolnick: There is always room in every industry for

often stem from a motivation, ethic, ethos, or vision

disruptive brands providing great products. Admittedly,

becoming lost. I remember listening to a podcast where

it’s harder to disrupt categories that have had a spate of

Ben & Jerry of Ben & Jerry’s were discussing their

recent growth and disruptions. We need to remember

decision to sell and the aftermath of that decision. When

that the jerky space keeps adding new fans as it filters

the founders are no longer around (or around in a very

more and more into the mainstream snacker’s spate of

modified capacity with modified incentives), the company

healthy options. All that said, with all that I know from

is susceptible to change.

being in the food business for six years, I personally would not start a beef jerky company today in 2018.

Staying with the comparison of craft beer to jerky, what do you think sets apart those who have gone on to success, with those who have fallen by the wayside?

Do you think there is a specific point when a craft jerky company loses its ‘craft’ status and joins the ranks of Big Food?

For us, a key part of craft is honoring the tradition of being handcrafted, which implies a greater attention to detail. “Big Food” can also do craft, but it’s often times

Timing, Product, Packaging, Presentation, Access to

more expensive with the production and ingredient

Capital, Company Infrastructure, Strategy, Leadership

costs involved. Trading down on product in order to be

Team, and of course LUCK….similar to what makes for

made more cheaply, efficiently, or quickly can certainly

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November~December 2018

Meat Packing Journal

meat

snacks

s e c t or

jeopardize a company’s craft status if those changes lead

I’m working on now would be a nod towards America’s

to a deterioration in the product over time. We at Lawless

craft producers.

have no interest in that. I’d sooner leave the company.

How do you keep quality up while growing?

I am never satisfied with my product and always have ideas for making the next batch of Lawless Jerky the best batch ever. If you don’t have a set up to make the next

While many of today’s craft jerky makers have taken the route of producing jerky in their kitchens for themselves, then for friends, and then the ride begins, but unlike all, you were a sports agent/ attorney and corporate litigator before becoming a jerky chef. Was this an odd transition?

batch better than the last batch, you’re in an untenable situation that you need to fix ASAP.

There is a tremendous pressure but also a tremendous power when you take the plunge and go all in for anything

Do you think the big jerky companies in the USA, such as Jack Link’s, are running scared from craft jerky companies such as yours? Case in point Jack’s Lorissa’s Kitchen which has no mention of Jack’s on the label except for the address.

really important. From the moment my Kickstarter project reached its goal, I was all in and I gave everything I had to Lawless. It’s a privilege to have a chance to run your own company your way and having the backing of people who believe in you. But, as they say, “heavy is the head that wears the crown” and “the buck stops here.”

Not necessarily, but I do think they realize that the mother brand is not always a value add when it has a vastly different demographic from an upstart brand. While it’s sometimes fair and sometimes not, there will always

You’ve had two successful Kickstarter Campaigns.

Was this the difference between Lawless becoming a reality or going back to law?

be some consumers who shy away from the dominant market leader “big food” brands in favor of smaller, more

Kickstarter success gave us a boost of confidence out the

personal brands.

gates to have a finished product that I could go out and sell. With a finished product from Kickstarter, we were

Lawless grew from a small kitchen in Santa Monica, to a larger facility in Arizona, to now a state-of-art facility in Chandler, Minnesota. Matt, do you ever miss those old days?

able to start getting into one-off mom & pop specialty retailers, then chains, then distributors. My goal has always been to give more people a better jerky option that boasts unparalleled quality but at an approachable price.

Every day is an adventure and I feel very fortunate but YES!!! I miss being able to work up new recipes with a greater percentage of my time. I miss the physical act of

Could you please explain what ‘Braver Flavors’ is all about?

making the jerky sometimes. When that yearning grows strong, as it has lately, I try to get back in the kitchen and

“A Braver Flavor” is actually a registered trademark. It

work up new flavors. As America’s Craft Jerky, the flavor

stands for the Lawless brand. Like the Lawless name

meatpacking.info

November~December 2018

21

s e c t or

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snacks

I’ve seen a lot of small jerky companies out there, one or two person operations, with the founder putting in easily 60-70 hour weeks and not getting any further ahead. What advice would you offer?

Find a differentiator in your product or in your company itself. If you don’t have one and if you don’t have a lot of money, and you’re trying to be a national brand, then the jerky space will be a grind.

One thing I like about Lawless is that it’s not overpowering sweet and flavored like Krave, and you can still taste the meat. Do you think, however, that overly sweet jerky is now the trend?

I can’t tolerate overly sweet jerky. I almost think that it’s a fraud on the consumer. A meat snack should ALWAYS be more meat than sugar, and the ratio shouldn’t even be close. I always encourage customers to look at the itself, it is a double entendre. We offer a brand for folks

protein to sugar ratio in your jerky to understand just how

who are bravely, boldly hustling their passion. It takes

much of what you’re getting is meat versus sugar. By

real bravery sometimes to “just do you,” and Lawless is

design, we’re between 2-2.5 grams of protein for every

for people doing or trying to do that. “A Braver Flavor”

gram of sugar in our jerky. But I do believe that for optimal

also more literally describes the bold flavor of our jerky.

taste and texture in our flavors, having at least some

We fully immerse our grass-fed beef in a marinade and

sugar is important.

then after it’s all cut and racked (while still raw), we hit it with our spice waterfall to heap on another layer of flavor.

That’s what “A Braver Flavor” is all about!

Lawless is made from hand. How big of difference do you think this makes?

Do you think biltong could ever catch on in the States?

Biltong actually got me into jerky. When I was 12 years old, my cousin came back from South Africa with all sorts of amazing biltong. For me, a huge part of why I enjoyed it

Having people handling the product especially at the

was the different wild game meats that were used that I’d

most critical parts of our process is key. It helps us to

never tasted before and the relatively simple preparations

ensure even cooking, consistent marination, and the best

that allowed the meat to shine. In America, basically all

quality of process possible.

of our biltong is made using beef which I think is just a milder, less boldly flavored meat than some of the gamier

Let’s say you have a midnight inspiration for a new type of jerky that there is zero market for. Do you push ahead and hope the market develops (iPad) or do you listen to your marketing team and put the idea aside for another day?

stuff. The preparation of biltong takes time and effort, and it’s often lower in moisture (and certainly sugar) than jerky these days. I hear from consumers about the pain point of a $5.99 bag of jerky keeps them from purchasing it more.

Because of lower yields and higher preparation costs, biltong should be pricier than jerky, so I see a regular

The way it usually works is that I’ll get an uncontrollable

consumer base as much smaller for biltong than jerky.

urge to make a flavor that’s just kind of been gently but increasingly nagging at me for a while. When the nagging becomes uncontrollable, I gather up a bunch of potential ingredients that had been swirling through my head

With the insane laws regarding the import of jerky/ meat into the EU, is there any chance Lawless will ever be produced in Europe?

and go to work. I just got the last of the ingredients in house this week for something new, and I look forward to

That would be amazing, but for now we have a lot of

cooking up some early stage R&D over the weekend.

ground to still cover in our own backyard.

22

November~December 2018

Meat Packing Journal

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e s t a blish e d

m a rk e t

japan

Big appetite and big exports With its large population, Japan has never achieved famed as an agriculture exporter except in specialty items such as seasonings, sake, other alcholoic drinks, dried seafood, and prized Wagyu beef.

But with fewer Japanese beef farmers every year and Gaijins now raising the famed cattle, is its meat exporting days numbered? MPJ reports 24

November~December 2018

by velo mitrovich

J

apan is a meat exporter’s dream. For over 60-years Japanese meat consumption has risen and for over 15 years it has been impossible for the country to meet consumer demand through its own production. In

1947 the average person in war-destroyed Tokyo was consuming less than two kilograms a year. This year the per capita meat consumption is expected to be 22.6

Meat Packing Journal

japan

e s t a blish e d

m a rk e t

kilograms for poultry; 22.1 kg for pork; and 10 kg for beef,

an ongoing decline in wild stock numbers and a

states Statista.

corresponding rise in prices for years.

Consumption of beef, pork and chicken was around

Indeed, it was in 2006 that daily meat and poultry

4.75 million tons last year, up three to four percent on

consumption surpassed seafood consumption in Japan;

the year, according to government-affiliated Agriculture

US beef, chicken, and EU pork are far cheaper than

and Livestock Industries Corp. The increase marked the

fish. Other reasons are rising incomes, changes in the

fastest growth in five years and a 10th consecutive year of

food supply chains – for example increase in number of

meat gains in Japan.

supermarkets – and urbanization.

The reasons are numerous. Seafood – Japan’s main source of protein for over 1,000 years – has experienced

meatpacking.info

Locally produced beef is giving way to imports. Japan’s prized Wagyu beef industry has been hit by ageing

November~December 2018

25

e s t a blish e d

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japan

farmers, the lack of successors, and the rising costs of production, says the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry

percent from 2016.

The total number of broiler producers was 2,270 in

and Fisheries. The number of beef farms totaled 50,100

February 2018, down by almost two percent from 2017.

in 2017, down almost 40 percent over the past decade,

However, the USDA says that Japan saw a growth in

while the beef herd has declined 14 percent to 2.5 million

broiler meat production despite this overall decline in the

head of cattle.

number of operations. The drop was mainly in the smaller producers, who have been bought out by mid-to-large

Chicken rising

sized operations. The large producer with 200,000 birds or more have increased by two percent. Meanwhile the number of operations with less than 200,000 birds has

A

s the Japanese continue to eat more meat,

fallen by five percent. This consolidation period is likely to

health-conscious consumers are going for

continue for the near future.

chicken breast in particular. Along with this is the

Growers were able to introduce higher yield breeds,

fact that chicken is a cheaper alternative to any other

which pushed the average broiler weights up 5.5 percent

animal protein worldwide.

in the last decade, reaching 3.0 kg last year.

