MEATOUT, Meat on the Menu proclamations? Who cares, it’s all grandstanding

A couple weeks ago, it began: Yet another war of words, proclamations and stupid political and media grandstanding over whether consumers should eat meat or not. I’m growing seriously weary of these headlines crossing my news and social media feeds.

I’m also getting tired of saying the same things over and over on this, but please, spare yourself the increased blood pressure, and simply ignore the stupidity. On both sides. All sides, should there be more than two.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis declared March 20, 2021, “MEATOUT DAY” in Colorado. So what?

Colorado State Sen. Jerry Sonnenburg came out strong against the attack on the agriculture industry in response. SO WHAT?

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts then countered his neighboring state’s move by declaring a “Meat on the Menu Day” in Nebraska. SO WHAT?!?!?!?

Did any of these announcements truly move the needle either direction for or against meat production in either of these states, let alone the country? I say, “Not likely.”

For the last 15 years or so, I’ve been telling the readers of The National Provisioner that there simply is too large a silent majority of meat eaters out there who don’t care what the activists have to say or what the activists do to try and convince them to ditch the animal protein. That’s nationwide, in my opinion: from the conservative small-town and rural ag people, to those darned “lib-ruhls” in the urban areas who’ve never been on a farm. Not a single one of this silent majority would trade his or her pork chops for a new pickup or Porterhouse for a Prius, even if you think they would.

Furthermore, how many people listen to the government about what to eat, when or how? How many people cook their meats properly because the government says that’s the safest move? Does anyone even care about the Food Pyramid or whatever the government might be suggesting for daily intake of foods? Coloradans who loved the “MEATOUT” proclamation likely were already eating less meat, and Nebraskans who loved the “Meat on the Menu” proclamation likely had a big steak ready for dinner that day already.

Let’s remember that, although our form of government means we need politicians in order to represent us, they don’t always do that. And when they don’t represent you individually, you need to measure the gravity of the situation properly.

These proclamations were nothing more than grandstanding for the media and political donors — both left-wing and right-wing outlets (depending on which proclamation, of course). Nothing more, nothing less.

Carry on with your processing — whether that’s meat, poultry or other food product — and when the news starts talking about these dumb proclamations, remember that anyone can request proclamations, at least in most states.

Then, remind yourself that the quality and safety of your own product has much more bearing on whether your customers come back than what your governor says about meat or food in general.

— Andy Hanacek, vice president of Communications, andyh@werfoodsafety.com

Salmonellosis outbreak from ’95 does NOT support humidity as a critical parameter in jerky processing

I just had a rather enlightening conversation with a senior USDA-FSIS official about the need for humidity during jerky manufacturing.

I asked, “How does humidity destroy pathogens?”

The official really didn’t know the answer, but he did state that, without humidity, pathogens can become heat-resistant, and Salmonella can grow and survive normal lethality.

When I asked for the studies that backed up these statements, the official pointed to the same studies they always do. I then explained how those studies didn’t actually take product to lethality (i.e., what was surviving was only surviving longer than the non-treated Salmonella). The official countered by citing the salmonellosis outbreak from 1995 in New Mexico — as is typical of this conversation.

Here, too, the problem with citing that case is lethality, as the product implicated in that outbreak should be considered a raw beef jerky, not fully cooked.

Per the published outbreak report by the CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00039423.htm), partially frozen product was placed on racks and was pushed into a drying room. The chamber temperature (not the product’s internal temperature) was set at 140 F for three hours, then reduced to 115 F for approximately 19 hours. Therefore, the product was never exposed to a lethality treatment, and hence, by definition, it was a raw product. The report also states that no product temperatures were ever recorded.  

I promised to send the official the CDC report to remind them (or make them aware) that the production technique that was used resulted in a raw product that clearly wasn’t ready to eat (and that doesn’t even factor in other inputs or lack of them, such as sanitation, equipment, plant elevation, etc.).

It’s a shame this conversation even needed to happen, and that we have to point this out about a case more than 25 years in the past. However, it’s not the only time we’ve had these conversations lately — we have been seeing more and more actions by USDA-FSIS around humidity requirements based on these incorrect assumptions and faulty arguments. When we bring up actual science around heat resistance and pathogen growth, little discussion occurs, and FSIS inevitably falls back on the New Mexico outbreak as their “final answer” for why humidity is needed in jerky processing.

Is humidity during processing a control factor? Yes, as it assists in heat transfer. When you are measuring the internal temperature of a product, you are, in fact, measuring the transfer of energy into the product. One way to increase the rate of transfer is to increase the humidity in your cooking vessel.  At home, when you boil something, it cooks faster than it would if you cooked it in a pan, given the same energy input. But that doesn’t make humidity a critical parameter, it makes it a supporting parameter. The critical parameter is the rapid transfer of energy into the product to denature the proteins of the pathogens, rendering them non-viable (killing them). You measure this energy transfer by using internal product temperature monitoring devices.  

The entire paradigm of “chamber” temperature and “chamber” humidity now falls on a very niche part of the industry (who implement and know their process — and make some great products!). It doesn’t apply to the vast majority of the industry making jerky or other shelf-stable products.

HACCP is about analyzing for hazards, not creating a plan and then making products. Know your process and apply your controls, and you’ll be in great shape.

However, unless you want to spend a lot of time arguing with regulators, point to the sentence in the 1999 version of Appendix A, which allows you to rely on a sealed oven during cooking as the evidence of how you deal with heat transfer. I promise you that it will be a lot less frustrating!

— Andrew Lorenz, president, We R Food Safety!, andrew@werfoodsafety.com

Meat quality starts on the farm … and takes hard work!

Hi, my name is April Wolf. I have been with We R Food Safety! for almost six years. I started as a data input specialist, then moved on to new client management; now I am mostly involved in the accounting side of things.

My background is not food safety. However, my husband is a herd manager for a 2,000-plus dairy farm, my kids show animals for our 4-H club and we have our own show cattle business, Pure Pride Show Cattle, so I know the hard work and dedication it takes to produce cattle at the top of the line. My husband, Deric, is the brains of the operation, as the cattle business is his passion. Mating, diet rations, cattle comfort and care — this is what he does (and he does it all) to produce the best quality cattle. I am simply along for the ride and to help in the barn. 

I have come a long way from the girl that did not grow up on a farm. Who knew cattle needed baths, haircuts, manicures and hair drying? Or a cup of this grain, not that grain — and not just hay? How about straw, sand or sawdust for bedding, not just the ground? Take them for walks? That definitely sounds silly, but it really is what our show cattle business is about.

Our heifers get different bedding depending on the weather. They have special diets after they are weaned from milk to help their bodies develop in certain ways so when they are on the show floor, they show the best. Our heifers get washed (baths), clipped (haircuts), hoof trimming (manicures) and blow outs (hair drying) during show season and picture days. Yes … they get professional pictures taken. And yes, they are put on halters and taken for walks. Not like a dog on a leash, but they are walked in the yard so they get comfortable outside of the barn and learn how to walk and set up on a halter for show days. It really all circles back to cow care and comfort so they can be the best of their breed.

My three boys show beef and swine for 4-H, and this is the exact process they follow with their show animals. Some people think it is crazy, and I did too, when I first met Deric. But these same animals shown at the fairs are purchased there and processed at local slaughter businesses, after which they fill up your freezer and taste delicious because they had excellent care during their lives.

— April Wolf, april.wolf@werfoodsafety.com