SEMA_________________________________ SOUTHEASTERN MEAT ASSOCIATION
COOL MAY BECOME “VCOOL”The House Agriculture Committee approved the “Food Promotion Act of 2004”. This will replace the mandatory country-of-origin labeling law that was to go in effect in September 2006, with a voluntary labeling program (VCOOL). The proponents of VCOOL would like to get the VCOOL bill passed and signed into law prior to this fall when seafood comes under COOL, or prior to the September 2006 deadline for other commodities. DR. MASTERS KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT AAMP CONVENTIONUSDA-FSIS Acting Administrator Dr. Barbara Masters was the keynote speaker at the AAMP Convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A well attended session, started by Dr. Masters telling us that due to the meat processing industry and USDA working together, there have been great improvements in food safety. This past year recalls are down and there has been a reduction in pathogens found in meat and poultry regulatory samples. She also stated that FSIS inspection changes are coming. That low-risk plants and products under USDA will be inspected less than high-risk plants and products. Inspectors will be allotted to plants based on problems within the plant or risk of products made. At the close of her talk, Dr Masters took questions and comments from the audience and responded to each. An attendee brought up the lack of basic training to USDA inspectors to perform on-site inspections. Dr. Master agreed and stated that training is her top priority in the agency. Communications is key to building a working relationship and Dr. Masters is restoring the monthly meetings between FSIS and industry. BSE ON APHS WEBSITEBSE test results are being posted on the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s website. The sampling of some 268,000 animals will allow for the detection of BSE at a rate of 1 positive in 10 million adult cattle with a 99 percent confidence level. TO KEEP OR NOT?We all have customers that are high maintenance and a constant pain. If a company is constantly a problem you may be better off without them. Firing a client or customer seems unthinkable but it may be the best thing in the long run. Many times these accounts demand too much of your time, bring down your employees morale and the profit is not as good. Firing needs to be done carefully so your company’s reputation is not hurt. It is best to let the customer know, you feel you are not getting them the results they are looking for and you have appreciated the opportunity but it is best they look elsewhere. GETTING AND KEEPING GOOD EMPLOYEESYou do not hire people only to lose them. A lot of time should be spent on communicating your company’s values, vision and operations, including the position the person will be taking in the company. It is important to tell the person the rules at the first interview. If you require overtime or Saturday work, let them know. Let them know what type of attendance record you expect. Have a probationary period for them to learn their jobs and prove themselves. It may be the person is not right for the position but may do better in another. For a person to succeed, they must be in a job they can do and enjoy. Management needs to give them constant feedback on how they are doing. This will help in their feeling like a part of the company. If you hire the right people you won’t have to motivate them. To often investing in training and development is easily overlooked. As companies try to cut expenses, employees are often looked at as an expense rather than an asset. But this is a time for employees to get new ideas, learn new techniques and tactics and learn to work as a team. Being flexible is important in keeping good employees. It is a process of employer and employee working together. In a nutshell it comes down to this: On average, Americans work 46.3 hours each week – more than any other nationality REQUIREMENT CHANGE The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has amended its regulations
by removing meat yield requirements in the standard of identity for “Beef
with Barbecue Sauce” and “Pork with Barbecue Sauce.” This action is in response to a petition. The petitioner states that the current food standard places producers of these products at a competitive disadvantage because producers of other meat and sauce products do not have a cooked meat yield requirement or a raw meat yield requirement. To review the new regulation, go to the FSIS site. SEMA MEMBER HONOREDThe American Meat Institute recognized, Odom’s Tennessee Pride for keeping its injury rate well below the industry average. Congratulation, to SEMA member Larry Odom and his company. SEMA FALL WORKSHOPSEMA is teaming up with the University of Florida and John R. White Company to put together a hands on fall workshop. It will be held October 21-22 at the University of Florida. Lodging will be available at the Cabot Lodge in Gainesville, FL. Cost for the workshop will be approximately $100 with discounts available for additional people from the same company attending. Information on the workshop will be out by the end of this month. CALENDAR OF EVENTSChilton Consulting Group:
Florida Restaurant Show: Orange County Convention Center, September 10-12, Orlando, FL UPDATE YOUR FILESConcept Foods, has a new mailing address: P.O. Box 340 Wamego, KS 66547 Tim Settles will be taking Mike Wilson's place at Performance Contracting. Jay Cavanaugh is your new contact at Rollstock. POTENTIAL CUSTOMERSLooking for a hot dog co-packer: Looking for meat products for food co-op organization: <<-->><<-->><<-->><<-->><<-->><<-->><<-->> KNOW YOUR ASSOCIATEAt the Stellar Group, maintaining an acceptable level of customer satisfaction require every associate to be dedicated in providing the best solutions. Stellar is one of the few companies in the world that has a complete in-house team ready to assist meat processors and distributors with key facility planning, building and maintenance issues and does this by providing the following services:
The Stellar Group has been providing design, construction and refrigeration services to the meat industry for over 20 years. Stellar has been the industry’s leading firm in providing professional services for the development of new plants, renovations and expansions. Stellar can update areas for better production and protection from mixing products and employees from different clean and dirty areas of the plant. For existing plants, Stellar can renovate, expand and service refrigeration equipment without shutting down production and maintain safe work environments. Stellar can also provide food processors with supplementary services that are designed to reduce pathogens and improve employees safety without losing sight that the facility must remain productive and efficient. These include: Product studies As the world’s foremost refrigeration designer, fabricator, installer and contractor, Stellar is most experienced in the critical applications of food processing and low temperature distribution. Stellar can help in the following:
Stellar’s mechanical service team has earned a reputation unparalleled in the design/build industry. Trained technicians are annually certified and comply with industry standards issued by OSHA, EPA, IIAR, RETA and ASHRAE. Licensed engineers and registered P.E.’s manage this group and provide the best knowledge base for total mechanical and business operations. For more information contact: Clay Glisson, Regional Director WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERSProcessing MemberTHE BUTCHER SHOP Hugh was AAMP President 2003-04
|
||||||||||||||||