Domestic-grown broiler thigh meat sold recently for

FAS expects these trends to hold in 2018 and

wholesale 696 yen ($6.12) a kilogram, with the price for

estimates that the overall chicken meat production will

breast meat at 296 yen – compared with around 2,000

reach 1.695 million MT in 2018, increasing by two percent

yen for wagyu beef shank, which is a relatively affordable

compared to 2017.

portion, and 974 yen for domestic pork shoulder.

Imported bird

Japan's own broiler meat production has reached 648,300 metric tons (MT) in the first five months of 2018, increasing by three percent compared with the corresponding period from 2017, according to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) FAS Gains Report.

In 2017, the country's total chicken slaughter was 772,480 birds yielding 1.661 million MT of meat, up two

26

November~December 2018

J

apan imported 433,967 MT of chicken meat in the first five months of this year, up 11 percent compared to the similar period from 2017.

In 2017, the country's total chicken meat imports

Meat Packing Journal

japan

reached 1.056 million MT of which 54 percent was raw

e s t a blish e d

m a rk e t

With the supply of American beef having stabilized

meat and 46 percent was processed chicken products,

and prices remaining low in the USA this fiscal year, this

according to FAS.

is leading to an increase of Black Angus sales in Japan,

Thailand and Brazil are Japan's main chicken meat suppliers and accounted for the lion’s share of the

which offers to the Japanese market a good meat-fat balance which they prefer.

country's total chicken imports in 2017. Most of the

Pork consumption is expected to increase around

remaining volumes in that year was covered by the

two percent this year. The impact of a porcine diarrhea

imports of processed chicken products from China.

epidemic has faded, and the supply-demand balance

USDA says that because of a high demand, the

remains relatively stable.

domestic production is unable to match it and Japanese

On December 8, 2017, Japan and the European Union

processors are increasingly turning to imported chicken

announced the finalization of negotiations on the Japan-

for further processing. FAS expects this trend to be

EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). One major

maintained and forecasted that the Japanese chicken

outcome is that the agreement will eliminate, or sharply

imports will grow to 1.080 million MT in 2018, up two

reduce, duties on agricultural products in which the EU

percent from 2017.

has a major export interest, such as pork. Pork is one of the EU’s main agricultural exports to Japan and they are

Beef & pork

a fierce competitor of the United States. Given that the agreement grants the EU duty-free access for processed

J

pork meat and low-duty access for fresh pork meat

apanese beef consumption is forecast to rise three

exports, it will result in a significant duty disadvantage for

to four percent after two years of decrease.

US exporters, according to the USDA.

The supply of Wagyu is weak amid a shortage

Japan is highly protective of its pork industry and has

of calves, but this is offset by affordable American

excluded pork or only provided minor tariff reductions

and Australian beef. Consumption of imported beef is

and small tariff-rate quotas in previous bilateral trade

projected to grow six to seven percent. This is due in part

agreements. The Japan-EU EPA however, similar to

by the appetite of international visitors whose numbers

the Trans Pacific Partnership (which includes other

grow every year.

top competitors Canada, Mexico and Chile), marks a

meatpacking.info

November~December 2018

27

e s t a blish e d

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japan

change with Japan eliminating tariffs on more than 60

Wagyu exports to meet demand, with the top importers

percent of its pork and pork product tariff lines within 12

being Hong Kong, the USA, and Taiwan (ROC).

years. Additionally, the Japan-EU EPA has established a

Rising overseas consumption comes at a time when

volume-based safeguard for EU pork imports that will be

the Japanese government is trying to increase exports

phased out over 11 years.

of food and agricultural products. However, it has also

Larger exports of European processed products and the continued growth in EU exports of ground seasoned

coincided with the decline in the number of producers of the premium beef, as mention.

pork (GSP) can be expected under the Japan-EU EPA.

What will cut into Japan’s export figures is the raising

US exports of GSP will be at a disadvantage as Japan’s

of Wagyu cattle in the USA, Australia, and Scotland. While

20 percent duty is eliminated on EU-origin GSP over 5

the Wagyu and Kobe beef names might be protected in

years. The tariff on sausages (currently 10 percent) will be

Japan, they aren’t anywhere else.

phased out in five years and tariffs on ham and bacon will

In Japan there are four breeds that are considered

be lowered from 8 percent to 2.2 percent in 5 years, and

Wagyu and those are the Japanese Black (the

phased out completely by year 12.

predominant Wagyu exported to the US), Japanese

If EU processed pork exports to Japan grow

Brown –also called Red Wagyu – Japanese Polled and

significantly, this will impact Japan’s demand for

Japanese Shorthorn. There are no Japanese Polled or

imported raw materials for domestic ham and sausage

Shorthorns being bred outside Japan.

manufacturing and, in turn, demand for US frozen pork and ground seasoned pork.

Japan has historically been a major export destination

The production of Wagyu beef in Japan is highly regulated and progeny testing is mandatory. Only the very best proven genetics are kept for breeding. Realizing the

for US pork. However, agricultural exporters from the

value of their unique product, the Japanese government

United States will face challenges as the EU gains

at one time banned the export of Wagyu cattle and

preferential tariffs under the Japan-EU EPA. Similar to

declared them a national living treasure. This ended in

the TPP, where US competitors are gaining preferential

1975, allowing Wagyu to be raised elsewhere.

access to important export markets – thanks to President

The future

Trump pulling out of the trade deal – the EU-Japan agreement threatens to cut into US market share and depress profits for US pork producers who depend on export markets for over 20 percent of their income.

Best beef

W

ith Japan’s love of technology, MPJ can easily see Japan becoming one of the centers of lab-based meat.

Yuki Hanyu, founder of the Tokyo-based cultured meat

company, Integriculture – which has recently raised $2.7

I

nternational demand for meat described as at the

million – is taking a very different step from everyone

“pinnacle of the beef world” is booming, keeping

else in the movement; he’s handing out ‘meat-growing

prices at near record levels even as consumers in its

machines’ to Japan's youth. Through his nonprofit, the

home market of Japan turn to cheaper imports.

Wagyu, or Japanese beef, comes from a breed native

Shojinmeat Project, Hanyu gives students high-tech, microwave-sized heated boxes so they can culture cells

to Japan. On the Tokyo central wholesale market, the

– and thus, meat – on their own at home. This, he hopes,

price of top-grade Wagyu averaged 2,919 yen (around

will add that missing step of engagement which might

$30) per kilo in December. The increase in exports is

ultimately make lab-grown meats widely accepted.

pushing Wagyu prices up, driving consumers to eat US or Australian imported beef.

Increasing overseas demand meant Japanese beef

More than that goal, however, the Shojinmeat Project allows Hanyu to directly apply what he learns from the students' interaction to future products while also

exports last year jumped more than 40 percent to 2,706

fostering a sense of educational curiosity around lab-

MT. The bulk of the Wagyu export market is cross-breed

grown meat, which may further help the products gain

(above 50 per cent Wagyu genetic content), which is

widespread acceptance and "avoid the pitfalls of high-

more affordable for consumers compared with full-blood

tech foods in other parts of the world," according to

prices. Japan’s meat processing companies such as

Quartz. MPJ strongly sees this as Japan's meat future.

Itoham Foods and Starzen are planning to boost their

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November~December 2018

Meat Packing Journal

S PEC I A L

R EP O R T

AU STR ALIAN

D R O U G HT

drought devastates Australian ag industry While scientists are predicting droughts and high temperatures will become the new normal in Australia, cattle, lamb, and grain/hay farmers are worried about surviving the now. MPJ reports

by velo mitrovich

A

according to Australian government data.

Like buying at a fire sale, the demand for this lean

seven-year drought in New South Wales

beef been high and has actually driven up prices. The

(NSW) Australia is showing little signs of

USA has been one of the lead buyers, absorbing much

easing up until 2019– and there are no

of the Australian surplus – mostly going to burgers – and

guarantees this will happen. Reservoirs,

keeping prices 10 percent higher than their average

rivers, and streams are drying up, natural

over the last eight years. Exports to other markets such

grazing is gone, and hay and grain farmers are struggling

as Japan, Korea, and China have risen by at least eight

in the dry conditions. High feed prices are now forcing

percent in the first six months of 2018, according to the

cattle and dairy farms to slaughter animals they can no

US Department of Agriculture (USDA). This in turn has

longer afford to feed and in some cases, water.

effected what Australian consumers are having to pay

If you rely on Australian beef and lamb for your business, or if you are a direct competitor, at what point do you begin a reevaluation process?

In a look at 800 years of seasonal rainfall patterns

for beef, which is especially painful during the Southern Hemisphere’s summer barbeque season.

However, the United States has already amassed more than 2.5 billion pounds of excess beef, pork and other

across the Australian continent, records show that parts

meats in cold storage facilities, according to USDA, and

of northern Australia are wetter than ever before, and that

may soon ease off buying.

major droughts of the late 20th and early 21st centuries in southern Australia are likely without precedent over the past 400 years.

