Grower & Farmer

RSS

While the local foods movement has generated excitement among consumers, buying locally processed meats is not necessarily a guarantee that they will be more food safe than large-scale, commercially processed meats.

Increasing concerns of the overuse of antibiotics and the negative consumer perception of chemical preservatives in the food industry have spurred an interest for more "natural" antimicrobial compounds. Bacteriophage, also known as phage (/fãj/) fit into this growing category.

"This is a big moving target," says Matthew Wise of the CDC. "It's tough to do the right thing when the right thing is sort of moving around — when you’re finding out new information on Wednesday that you didn’t know on Tuesday."

Apparently, organic, non-GMO, hormone-free, free-range, grass-fed and antibiotic-free meat is no longer good enough. Cultured meat, also referred to as "clean meat" or lab-grown meat, is increasingly garnering more attention.

Manufacturing safe, wholesome products is perhaps the most important aspect of any dairy foods business, especially when it comes to consumer confidence. Therefore, as an industry, we are always looking for ways to improve our products and maintain the most robust food safety protocols possible.

One of the obstacles to further growth is making sure that locally produced foods are produced and distributed safely.

Phibro Animal Health Corp., Quincy, Ill., introduced the new Animate app, a free mobile app that allows dairy producers to track critical pre-fresh metrics over time.

Beef processing requires more water per pound than any other type of protein and, the biggest users of water are the carcass washing cabinets used as interventions, which can go through 300 gallons or more per minute.

Experts from the CDC, USDA and others debate how much information should be shared with public during recalls and outbreaks during a recent IAFP panel.