SEMA_________________________________

SOUTHEASTERN MEAT ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 620777; Oviedo, FL 32762 Phone: 407-365-5661

NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING

The National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI) met in Washington, D.C., in June. Topics discussed: sharing new technology with small and very small plants, industry test and hold guidance and effective risk-based sampling in small and very small plants.

Sharing New Technology: The subcommittee agreed that information needed to be in layman’s terms and easily accessible. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) was encouraged to share information through a multiple of ways, including trade associations, universities, county extension personnel, web site along with District Managers and Inspection Personnel.

Test and Hold Procedures: The subcommittee recommended FSIS provide industry with practical guidance and submitted a draft document “Industry Best Practices for Holding Tested Product” for them to review.

Risk-Based Sampling: Currently the following five risk factors are used in the risk-based sampling: type of control measures, product type, compliance history, validation systems and volume of production. It was brought up that risk factors apply to all plants regardless of size. It was recommended that some other factors be included, like employee turnover, ratio of employees to volume of production, seasonal production and geographical distribution.

DOLLAR GENERAL’S EXPANDING

Dollar General has opened 15 new grocery stores and plans on adding another 30 stores this year. The stores will be about twice the size of their current stores and will offer a selection of fresh produce, dry goods, dairy and deli meats.

WINN DIXIE DOWNSIZING

Winn-Dixie will be downsizing as they sell or close one third of their stores and distribution centers and lay off one fourth of the labor force. Concentrating on grocery sales, Winn-Dixie will be selling off their manufacturing plants.

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The U.S. average wage in 1905 was
22 cents per hour.

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HURRICANE SEASON ~ BE READY

June 1st started the 2006 hurricane season. The Governor’s Hurricane Conference in Tampa emphasized “Be prepared and well-rehearsed”. One of the first things you will want to review is what worked and what did not work for you during last year’s hurricanes. Here are a few things you may consider in getting prepared:

• Update worker’s home addresses, phone and cell numbers.
• Update specifications for your business physical location and for each piece of equipment.
• Chart each of your essential business functions.
• Identify one or more suitable alternative locations for your business.

If a disaster occurs be prepared to:

• Communicate with employees, customers, suppliers and lenders.
• Set up phone, fax and computer at an alternative site.
• Maintain your payroll.
• Maintain your accounts payable and receivable.

You can learn more about business disaster recovery at www.sba.gov/disaster, www.FloridaDisaster.org or www.disaster-resource.com.

Parts of article from Orlando Sentinel CFB 5/23/05

HELP THE COMMUNITY & YOUR CUSTOMERS

This hurricane season your company can help your community and customers by reminding them of how to prepare and follow possible hurricane emergencies.

The USDA has provided the following recommendations:
Prepare for the storm by:

• Keep your freezer at or below 0 F and the refrigerator at or below 40 F. Keep a thermometer in both, in case of a power outage so you can determine the safety of the food.
• Freezer containers of water for ice and gel packs to help keep food cold after power is out.
• Freeze leftovers, all meats, poultry, milk, so they will last longer.
• Plan ahead as to where you can purchase block ice and dry ice.
• Group food in the freezer and refrigerator, this will help the food stay cold longer.
• Use a cooler to group food as you eat down. Have ice in the cooler ahead of time to have it cool.

After the power outage:

• Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain a cold temperature.
• Food may safely be refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is at least 40 F or below.
• Get dry ice or block ice to keep your food cold, 50# of dry ice should hold an 18 cubic foot full freezer for 2 days.
• Drink only bottled water if flooding has occurred.
• Discard all food that may come in contact with floodwaters. Discard wooden cutting boards, wooden and plastic utensils.
• Thoroughly wash all metal pans, ceramic dishes and utensils that come in contact with flood water with hot soapy water and sanitize by boiling them in clean water or immersing them for 15 minutes in a solution 1 teaspoon of chlorine bleach per quart of water.
• When in doubt, throw it out.

Additional information is available by calling the USDA hotline at 888.674.6854.

JUNK FAX

Congress has passed the Junk Fax Prevention Act 2005, overturning the Federal Communications Commission regulation from July 2003. The new legislation helps small businesses continue to use faxes for marketing purposes. Unsolicited faxes can be sent if the senders have an established business relationship with the customer and the fax contains a notice on its first page that the recipient may request not to be sent further unsolicited faxes.

SEMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2005-07

The SEMA members elected a new Board of Directors for a two-year term at the June convention.

President, Adam Chernin, Central Beef LLC
Vice-President, Scott Downing, Lowell Packing Company
Treasurer, Wayne Paulk, Robbins Packing Company

Reelected board members:

Newly elected to the board is Billy Nettles of Nettles Meats.

The new board will be working on improving our industry and making SEMA a stronger Association. Special thanks and job well done goes to Jimmy Carroll Jr. for his leadership and dedication to the Association.

SEMA INDUSTRY NEWS

Marie Zhang, Quality Control of Honey Baked Ham Co. will be taking on the added responsibility of New Product Research and Development. Congratulations to Marie on her promotion. Convention attendees had the opportunity to meet Marie and welcome her to SEMA.

The Butcher Shop's Hugh Tyler suffered from some heart problems in June. Hugh is back to work after an overnight stay in the hospital. Hugh is not only a SEMA member but also Immediate past President of AAMP. We wish Hugh the best in his recovery.

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THINGS TO PONDER

If you don’t have time to do it right,
when will you have time to do it over?
John Wooden, basketball coach

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SEMA 2005 CONVENTION
“ IMPROVING THE BOTTOM LINE”

The SEMA convention was held at the Renaissance Resort & Spa in St. Augustine, Florida. Tropical storm Arlene decided to come through as well but it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the convention. This year’s program was well rounded with topics on employee retention programs, health insurance benefits, communication skills, in-house safety programs, branding & labeling, new product & cost ideas and new air infiltration systems for your coolers & freezers.