Independent Australian analyst Simon Quilty has raised

Will prices suddenly rollercoaster as producers struggle to find new markets?

"The big concern is what happens after the Northern [Hemisphere] markets begin to wind down," Matt

the question of whether the 2018 seasonal conditions

Dalgleish, trading manager at agricultural consultant

represent a “drought on steroids”, and estimates that herd

Mecardo, tells the Guardian.

liquidation based on a two-year drought scenario could

The Australian beef cattle industry accounts for

strip two million cattle out of the Australian production

around 25 percent of the total value of the country’s farm

system.

production and over 20 percent of farm export income.

In June alone, Australian farmers slaughtered 659,000 head of cattle, the highest month figure in three years,

30

November~December 2018

Almost 60 percent of Australian farms carry beef cattle, with beef cattle farms accounting for more than 75

Meat Packing Journal

AU STR ALIAN

percent of the total area of agricultural land in Australia.

D R O U G HT

S PEC I A L

R EP O R T

In August 2018, the Australian federal government

An estimated 25,000 farms have at least 100 head

also announced an A$1.8 billion drought relief package to

of cattle and farms with fewer than 100 head of cattle

assist famers and local councils dealing with the problem.

represent only a minute two percent of the national

Farmers affected by a sustained lack of rain are to receive

beef herd. Large beef farms with more than 5,400 head

an additional one-off payment of A$12,000 to help with

account for almost 30 percent of the national beef herd,

higher feed and water costs for livestock.

according to a 2018 survey by the Australian Department

Feed costly or gone

of Agriculture.

In August 2018, the entire state of NSW was declared as drought affected, with large areas classified as experiencing ‘intense drought’, while 57 percent of Queensland was drought-declared.

Drought in Australia is defined by the Bureau of

D

roughts often lead to an undersupply of free grazing feed on the ground for livestock. Scott Tolmie, Meat & Livestock lead analyst, tells

Meteorology as “rainfall over a three-month period being

The New Daily that as farmers increasingly look towards

in the lowest decile of what has been recorded for that

buying more feed – instead of having the luxury of free

region.” The price of temporary water licenses in NSW

grass feed – feed costs rose.

has doubled from A$200 to A$400 a mega-liter in August

He said the cost of feed almost “doubled” this year.

2018, compared to the long-run average of A$120 a

“This produces a lot of challenges for [Australian] farmers.

mega-liter.

Do they hold on to their livestock and buy expensive feed,

In June 2018, the NSW government announced an A$500 million Emergency Drought Relief Package, taking

or do you sell some of their livestock to save money on feed?” he said.

total drought support to over A$1 billion. Government

If and when the rains return – like what the USA

freight subsidies will cover up to 50 percent of the full

and Mexico went through several years ago – farmers

cost of transporting fodder, water for stock and livestock

will have to rebuild stock so will hold back animals for

to pasture, slaughter or sale. Under the plan, the NSW

slaughter, which drives up prices.

Government has introduced a transport subsidy of up to

The Australian domestic livestock market normally

A$20,000 per farm, to help livestock farmers source grain

requires more than 12 million metric tons (MMT) of

and hay from other states.

feed and demand has expanded in recent years due to

meatpacking.info

November~December 2018

31

S PEC I A L

R EP O R T

AU STR ALIAN

D R O U G HT

significant variations in seasonal conditions and regional

droughts have a tendency to run in cycles there. However,

shortages of pasture and grains. The domestic animal

lately the cycles have an ever decreasing time between

feed industry includes beef, dairy cattle, layer and

droughts and each one seems worse than the one before.

poultry chickens, pigs, sheep, horses, aquaculture, and

When the rains do come, they now have often come in

a number of smaller industries with the bulk of feed

heavy downpours which the dry packed soil has difficulty

grains consumed by the beef, dairy cattle, and chicken

in absorbing.

industries.

Feed for livestock include raw grains, such as wheat, barley, sorghum, triticale, oats, maize, lupins, field peas,

So are Australian droughts getting worse, and can they be attributed to climate change?

In The Conversation UK, Andrew King, ARC DECRA

fava beans, and whole oilseeds, including canola. In

fellow, University of Melbourne; Anna Ukkola, research

addition, vegetable protein meals are produced from

associate, Climate Change Research Centre, Australian

processed oilseed (canola, soy, sunflower, and safflower).

National University; and Ben Henly, research fellow in

The beef and dairy cattle industries are estimated to need more than 6 MMT of feed in normal years when drought is not a significant factor, but the continuing

Climate and Water Resources, University of Melbourne, were asked to exam this issue.

Besides a lack of rain, droughts are also exacerbated

drought has increased livestock demand for feed grains.

by low humidity, higher wind speeds, warmer

However, grain regions in Australia are separated by

temperatures, and greater amounts of sunshine. All of

considerable distances and high freight rates usually

these factors increase water loss from soils and plants.

make it less economic to trade between states, even if

Other metrics are then often used to describe drought,

Western Australia has a major surplus while the eastern

which goes beyond rainfall deficiencies alone. These

states have a feed grain shortage.

include the Palmer Drought Severity Index and the

While grain and other feed imports into Australia would help, they are not possible under current biosecurity

Standardized Precipitation Evaporation Index, for example.

This means that there are hundreds of metrics which

regulations. As a result, grain prices in Australia are

together can provide a more detailed representation of

significantly higher than world prices and this has affected

a drought. But this also means that droughts are less

the cost of feed in the livestock sector, such as the dairy

well understood and harder to described, than simpler

and beef cattle industries, according to the USDA.

phenomena such as temperature and rainfall.

In the 1995 drought, 0.4 MMT of feed was reportedly

“Drought is a complex beast and can be measured in a

imported into eastern Australia for the livestock industry

variety of ways. Some aspects of drought are linked with

because of the low pasture availability. Similarly, in

climate change; others are not,” state the researchers.

2006, some quantities of imported grain from the United

“The point here is that droughts can be

Kingdom were processed near ports in eastern Australia

multidimensional, affecting agriculture and water

and used for the poultry industry as biosecurity provisions

supplies on a wide range of spatial and temporal scales.

prevented the transport of grain outside a limited area.

A seasonal-scale drought that reduces soil moisture on a

Bulk grain imports from quarantine-approved countries in

farm, and a decade-long drought that depletes reservoirs

2018 would soften the impact of the grain shortages, but

and groundwater supplies, can both be devastating, but

very few countries have approved export facilities.

in very different ways.

“As we have so many ways of looking at droughts,

Climate change or natural cycle?

this is a more complex question than it might first sound.

Climate change may affect these drought metrics and types of drought differently, so it is hard to make general

I

n June, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull

statements about the links between human-induced

visited the drought-stricken parts of the country, which

climate change and drought,” states the team.

has since prompted discussion of the role of climate

change in this event.

Turnbull said that farmers need to “build resilience”

“We know that over southern Australia, and in particular the southwest, there has been a rapid decline in winter rainfall, and that this has been linked to climate change. In

as rainfall “appears to be getting more variable”. This

the southeast there has also been a decline but the trend

prompted former Nationals leader John Anderson to

is harder to distinguish from the year-to-year variability.”

warn against “politicizing” the drought by invoking climate

For recent short-term droughts in southern Australia,

change. This in turn was followed by speculation from

analyses have found an increased likelihood of rainfall

numerous Australian commentators about the links

deficits related to human-caused climate change. Also,

between climate change and drought.

it has been suggested that the character of droughts

That remains one of the big questions in Australia.

It has always been known as the driest continent and

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November~December 2018

is changing as a result of the human-induced warming trend.

Meat Packing Journal

y b e R

Meat Talk

The leading podcast for the meat and poultry industry

What do US chicken processors, British vegans, Greek butchers, Canadian cricket farmers, Russian agriculture investors, and global steak lovers have in common?

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In listening to Meat Talk, you’ll learn if a chick

can really be happy, why Amazon’s buyout of Whole Foods is great news for craft jerky makers, should you be eating bugs, bringing home the bacon, and why truck drivers are in short supply throughout the world – and hear a solution for the truck-dependent meat industry.

“If you thought meat couldn’t be entertaining, think again,” says Velo. “I invite you to spend some time with me.”

Meat Talk is available on Apple Podcast, Google Play, Stitcher, Podcast Addict, or wherever great podcast live.

Listen at: meattalk.reby.media

TEC H N O L O G Y

MAP

MAP continues to keep meat fresh While many see Modified Atmosphere Packaging as old hat – being replaced by vacuum or skin packs – nothing could be further from the truth. Bernadette Ballantyne, producer of Engineering Matters podcast, reports on the latest developments for MPJ

lidding films. But as these supply chains developed further, in-store butcheries for high volume products began to be removed and mainstream high-volume products like ground beef and chicken fillets would be processed centrally and supplied into the supermarkets.

“As those supply chains developed the demand for increased shelf life were borne out which led to the development of modified atmosphere packaging,” says Elkington.

by BERNADETTE BALLANTYNE

The approach was not brand new. Controlled atmospheres were first used in ships sending food on long voyages around the world in the early 1900s. By

T

reducing the oxygen and replacing it with carbon dioxide,

fundamentally changed the way that customers shop.

barrier liner applied to them, typically a polyethylene

he sophistication of supply chains and centralization of meat processing has

fresh food especially meat and fruit would last longer.

