Salt contributes much to meat products — flavor, water-holding capacity and food safety. The top challenge for meat and poultry processors is that sodium comes primarily from the sodium chloride in brines, marinades and seasonings along with the leavening agents in batters and breadings and the sodium bicarbonate in bread crumbs. 

The fresh-meat forming process works best with quality raw materials, but equipment and process can overcome many raw-material flaws.

What if the key to improving food safety in thermal processing — heating, cooking and smoking — is more water?

While listening to an inspiring podcast recently, the speaker made an impact on my view of the unusual times we as a global community have recently encountered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Similar to many other meat products, sausage sales are booming as a huge portion of the population eats more meals at home in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of restaurants.

The three main components of pre-harvest intervention — probiotics and prebiotics in animal feed, pathogen resistance through vaccines or antimicrobials, and biosecurity protocols — all work together to reduce foodborne pathogens in beef, poultry and pork. Each operation, however, has to tinker with the formula to create its ideal solution.

“We may never return to normal” is a phrase noted in newspaper articles, echoed by TV anchors and professed by self-proclaimed experts in the era of COVID-19. Certainly, the food and agriculture industries have not been spared the social and economic impacts of this pandemic.