There was time for fun as well, with Friday’s dinner at the Golf Hall of Fame and Saturday’s scholarship silent auction and dinner.

SEMA members are dedicated to its scholarship program and again this year our members came through donating gifts for the auction and then bidding them up. The evening brought in over $3,000.00 with the help of AC Legg Co. donating $1,000.00. Richard Theise of Standard Casing purchased a monkey wood frog last year for $125.00. This year he put the frog back on the auction block and Jimmy Carroll Jr. of Sunset Farm Foods took the frog home after paying $225.00. It’s the generosity of our members that we can continue to give scholarships each year. This year Laura Fitzgerald and Carrie Harris both from the University of Tennessee attended and picked up their certificates. University of Georgia’s William Boone Curtis was not able to attend but will receive a $1,000.00 scholarship as well.

A special thanks goes out to our exhibitors & sponsors at the SEMA convention.
Keeping our members up to date on the latest industry trends and technology:

The exhibitors gave away a TV with the winner being Donna Stinchcomb of Food Ingredients Sales.

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The challenge for every organization is to build a feeling of oneness,
of dependence on one another,
because the question is usually not how well each person works,
but how well they work together.
Vince Lombardi, football coach

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WELCOME
NEW PROCESSING MEMBERS

STRIPLING’S GENERAL STORE
2346 GA Hwy 300S
Cordele, GA 31015
Ricky Hardin, Owner
229.535.6561

CIRCLE A BRANDS
9 Ashton Road
Savannah, GA 31419
Jay Javetz, CEO
912.920.2770
Jay was formerly with ATL Industries & a SEMA member

NEW ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

J.E. GROTE COMPANY
1160 Gahanna Parkway
Columbus, Ohio 43230
Ray Anklam, Territory Manager
888.534.7683
Manufacturer of precision slicing & application equipment

OSS SERVICES, LLC
1050 Tower Lane
Bensenville, IL 60106
Jim Grimes, Sales Rep.
800.905.5061
Design & implement sanitation & environmental cleaning services

TIPPMANN GROUP, INC.
121 Harwood Drive
Newport News, VA 23603
Dir. Of Sales: Jon Freeman
757.887.8100
Operate, consult, design & construct temperature controlled warehousing & distribution programs.

KNOW YOUR NEW ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

AMERITAS GROUP

Ameritas Group Dental and Eye care products and services help 25,000+ employer groups (2.5 million + people) achieve and maintain good dental and eye health. In addition to dental and eye care expertise, superior customer service and flexible product options, Ameritas Group has experience working with the meat packaging and processing industries. We can provide affordable, customized dental and eye care benefits matched to your needs. Our nationwide dental PPO network consists of 60,000 providers, and our state-of-the art claims-paying system is designed for speed and accuracy. Electronic services include online billing, enrollment, benefit and claim status and provider look-up, www.ameritasgroup.com.

Please welcome and give a call to:
Brian Ferris
4227 Pleasant Hill Rd.
Suite 200 Building 11
Duluth, GA 30096
800.852.1915

GLOBAL SENSORS, LLC

A global leader in temperature and humidity monitoring solutions. From simple handheld thermometers to electronic data loggers using state-of-the-art software, we supply high quality products for cold chain and in-transit monitoring. It is our goal to continue to bring new products to market that are aimed specifically at meeting the challenges of ensuring a safe product supply-chain.

Global Sensors many years of experience in the time and temperature monitoring of perishables have made us an industry expert and leader. Global Sensors products are used worldwide to assist food businesses with implementing Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) programs to identify and control food safety problems before they occur and to assist with told for safe storage and distribution.

Our many products include:

• Graphic, strip-chart recorders that monitor temperatures in the transport of meats and other temperature sensitive products.
• Single and multi-use portable electronic data loggers that collect temperature and/or humidity readings and are downloaded via easy-to-use Windows-based software.
• Automated “wireless” temperature monitor systems that automatically collect temperature and other critical data from specific locations in stores, warehouses, distribution centers and processing facilities.
• Handheld digital and dial thermometers for a variety of different temperature applications.
• Infrared thermometers for measuring surface temperatures.
• NIST-traceable calibration services for most any temperature-monitoring device.

For more information on the company visit Global Sensors web site www.global-sensors.com or contact:
Global Sensors, LLC
P.O. Box 369
Mount Holly, NC 28120
Chuck Gardner
866.402.8282 or 704.827.4331

Please take a minute to call and welcome our new members.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS

Accent Marketing in Kenner, LA is looking for a manufacturer to represent in their market that produces a line of Pre-cooked Beef Items, Beef Patties, Salisbury Steaks, etc. Contact Gina Thibodeaux at 504.443.2024.

Proprietary Foods, Inc. in Texas is looking for a processor to fully cook bulk chicken products and smoke chicken parts. Approx. starting volume of 200,000# per month. Contact Tom McWilliams at 770.993.2590 or e-mail profoods120@yahoo.com.

South Alabama Food Co-op, in Mobile, AL is looking for a processor to make private label products, supplies 1,500 families. Contact Linda Roland at 251.476.7808

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

The SEMA office has a resume: person looking for a middle management position with a major processing company. Besides 30 years in the food processing industry, his experiences include training in OSHA regulations, supervisor and plant manager in smoked meat and hams plants for 25 years. For a copy of the resume please contact the SEMA office at 407.365.5661 or e-mail anna_ondick @ earthlink.net.

EQUIPMENT WANTED/FOR SALE

Advertise here, it is free to SEMA members.