Scientists replicated and built upon this controlled

fundamentally changed the way that people

atmosphere approach, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that

buy their meat over the past few decades.

major food retailers began to appreciate the benefits that

But, perhaps the most disruptive technology

modifying the atmosphere had on their products and the

was the rise of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) through the 1990s, which has extended shelf life and This widespread technique uses a mixture of carbon

packaging changed too.

“It led to, in the first case, polystyrene trays with a gas sealant with some barrier layers within that structure, and

dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen to preserve food in its

a lid seal film rather than a PVC wrapping,” says Elkington.

packaging and can extend the shelf life not just by

“That evolution continued into rigid materials from foam,

days, but by weeks in some cases. Over the years, the

rigid polystyrene, rigid polypropylene, rigid polyester and

packaging used to support this method has evolved.

all the time the packs had a polyethylene liner to allow

“If we think back to before a world of modified atmosphere packaging, meat products would typically be

fast and effective sealing.

Elkington says that today the most advanced rigid

sold by the local butchers. Shelf life would be relatively

trays are made from polyethylene terephthalate – PET,

low. Consumers were shopping once or twice a week,

which are popular with retailers and brand owners as

maybe even more frequently. Packaging really didn’t have

it has good transparency, rigidity and provides a good

a large role to play in that supply chain. Meat products

gas barrier. Its oxygen transmission rate compared to

would be wrapped in paper and maybe even tied with

polypropylene is much lower for example.

a bit of string,” says Ben Elkington, product manager for

Recycling

global barrier flexibles at German global plastics giant Klöckner Pentaplast, which bought the UK’s Linpac in July 2017.

“As that supply chain evolved, supermarkets began to develop their fresh meat offer but still relied on a similar kind of shopper frequency and shelf life requirement.

P

ET has another major advantage when it comes to packaging – it is one of the few plastics that can be recycled directly back into food contact. “This

They also wanted a more consistent look and feel to the

is something you can’t really do with any other plastics for

packaging,” he says.

tray in MAP packaging. The only other example would be

This led to expanded polystyrene trays with PVC

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November~December 2018

HDPE that is used for milk bottles,” says Elkington.

Meat Packing Journal

Airscan leak detection system

TEC H N O L O G Y

MAP

Novipax's XtendaPak pad can be used in non-MAP packaging to create CO2, extending the shelf life

than they look.

“Typical structures include a polyethylene sealing layer usually a polyethylene-based sealing layer, a material called EVOH would be included as a thin layer to get the

The drive towards reduction of single use plastics is a

oxygen barrier required for MAP, and that would usually

trend that all manufacturers are well aware of. However,

be laminated to a structural layer to give material strength

knowing what materials to focus on from a recycling

to get through the sealing process and other stages of

perspective has been a challenge, thanks to the varying

the supply chain.”

territorial differences in waste infrastructure both at

Reducing thickness

regional, national and international levels.

Instead manufacturers have focused on ensuring a proportion of recycled content. “For an international retailer to make claims about what would happen at end of life has always been difficult, whereas they were really well placed to specify a level of recycled content for example.

“That’s where the focus would have been two to three

T

hanks to innovation in manufacturing methods KP can now manufacture these multitudes of layers in a single extrusion process, which has also

allowed them to reduce the thickness of the films from 40 microns to just 20. But again, the lack of clear strategy on

years ago, but certainly in the last six to 12 months that

how these films should be treated from a wider strategic

really changed and the focus has shifted onto what will

waste management perspective at a political level makes

happen at end of life and that has led us on to a reduced

it difficult for companies to know where to focus their

pallet of materials. PET is a favored material within that

efforts.

pallet because of its ability to be recycled back into

Making recyclable films would increase their thickness

food contact and that is a genuine claim on the step to a

meaning that there is more of it. Yet the very fine barrier

circular economy,” says Elkington.

films are not recyclable, however at these reduced

Another important part of modified atmosphere

thicknesses achieved by KP, volume is greatly reduced.

packaging for meat products is the lidding film used

Interestingly Martin Baldwin, thermoformer business

to seal the trays. These films must act as a barrier to

manager for international Ulma Packaging, says that he is

preserve the modified atmosphere, retaining that fine

seeing a switch away from MAP to vacuum packaging for

balance of gases needed to optimize the shelf life and

certain products such as raw red meat and fish.

the quality of the meat. Like the trays, these have also evolved over the years and are much more sophisticated

36

November~December 2018

One of the reasons for this, he says, is that the vacuum packs use less plastic.

Meat Packing Journal

MAP

The trend began in Europe and is emerging in the

TEC H N O L O G Y

groups: headspace analyzers; online analyzers; mixing;

US as consumers become more familiar with the

and leak detection,” he says. These fall into either online

presentation of the products. “At Ulma we have been very

or offline testing. The simplest of these are the headspace

conscious of consumer views to plastic and reduction of

analyzers, which take a package offline, insert a small

plastic in packaging,” he says. “So we have been working

needle to draw out a sample of the air and test the value

with film manufacturers to look at different materials

confirming that the gases are of the correct levels. This

which could be used as part of the package giving

has its drawbacks, however, as it is a destructive test,

processers anything up to a 40 percent reduction in scrap

meaning that the package has to either be scrapped or

level when they create a thermoform package.”

repacked afterwards.

Beyond the outer packaging innovation, a company in

“They fit on the packaging line continually monitoring

the US called Novipax, have developed something that

the process as it is being packed. So basically, it would

not only enhances the modified atmosphere packaging

have a sampling hose very close to the actual inside

environment, it can be used in non-MAP packaging to

where you close the package and will be monitoring

provide carbon dioxide. Lindsay Riehle, director of new

the environment at that spot to see whether the residual

product development, explains. “We make a product

oxygen is as expected in the process you are running.

called Ultrazap Xtendapack. We see the absorbent pad

One of the major benefits of that is that if something

that is placed in the food packaging as an opportunity to

goes wrong for whatever reason, the analyzer will read

be somewhat of a vehicle. It is capable of containing any

that and if something is off it will stop the process”

number of constituents that help with achieving increased

Another testing process is leak detection, which is

shelf life, so we can add anti-microbials, odor scavengers

used to check the integrity of the seals of the packaging

or Co2 generators,” she says.

to ensure that the modified atmosphere is not escaping,

The CO2 generator pads create carbon dioxide within the package. “The way that the product works is that as the protein starts to age it release moisture and once the

and oxygen levels are not rising through any faults in the seal.

“The problem for leak detectors machines that we

moisture is released there are chemical constituents in

see in the market today is the speed of the packaging

the pad. There is organic acid and sodium bicarbonate

machines versus the technologies that we have available.

and once the moisture hits them they are activated to

So sometimes you have to do quality control after a

produce CO2,” she says.

certain schedule or maybe do a bulk package into a

“So, as long as there is moisture being released from the meat the pad is serving a dual purpose. It is essentially absorbing the liquids but also generating

bigger machine, but that presents a problem if one is leaking.

“You would then have to either recheck all of them, or

the gas that is creating that modified atmosphere that is

scrap the whole box. It is a little bit difficult and a problem

keeping bacteria levels low in the package”

to resolve – having a leak detection system that can run

Lindsay says that the shelf life extension that these pads can give depends on the type of protein. For raw poultry or red meat that is store packed – not MAP – it can

online and find small leaks as quickly as the packaging system can produce it,” says Torngaard.

A company that claim to have solved this puzzle is

usually ensure an extra day. In a MAP package, it would

Japan’s Ishida which has expanded beyond its weighing

be expected to give two to three additional days.

machines into packaging and inspection equipment. Its seal testing equipment was developed in the UK starting

Verify and verify

ten years ago with mechanical seal testers combined with a vision system. These online systems use a pressure hat

E

which drops if there is a leak in the packaging and are

nsuring that this shelf life is as advertised, is a

combined with a camera to detect other issues such as

critical issue for both retailers and food producers.

label inspection. These can operate at high speed testing

Due to importance of having the atmosphere

up to 150 packs per minute, but are limited in terms of the

exactly as it should be, a range of testing methods exist.

information provided and the fact that they don’t check

Process testing expert Morten Torngaard of MOCON

the underside of the packaging.

Europe –now part of US company Ametek – explains how

Aware of this, Ishida then developed its AirScan

producers ensure that the packaging is really maintaining

system, which was launched in May 2017 and uses lasers

the careful balance of gases.

to detect escaping carbon dioxide by sensing infrared

As well as being a leader in their center of excellence,

vibrations. MPJ asked the AirScan and tray sealing

Morten is responsible for distributed sales in Europe and

product manager at Ishida, Torsten Giese, to explain how

markets outside of the Americas.

it worked.

“In our world, we have divided it into four major product

meatpacking.info

“So, you have the trays coming off and they go across

November~December 2018

37

TEC H N O L O G Y

MAP

an in-feed conveyor and this conveyor has got a seal testing hat and that is attached to the laser,” he says.

MAP has allowed ground meat and other high volume meat products to be made at central processors

“There is a roller below that hat and the roller goes across the bag or the tray and there are some holes next to the roller that sniff the atmosphere constantly both on top of

because it is this gas which reacts with the protein

the pack and on the side of the pack. We can also have

myoglobin to give raw meat its healthy red color.

a solution where it sniffs underneath the pack and this is what we call a 360 machine.”

Torsten says these machines measure the air constantly and as soon as there is a breech, this peak in carbon dioxide level is registered by the laser and a

“For red meat, we would use 60-80 percent oxygen combined with CO2 for microbial properties,” she says, adding that the modified atmosphere changes significantly for cooked meat.

