Validation of RTE product safety is necessary, and helped by a combination of skills and principles.

Not all bacon is created equal. From the farm to processing, the differences in bacons are vast with small dissimilarities in any area giving the products the attributes that they have.

Stuffing and grinding processes continue to improve operationally and in terms of product quality.

Employee ownership gives Superior Farms employees a vested interest in a safe workplace.

Meat products enhanced through an injection process can have better taste and shelf life.

Each year, regulations for wastewater treatment have become more stringent, challenging processors to develop new environmental initiatives and facilitate new technologies.

Conveyors are the arteries and veins of a plant which serpentine through rooms, transporting products between processing and packaging lines and into waiting trucks. The implementation of conveyors has dramatically improved the means in which product is transported. Totes, tubs, carts and lugers have been replaced by these simple yet critical pieces of equipment.

The recent outbreak in Europe of E. coli has, as one would expect, created fears and trepidation in a world of already weary consumers.

In recent months and years we all have seen the devastation a tsunami wave can have on an island. On June 16-18, I had the opportunity to attend the American Association of Meat Processors Annual Convention and Suppliers Exposition at the Peppermill Resort and Casino in Reno.

Packers and processors put safety and integrity of the product first. As such, that is the top priority of major slicing operations, and companies have many other key attributes to a well-sliced protein.