Some processors are seeing savings by reclaiming and reusing their wastewater. By doing this, they're becoming better neighbors in their community, more responsible stewards of the environment and saving money in the process.

While shoppers typically see fried foods as containing large amounts of fat and calories, a significant base of consumers is willing to accept them in return for flavorful meat and poultry.

The top challenge of forming quality processed meat products is temperature.

Many restaurants and artisan butcher shops are developing and producing dry-aged beef. There is, however, no official standard regarding aging conditions such as temperature, relative humidity or time.

High noise levels, dangerous equipment, slippery floors, harmful chemicals and musculoskeletal issues are causing illness and injury rates in the meat packaging industry to be 2.5 times higher than the national average, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

As with the entire food industry, whole-muscle processors face the challenge now of feeding an increasing number of people regardless of population growth projections.

In 2016 and 2017, 107 and 104 humane handling enforcement actions were posted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Web site, respectively.

Consumers are projected to eat a record amount of meat, so there must be a steady supply of available protein. However, industry consolidation has reduced the amount of packers to a handful of dominant players, and federal regulations are so strict that some companies are closing down or exiting the slaughter side of the business.

Dietary probiotic supplements have been introduced by several research groups as a possible nutraceutical alternative to antibiotics, as probiotics are known to improve gut health and nutrient absorption in broiler chickens.

While ground beef remains a major supermarket meat department revenue generator, alternatives such as ground pork, chicken and turkey also are becoming more popular as consumers seek newer and healthier meal options.