“Cooked and cured meat really differ as the color is

signal is sent to say that there is a breech. The threshold

different and fixed by temperature. In that case, oxygen is

levels can be set by the operator and the machines

not needed because the color is already fixed during the

work at speeds of up to 180 packs per minute. “This

[cooking] process, but we will need to combine nitrogen

sounds incredibly high, but the laser can do the speed,

and carbon dioxide. CO2 is used to have an effect against

the challenge is how to reject the right pack at that high

microbes, and nitrogen is used as a balance gas.”

Nitrogen is the third of the triumvirate of gases used

speed.”

in MAP because oxygen cannot simply be replaced

Balancing atmosphere

completely with carbon dioxide. Too much CO2 would itself cause some negative effects such as tainting the flavor and causing pack collapse. Getting the balance

T

he gas mixture used for modified atmosphere

between these gases right is crucial in getting maximum

packaging depended on the different product

shelf life and optimum product quality. Modified

type being packed. It is not as simple as removing

Atmosphere Packaging therefore could be described as

all the oxygen, which allows aerobic bacteria to multiply, and replacing it with carbon dioxide, which creates an

'Modified Atmosphere Balancing'.

Poultry for example suits different mixtures of gases

anaerobic environment and prevents this microbial

depending on whether it is being sold with the skin on or

activity.

off. “For portions with the skin there is no oxygen because

Sonia Guri, a lead agricultural engineer for advanced

the skin contains fat and we want to avoid lipid oxidation,

technology at industrial gas manufacturing company

so we use a combination of CO2 and Nitrogen. For other

Air Products, talks about the gas mixtures used for MAP.

portions with skin off we could combine two or three

For raw red meat for example, oxygen is still required

different gases.”

38

November~December 2018

Meat Packing Journal

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IPPE to kick off after Super Bowl Get your most comfortable shoes ready – you’ll be needing them at the 2019 IPPE show in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the world’s largest annual poultry/meat show and if you’re serious about succeeding in this industry, we will see you there – just make sure you have the right dates!

T

here are bigger shows out there –

to note this change from January to February for the 2019

Germany’s IFFA comes immediately to mind

IPPE trade show only.

will will be taking place in 2019 – but nobody

Made up of the three integrated tradeshows –

is this big year after year. And it’s just not size

International Poultry Expo, International Feed Expo

that makes the International Production &

and International Meat Expo – the IPPE is the world’s

Processing Expo (IPPE) so important to the industry. If you

largest annual feed, meat and poultry trade show. The

want to learn how to make or save money, this is where

event is sponsored by the US Poultry & Egg Association

you need to be.

(USPOULTRY), the American Feed Industry Association

The last show’s rumors are true: in 2019, IPPE will be

(AFIA) and the North American Meat Institute (NAMI).

expanding the show floor to all three halls (A, B and C) of the Georgia World Congress Center. This will allow IPPE to accommodate increased demand for new and existing exhibitors for additional space as well as allow for more

When and where

networking opportunities and engaging events on the show floor.

The trade show focuses on Innovation – bringing together buyers and sellers of the latest technology of products and services to make your business successful; education – learning from the experts in free and fee-

Venue Georgia World Congress Center 285 Andrew Young International Blvd NW Atlanta, Georgia 30313-1591 USA

based world-class programs on topics that cross industry interests; global reach – attracting more than 8,000 International visitors from 125 countries; and networking – meeting new and rekindling old relationships with leaders across the industries.

The 2019 IPPE will bring together more than 1,200 exhibitors and 30,000 visitors in Atlanta. With the Super

Show Times Tuesday, 12 February: 1000-1700 Wednesday, 13 February: 0900-1700 Thursday, 14 February: 0900-1500 For more information about the 2019 IPPE, visit www.ippexpo.com

Bowl coming to Atlanta in 2019, the IPPE show dates have been moved to 12-14 February, 2019. Mark your calendar

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November~December 2018

Meat Packing Journal

Attendees Activities Meat Industry Hall of Fame Mon 11 Feb 1830 Omni Hotel Join meat industry professionals at the 2018 Meat Industry Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Dinner scheduled to take place at the Omni Hotel. The reception will take place at 1830 on Monday, 11 Feb, and the dinner and inception ceremony will begin at 1930. For information, contact Chris Luke at lukec@bnpmedia.com Chicken and Turkey cutting and cooking demo Tue 12 Feb 1100-1230 Event Zone: Booth B8635 IPPE will offer cutting and cooking demonstrations featuring nationally and locally recognized chefs preparing poultry products.

The demonstrations will be held in Booth B8635, and attendees are encouraged to stop by to experience the activities.

meatpacking.info

Beef and pork cutting and cooking demo Wed 13 Feb 1100-1230 Event Zone: Booth B8635 IPPE will offer cutting and cooking demonstrations featuring nationally and locally recognized chefs preparing meat products. The demonstrations will be held in Booth B8635, and attendees are encouraged to stop by to experience the activities.

TECH-TALKS Web 13 Feb 0930-1630 Thu 14 Feb 0930-1630 Booths B8725, C9123 (Wed) Booths A246, B8725, C9123 (Thu) IPPE is offering short educational presentations by exhibitors regarding operations and technical issues critical to all aspects of the feed, meat and poultry industries.

November~December 2018

41

Educational Programs Environmental Conference for the Meat & Poultry Industry Mon 11 Feb 0800-1700 Registration Fee: $349 Environmental issues are top of mind for meat and poultry processors, with increased information and innovation paving the way for improvements. Addressing regulatory requirements and consumer interest continues to impact decision making as well. This conference will cover critical topics including EPA enforcement, water use and conservation, waste management, biogas, air permitting and more. Come learn how industry leaders are dealing with key environmental issues through the sharing of best practices, and gain practical information to help your business from expert speakers.

Cost: $349 Worker Safety Conference for the Meat & Poultry Industry Mon 11 Feb 0800-1700 Registration Fee: $349 With nearly half a million people working in the meat and poultry industry, worker safety is imperative to the success of every business.

This conference will address the top safety challenges experienced on a daily basis and will provide advice and guidance from industry leaders on how to maintain and develop the necessary programs required for continuous improvement in worker safety. In addition, the conference will address regulatory and legal

42

November~December 2018

issues that safety professionals need to know and understand.

Cost: $349 Pork 101 Mon 11 Feb 1300-1700 Registration Fee: FREE (included with trade show admission) Join us for this special hands-on workshop designed for IPPE attendees to see the highlights of AMSA’s three-day Pork 101 conference.

This session will cover quality and consistency issues in the pork industry, including insight on value differences in swine, pork carcasses, pork primals and processed pork products due to quality variation.

Cost: Free Pet Food Conference Tue 12 Feb 0730-1600 Registration Fee: $75 early bird/$95 onsite AFIA's Pet Food Conference covers a variety of topics from regulatory to technical aspects of production to product claims, marketing and nutrition. This annual educational session attracts more than 250 attendees from pet food manufacturing to ingredient suppliers covering all ingredient categories, offering an excellent opportunity to network with this diverse audience. This year’s program includes breakfast and lunch.

Cost: $75 early bird/$95 onsite Beef 101 Tue 12 Feb 0830-1030 Registration Fee: FREE (included with trade show

Meat Packing Journal

admission) This session will explore the beef life cycle, answer common questions regarding beef production, discuss factors affecting beef quality, and provide a cutting demonstration of innovative beef cuts.

Cost: Free Meat Quality Workshop: Packaging, color, and shelf life Wed 13 Feb 0730-1130 Registration Fee: $150 This workshop will provide an in-depth look at some of the most critical factors affecting meat quality and customer satisfaction, and provide attendees with an understanding of how meat color, packaging and shelf life are intertwined.

By learning the basic science behind these important quality components, attendees will gain valuable knowledge to apply in their own operations. The program will also cover the latest packaging technologies and provide best practices and real world examples for determining and extending shelf life. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with industry experts on this key topic for all meat companies Cost: $150 Meat Industry Regulatory Update and Compliance Session Wed 13 Feb 0800-1000 Registration Fee: FREE (included with trade show admission) This session will discuss the top regulatory issues affecting meat processors in the past year, and what challenges are ahead in 2018. In addition,

meatpacking.info

this session will take a focused look at common in-plant inspection and enforcement issues, and provide insight on how to best respond and deal with these matters.

Cost: Free

Poultry Market Intelligence Forum Wed 13 Feb 0900-1200 Registration Fee: FREE (included with trade show admission) A leading industry economist and industry experts will provide insights on how the domestic and global economies, continuously improving performance and regulatory issues impact the poultry and egg industries. They will identify challenges facing the industry and discuss how the U.S. and international poultry industries are positioned to move forward in 2019.

Cost: Free Functional ingredients in meat and poultry processing Thu 14 Feb 0800-1000 Registration Fee: FREE (included with trade show admission) Knowing and understanding the possible applications of the wide range of ingredients that can be used in meat and poultry processing can be overwhelming. This workshop will serve as a guide to understanding existing functional ingredients and how they can be used to improve products, as well as provide a look at what’s ahead in meat product formulations and clean label.

Cost: Free

November~December 2018

43

c omm e n t

plant

burgers

The bunfight’s over, move along In the July issue of MPJ we ran ‘Vege Burgers that Taste Good’ and in Meat Talk 19 ‘Battle of the Plant Burgers’. In a followup to both of these, we are running a guest comment from Ali Spencer, editor of Meat Export NZ.

production capacity and has just advised it will shortly be served up in the UK in Tesco’s supermarkets. New Zealand-based Sun-Fed has also taken the opportunity to announce it will also be bringing out another beef-less burger, based on pea protein, by the end of the year.

The challenges and opportunities presented by the new alternative proteins have been extensively researched by the red meat sector. Currently, these are

by Ali Spencer

I

mainly US-based products, and they been produced in response to US consumer concern about factory farming.

They are also backed by a lot of investment. When the

t’s been interesting to witness the online bunfight

money dries up, that is when the ‘proof will be in the

this week on Air NZ’s decision to allow its business

pudding’. Thoughts are that the products will eventually

premier travelers to try Impossible Burgers.

find a home as ‘ingredients’.

Air NZ and Impossible Foods’ stance, while

So, the global producers of red meat have another

disappointing, was very marketing savvy and New

protein competitor. So what? There are already plenty of

Zealand got drawn into what was essentially a publicity

others that we navigate around. Despite all the current

stunt to extend a marketing budget. The news went far

noise, the vast majority continue to eat meat – here in

and wide, provoking emotional responses from carnivore,

New Zealand 94 percent are regular meat eaters. But,

vegetarian/vegan and climate change sensitivities. Even

consumers should be allowed to select what they want

New Zealand politicians became involved, with one eye

to eat.

on the future rural vote, presenting it as a slur by the nation’s carrier on our farmer/regional integrity.

It should be noted that Air NZ offers an excellent

The road ahead is clear: to sustainably produce high quality, wholesome meat for discerning consumers seeking a great, natural experience. We are looking

service, it does already serve ‘normal’ proper beef

forward to seeing New Zealand’s beef and lamb

burgers in other parts of the service and, as it always

marketed under Beef + Lamb NZ’s Taste Pure Nature

has done, it also picks up other countries’ products from

banner and it will be interesting to see how our marketers

its destination points for its return journey menus. This

counter the new competitors in market over the coming

time it made the decision to include a new vegetarian

few years.

menu item for its business premier passengers – no

In the meantime, plenty of work is underway on

doubt having noted all the interest from New Zealanders

making sure New Zealand’s red meat sector is as fit for

wanting to try them on the US west coast.

the future as possible. Amongst other things, while New

Impossible Burgers are formed from plant-based

Zealand accounts for just 0.17 percent of the world’s total

material, using a genetically modified yeast as one of

greenhouse gas emissions, we are playing a leading

the ingredients to produce haem iron, which is how it

role globally in finding ways to mitigate GHG emissions,

can resemble a meat ‘burger’ as closely as possible,

especially the methane belched by livestock, and

even to the point of ‘bleeding’. The aim is to give meat

improving productivity.

eaters an alternative opportunity to assuage their climate

The present Impossible is on an in-flight lap table. The

change concerns by filling their faces instead with a

probable future will still include naturally-raised, grass-

non-meat patty to save the planet. They are not alone,

fed New Zealand beef, lamb, and venison.

another plant-based product Beyond Meat is expanding

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November~December 2018

Bunfight over, move along now please …

Meat Packing Journal

AUTOMATION

IN HOG SLAUGHTER M-Line robots are setting new standards in slaughter automation: • • • • •

High cutting accuracy ensured with 3D scanning Improved hygienic conditions with “TwinTool” sterilization concept Minimized labor force required Reduced consumption of spare parts Increased yield of product volume

Meet us at IPPE in Atlanta booth, B4211 Learn more about our processing innovations For more info please visit: marel.com/meat

F utu r e

Pro t e in

soy

based

meat

Old standbys still at the forefront With all the buzz about lab-based meat and the new plant-based burgers, it’s hard to remember that the soy-based and other meatless protein options have been around for thousands of years. MPJ investigates

Tofu Also known as bean or soya curd, tofu is a soft, cheeselike food made of condensed soy milk pressed into tight blocks and mixed with nigari. While this product can be rather bland, tofu easily absorbs flavors of other ingredients, such as spices. Tofu has been a staple in Asian countries for more than 2,000 years.

Of all products mentioned in this feature, tofu is by

by velo mitrovich

far the easiest to find. In most all Western and in all Asia supermarkets, tofu is sold. While it is commonly sold

T

fresh, it is also sold in long-life packaging.

here were two turkeys on the Thanksgiving Day table. One came from a local butcher. It

Seitan

wasn’t cheap, but boy was it good. The other

Also known as wheat gluten, seitan first appeared during

was a ‘Tofurky’ – a health food store tofu-

the sixth century as an ingredient in Asian cuisine and

turkey creation – which a vegetarian insisted

has been a common meat substitute for more than a

had to be on the table as well. This, said the vegetarian, was to give the 10 guests an “ethical option” so they wouldn’t have to eat flesh from what was once a living animal and had a mother.

SWOT Analysis

At the end of the meal, nine of the guests had made a choice of the real thing, leaving very little behind for next day turkey sandwiches. Tofurky leftovers? There was plenty; all dumped in the trash.

In the last two issues of MPJ we’ve covered plantbased burgers along with lab-grown meat. Both are

Strength Established market Guaranteed shelf space in health food shops Easily seen as ‘green’

very new and indeed, lab-grown meat is still in the development stage and has yet make it to commercial production.

However, there are some options which one has been around for over 2,000 years. These are tofu, tempeh,

Weakness Lack of flavor Texture like rubber Not always a healthy option

seitan, and the less well known konjac. These four are all products that can be used in place of meat, with some looking close to the real deal – the taste however can a different story. Although they’re often lumped together in the same paragraph, the four are very different to each

Opportunities Create something that tastes good Appeal to meat eaters as an alternative Make it for the average shopper

other and are used in different ways.

While vegans seldom bring this up, with all four a tremendous amount of water is used in processing the ingredients, especially with tofu and seitan. Combine this with the water used in growing the base ingredients and

Threats Plant-based burgers and chicken Lab-based meat Limited market

there is no advantage over chicken if water usage is a major concern.

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November~December 2018

Meat Packing Journal

Tofurky (top) and other soy based fake meats

thousand years, since it easily takes on the flavors of

chicken. The Temple of Hackney has billed itself as the

seasonings.

world’s first meat free fried "chicken” shop.

Traditionally, seitan was the product of rinsing and

Created by Rebecca McGuinness and her husband

cooking wheat dough to remove the starch, leaving

Pat O’Shea, the thought for the product came from

a protein-dense substance that turned out to be a

McGuinness who used to work in KFC and missed fried

meat alternative. Today – for those inclined – they can

chicken after becoming vegan 11 years ago. She started

buy ready-made seitan at the store, and a variety of

making it with seitan and launched a street-food stall,

companies, including Gardein, Tofurky, and Upton’s, use it

Temple of Seitan, on Brick Lane in East London. Although

to create mock meats.

the Temple of Seitan was a big hit with vegans, it wasn’t

A vegan fried "chicken" shop has recently opened in Hackney, London that uses seitan to make the fake

meatpacking.info

with others who took issue with the shop’s name, accusing the owners of being “offensive to Christians”,

November~December 2018

47

The Taiwanese have fake seafood production down to an art form

according to The Independent.

Writing on Facebook, Justin Pickering said: “Seems

Konjac This a common name of the Asian plant Amorphophallus

like the owner is deliberately being offensive to Christians

konja, which few of us have ever heard to although

which is kind of sad considering the amount of hate and

it’s wildly popular in Asia. It is also known as konjaku,

division there already is in the world.”

konnyaku potato, devil's tongue, voodoo lily, snake palm,

Laura Price wrote: “Seitan..???. so you’re not playing on words with the occultism? Satan.. are you with that correction ... admit you're causing division..?”

Many users were quick to defend the chicken shop,

or elephant yam It’s native to Yunnan in China and cultivated in warm subtropical to tropical eastern Asia, from Japan and China south to Indonesia, and also grown in the USA.

with one writing: “Dude... Seitan is wheat gluten! Nothing

It is a perennial plant, growing from a large corm up to

to do with Satan!”

25 cm (10 in) in diameter. Although a corm is not a bulb

Temple of Seitan responded to the accusations,

or a tuber, this is what the vast majority of us would call

writing: “Hi Justin not setting out to offend anyone, simply

this part of the plant. Perhaps the biggest difference is,

declaring our love for Seitan. Please feel free to post this

a corm is used by the plant more for food storage than

as a regular visitor post, but the reviews are meant for

propagation and if you cut it in half, it will look more solid

people who've actually visited/tried the food.”

like a potato than an onion.

Tempeh

in English by its Japanese name, konnyaku (yam cake),

This Indonesian staple, made traditionally by fermenting

being cooked and consumed primarily in Japan. The two

soybeans in banana leaves until a firm, earthy patty forms,

basic types of cake are white and black. Noodles made

has been a common meat substitute since around the

from konnyaku are called shirataki.

The food made from the corm of this plant is known

12th century. Tempeh contains more protein (31 grams per cup) and dietary fiber than tofu, but it has more calories.

For many, the unadulterated flavor is somewhat

What it is also used for very commonly in Taiwan (ROC) is to make fake looking meat products for religious Buddhists and Taoists who believe in doing no harm to

difficult, a combination of nuts and mushrooms with

living animals. While combinations of soy protein and

an underpinning of bitterness and perhaps also a

mushrooms are used for fake chicken nuggets, konjac

challenging cheesiness. Like tofu, tempeh is rarely eaten

is used to make fake seafood since it has a slightly fishy

by itself but is incorporated into other dishes and readily

taste. These include shrimp, scallops, and other seafood.

absorbs those flavors to mollify and disguise its own.

Today, tempeh is readily available in a variety of

Taiwanese-style fake meats and seafood.

brands.

48

May Wah Vegetarian Market in New York City’s Chinatown probably has the USA’s largest selection of

November~December 2018

Meat Packing Journal

y b e R

Food The

Business

The podcast for the food and drink industry From Reby Media, we bring you The Food Business. If you’re in the industry, or just super interested in all-things foodie, then this is right up your alley. Our informative and entertaining fortnightly episodes will keep you in the know.

We’re a British-focused show, bringing you the best stories from the industry featuring authentic, and sometimes candid inter-

views. You’ll hear personal stories about big successes, failures, and lessons learnt from industry heavyweights and successful startups. We’ll be investigating the biggest trends, developments in technology and food science.

Experienced journalist, editor, and host to The Brewers Lectures, Rhian Owen, co-hosts The Food Business alongside producer and journalist Bernadette Ballantyne.

Listen at: foodbusiness.reby.media

innovation

fo c u s

Storing cold saves money If you’re involved with cooling, freezing, or cold storage and you’re not concerned with your plant’s electricity bill, then read no further. However, if you want to lower your bill, give your plant greater temperature stability, and/or tap into Green savings offered by some power companies or municipalities, you will want to read this. Velo Mitrovich reports

idea how to do it’ part of my brain and soon forgotten.

Until now.

Viking Cold Solutions, based in Houston Texas, has come out with a way of storing the cold in lowtemperature refrigerated warehouses and stores, which can not only lower your electricity bill, but also improve temperature stability.

While MPJ is not endorsing Viking Cold– we are not set-up to do independent testing – in reviewing Viking Cold’s data from actual case studies, MPJ believes that if you are involved in freezing a quantity of product, or have a cold storage facility ranging anywhere from 100

by velo mitrovich

A

to 100,000 square feet or even beyond, you need to look into this.

In a nutshell, what Viking Cold Solutions does is use

couple of years ago I was in Sacramento

thermal energy storage (TES) to store cold during the

in July, touring a new cold storage plant.

evening hours when commercial electricity rates are at

For those of you unfamiliar with California’s

their lowest, and then release this cold during the day

state capitol in July, the expression ‘hot as

when electricity rates are at their highest, along with

Hell’ doesn’t even cover it. Although it was

ambient temperatures also being at their highest.

only 10am, the temperature was already in the 90s and heading upwards.

Inside the cold storage plant, it was beautifully cool and inside the freezer portion, it felt as cold as I imagine

The system is designed so that the temperature stability is improved, and temperature requirements are met throughout the facility while less energy is being used.

a winter’s day must feel on Mars. Although the plant was

At the heart of Viking Cold’s TES system is Phase

extremely well built, insulated – the whole nine yards – I

Change Material (PCM), a substance with a high latent

could hear the refrigeration units going like gang-busters

heat of fusion which remains near a constant temperature

to maintain the coolness in the extreme heat, while

while storing and releasing large amounts of energy.

product was coming and going in all the storage halls,

During its transition between solid and liquid states,

being loaded and unloaded from trucks, etc. As the plant

Viking Cold’s PCM absorbs up to 85 percent of heat

manager continued to show me around, all I was left

infiltration and maintains more stable temperatures to

thinking was: “I wonder what their electricity bill is like.” It

better protect food product. This environmentally-friendly,

didn’t seem like it would have been polite to ask.

food-safe PCM has been engineered by Viking Cold to

A thought crossed my mind that with solar cells, business/homeowners use the power they produce during the day – which also coincides when the most

freeze and thaw at the desired temperature set-point of the customer’s freezer.

Besides saving money during the day, Viking Cold’s

demand is being placed on public utilities and rates are at

system can also save your product during a power

their highest – and then after the sun sets, they either buy

outage, such as the hurricanes which affected the USA

electricity at now lower rates, or use what was stored in

and Caribbean islands this year. With TES installed, stable

batteries during the day.

freezer temperatures can be held three times longer

Could somehow a refrigeration plant do something similar? The thought was filed in the ‘Nice ideas but no

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November~December 2018

during power outages or equipment failures, says the company.

Meat Packing Journal

fo c u s

innovation

Viking Cold Solutions got its start in shipping between

refrigeration uses, according to Collin Coker of Viking

Florida and Puerto Rico – where the founder has strong

Cold Solutions. With volatile energy costs, the industry

ties. It proved its worth two years ago when Hurricanes

is looking for better technologies that provide greater

Maria and Irma inflicted heavy damage on the island. In

energy savings and additional benefits.

the immediate aftermath of the hurricanes many cold

Alongside the financial impetus, corporate

storage facilities were without power or a reliable source

sustainability goals are also driving this push to reduce

of fuel for their backup generators.

energy usage. Many grocery chains have set their own

“Viking Cold’s TES system helped our clients in

energy reduction goals that apply not only to their own

Puerto Rico maintain their frozen food inventory during

stores but also to their global supply chain. For example,

prolonged power outages by extending the time they

Walmart says that its refrigeration systems consume

sustained stable temperatures, delaying their need for

anywhere from 30 to 50 percent of the energy use of its

immediate back-up generators,” says Collin Coker of

buildings. As part of its sustainability initiatives the global

Viking Cold.

retailer has pledged to reduce the kWh-per-square-foot

Puerto Rico lost more than 3.4 billion hours of

energy intensity in its facilities by 20 percent by 2020 and

electricity due to Hurricane Maria – the worst blackout in

to power 50 percent of its operations with renewable

US history. In what became a US national embarrassment

energy by 2025, with an eventual goal of 100 percent.

(Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United

It is not only corporations that are driving energy

States), it took well over a year for the island’s power

efficiency; city and state governments all across the US

grid to be restored and even then it didn’t extend to

have sustainability plans in place, with ambitious targets

outlying villages and farms. To add insult to injury, Puerto

for energy efficiency and increased use of renewable

Ricans were already paying almost three times more

energy. For example, New York State’s energy plan set a

for electricity than the US mainland. “While the island’s

goal of 50 percent renewable energy production by 2030

electrical grid recovers, Viking Cold will continue to play a

and a 600 trillion British thermal unit (BTU) increase in

key role in keeping energy expenses down and protecting

statewide energy efficiency.

the food supply in cold storage facilities,” says Coker.

Hard data

Need to save

I

n a Measurement and Verification (M&V) study of

A

s anyone involved with refrigeration can tell, the cold storage industry is an energy hog. Globally, cold storage facilities have the highest energy

Viking Cold’s TES technology installed in an industrial low-temperature cold storage warehouse, it was

found that TES provided a 43 percent decrease in peak

demand per cubic foot and the third highest energy

period demand, while improving overall temperature

consumption of any industrial category, costing over $35

stability by 50 percent.

billion annually. In the USA alone, there are more than

The host site for the M&V study was a frozen food

2,200 industrial cold storage frozen warehouses plus

distribution center owned and operated by Dreisbach

40,000 supermarkets and over 620,000 restaurants with

Enterprises in Richmond, California. Richmond is located

walk-in freezers.

on the east side of San Francisco Bay, where the cooling

Existing energy saving options – such as energy

conditions of the Pacific Ocean do not apply. Needless

efficient lighting systems and improved air infiltration – all

to say, while Dreisbach was maintaining the cold, it was

fall short of tackling the large amounts of energy that

costing a small fortune to do so.

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November~December 2018

Meat Packing Journal

innovation

fo c u s

Coker says that Viking’s TES system was installed in Dreisbach’s 93,000 square-foot low-temperature freezer. This is part of a facility that is also comprises of medium-temperature refrigerated storage, dry storage, and office space. Refrigeration for the low- and mediumtemperature cold storage rooms is provided by a central ammonia refrigeration plant composed of multiple staged screw compressors and water-cooled condensers.

The utility rate plan for the facility was Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) E20 schedule, which includes time-ofuse pricing. Pricing for kWh consumption and peak kW demand varies across three distinct rate periods each

Collin Coker of Viking Cold

day, and seasonally from summer to winter. Peak period consumption charges and peak demand charges account for nearly 50 percent of annual energy costs at the

similar to computer programs such as Word where you no

Dreisbach facility.

longer buy the program.

When measuring the decrease in energy usage of just

Coker says that large capital expenditures tie up credit

the freezers where the TES was installed and in operation,

and reduce available capital for alternative investment or

refrigeration energy consumption was reduced by 35

other sustainability initiatives. For grocery stores or cold

percent. The expensive peak period hours were targeted

storage operators who want sustainability but without a

for reduction to maximize dollar savings. Peak period kWh

large up-front cost, Viking Cold Solutions provides a risk-

consumption across the entire study period was reduced

free service model that eliminates this obstacle.

by 43 percent.

“In the same way businesses pay a subscription fee for software, Viking Cold allows customers the benefits of a

Return on investment

TES system with fixed monthly payments,” he says. “The payment is guaranteed to be less than the energy savings

O

the system provides so grocers are cash-flow positive

ne thing I had difficulty in pinning Coker down

from day one. These payments include 24/7 monitoring

to was the the time required for a return on

and notification services that help keep track of energy

investment.

consumption and identify other mechanical issues before

To give credit to Coker, this question is very much

one asking how long is a piece of string. There are huge

they become costlier problems.

“This service model is not only applicable to smaller

variables, ranging from the physical location of a plant,

grocery businesses; grocery chains with a large portfolio

energy efficiency of the space, to electricity costs.

of facilities – including stores and distribution centers

“A TES system brings immediate sustainability benefits

– can implement TES across all freezer facilities and

and long-term cost saving advantages, but simple

reap the benefits of reduced energy consumption while

payback calculations vary based on the local cost of

dropping more cash to the bottom line. TES can make an

energy,” said Coker.

immediate impact by reducing energy costs and making

Another factor, too, is, while Viking Cold can sell a

operations more sustainable, and the Viking Cold service

system, they offer advantages with its “Thermal Energy

subscription can help make that happen more quickly

Storage-as-a-Service (TESaaS)” subscriptions – very

and painlessly.”

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November~December 2018

53

PROTECTING FOOD QUALITY. Minimize large crystal structures & food degradation.

IN BEEF 10% OF WATER IS UNFROZEN EVEN AT -40° C. EVERY TEMPERATURE CHANGE CAUSES WATER TO THAW OR FREEZE CREATING LARGER CRYSTAL STRUCTURES THAT REDUCE FOOD QUALITY.

Thermal Energy Storage absorbs up to 85% of heat infiltration, slows temperature increases, improves temperature stability, and saves up to 35% or more on energy costs.

• PROTECT FOOD QUALITY • INCREASE TEMPERATURE STABILITY • EXTEND THERMAL BACKUP: 3X • REDUCE ENERGY COSTS UP TO 35%

vikingcold.com/mpj

innovation

fo c u s

Is this the world’s most sustainable feed?

‘Money for nothing and protein for free’ – to paraphrase Dire Straits, but that’s the way it seems at first glance.

Using methane as a feed source for single cell proteins, sustainable protein can be produced that is claimed to be comparable with high quality fish meal.

MPJ reports

feeds, and an increasingly scarce resource.

However, before you cancel your feed orders, know this. Although the company says that using its protein for pigs and pets is “interesting”, trials have mostly taken place with farmed juvenile Atlantic salmon. And, as any weight lifter can tell you, protein isn’t just protein. In the amino make-up of protein, there can be a huge difference between sources.

The company says that the conversion of methane into a protein is a very natural process and compares their

by velo mitrovich

W

process to what happens in a lake. Plant material, such as leaves – falls into a lake where it ultimately ends up at the bottom, along with any other decaying organic material

hat if high quality protein for animal feed could be produced from

such as dead fish, insects, or other lake organisms.

Over time, the material decomposes and natural

methane – sourced from natural

gas – high in methane – is produced. Bacteria, such

gas?

as Methylococcus capsulatus, feed on the methane,

We have all seen it in movies,

multiply, and are in turn eaten by fish and other life forms.

TV, and in news reports, natural gas being flared and

Along with methane, Unibio adds nitrogen and oxygen

vented from wells. While it’s hard to see this as adding

into the mixture with three other bacteria –Ralstonia sp,

up to much, based on satellite data more than 150 billion

Aneurinbacillus danicus and Bacillus firmus – which can

cubic meters (5.3 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas is flared

utilize the other gases.

and vented every year. Fluenta, a leader in monitoring

In May 2016 Unibio signed a license agreement with

flare gas for the oil/gas industry, says this adds more than

the intent to upscale and commercialize the Unibio

400 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year.

U-loop technology in Russia, allowing the conversion

While the concept of turning this pollutant into animal

of methane into protein at a plant which will produce

feed sounds like something only a snake oil salesman

6,000 tons of protein a year. The company says Russia

would promote, Unibio and its partner and licensee

was chosen as an ideal site for such product as bacterial

Protelux are about to turn this into reality. In July, Protelux

protein is historically known in the Russian market, as

completed the construction of the first commercial plant

Russia has a well-developed compound feed industry,

located in Russia, and tests are currently taking place as

and there is access to an abundance of cheap natural gas.

you read this. It’s hoped that the plant will be operational

Unibio CEO Henrik Busch-Larsen states: “It has been

by the end of the year.

Unibio, with its global headquarters in London and

an exciting process working on this project, and it had been a very steep learning curve. I’ve been the CEO

administrative/research and development HQ at the

of Unibio for six years so naturally getting to the point

Technical University of Denmark (DTU), owns the rights

where you see the fruit of the Unibio and Protelux teams’

to a unique fermentation technology – the U-Loop

labour in the shape of four huge U-shaped bio-reactors

technology – which has been developed in cooperation

is quite satisfactory. Hard work is still in front of us in

with DTU and is the result of more than 30 years of

terms of getting the plant commissioned but this is a very

research and development activities.

important milestone in the Unibio go-to-market strategy.”

Unibio says with its U-Loop technology, natural gas

The ambition of Unibio is to become the world

(methane) can be converted into a highly concentrated

market leader within protein production based on

protein product, UniProtein, which can be used as a direct

methanotrophic bacteria, partly by own production

supplement in feed for animals. It can substitute fishmeal,

and partly by licensing the production technology to

a traditional feed component in aquaculture and hog

international investors wishing to establish large-scale

meatpacking.info

November~December 2018

55

fo c u s

innovation

production plants of UniProtein using the surplus gas

electricity creates competitive advantages for Russia

from oil production. Unibio is also committed to the

when it comes to the production of bio protein, we can

continuous development of the U-Loop technology to

expect this project’s EBITDA to be in the 1os of percent.

improve productivity.

Our strategic goal is to secure its own source of locally

This, says Unibio, is just the beginning as the licensee

sourced protein concentrate which is currently in very

has already reserved land for the future expansion. The

limited supply, for the Russian market,” says Protelux’

land is situated in an industrial zone holding various

oversight board chairman Mikhail Serdtsev,

international companies and where a lot of the necessary

Unibio is working with several universities to continue

infrastructure is already present to support the project.

the feeding trials. “The deep statistics are important for

While the current plant will produce 6,000 tons

us. It is a high-end protein with an average of 70% crude

annually, plans are in the works to expand this to more

protein, an ideal amino acid composition, a valuable fatty

than 100,000 tons per year.

acid profile and rich in B vitamins. The product is more

“We see this not just as a perspective investment into

expensive than soybean meal for example. Therefore, it

cutting-edge technology but as part of a bigger picture:

is even more important to back up our product claims

a highly profitable industry of the local agricultural sector

with solid data,” says Karlshøj Julegaard, Unibio animal

built from the ground up. The low cost of natural gas and

nutritionist.

56

November~December 2018

Meat Packing Journal

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CO M M E NT

People are a scary investment

A

conversation I often have with founders is when and how to start building a team. It is scary as hell to bring

If the position is customer facing, there are no better judges as to their capacity to nurture and build

new people into a small organization. The wrong fit can

relationships then the customers themselves. If possible,

kill the momentum of a brand and destroy a company’s

set up a few calls with some key players whose feedback

culture. It should be scary; it is for me. But, that fear cannot

you value. You will get insight directly from the folks the

be allowed to stop you from adding the needed skills and

employee will be engaged with daily.

bandwidth to your team.

Your focus must be on how to de-risk your investment.

u Trusted advisors We all have trusted advisors, people close to us and

One way of course, is financial. That, however, is not the

our businesses whose opinion we respect. Let them have

subject of this article but should be a part of your hiring

a conversation with the candidate. Not only will you get

strategy.

some additional insight, the candidate can also learn a bit

I’d like to use the balance of this blog to explore how you can de-risk the less tangible aspects of a hire. and look at variables such as personality, idiosyncrasies, motivators, and more.

Larger organizations utilize tools like DiSC Profiles and

more about you through the eyes of another. u Take your time Lastly, don’t rush. This is a big step and an important relationship. While often we enter the hiring process with a sense of urgency, it doesn’t always work in our favor.

Strengths Finder. They have professional HR teams to

Take time to build the relationship. Getting to know one

screen and conduct initial interviews. Guess what, they

another might slow things down but, it could save a lot of

still make a ton of hiring mistakes. In my opinion, there are

heartache for both parties.

no sure-fire solutions that guarantee the success of an

Before I wrap this up, one small disclaimer. Since I am

employee. There are some tactical steps I can suggest for

not an HR professional and we live in a litigious society,

mitigating the hiring risk.

make sure to seek some guidance on the do’s and don’ts

u Have a clear well-crafted job description Preparing this will help you to understand what it is

of the hiring process.

Hiring people is scary but it is a good thing. The need to

that you really are hiring for as well as communicating the

do so is the result of growth and opportunity. There should

expectations, essential functions, and success metrics to

always be some fear and trepidation when making a new

the candidate.

hire. It is a big decision. The key is to have good processes

u Communicate in at least four different ways If I am bringing someone on to the team, I want to know

in place that help to mitigate the risk. Happy hiring.

Elliot Begoun is the Founder of The Intertwine Group, a

how they communicate. I don’t think it’s enough to simply

practice focused on helping emerging food and beverage

have a sit-down chat or interview. In today’s world, that’s

brands grow becoming scalable and investment-ready.

the least frequent way in which we share information.

He positions CPG brands to raise capital, build velocity,

Make sure to engage them in an email, text, and phone

gain distribution, win share of stomach, and drive revenue.

conversation. How they communicate on those platforms

Catch him at FoodBytes in his role as a mentor and find his

is as, if not more, important than in a face-to-face situation.

articles in publications such as Meat Packing Journal, the

u Have them talk to customers

58

November~December 208

Huffington Post, and SmartBrief.

Meat Packing Journal

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