SEMA_________________________________

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

Something to Ponder: Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet 
                                                                                                                              Roger Miller

          Associate exhibitors and SEMA Processors received solutions to processing challenges and found production opportunities.  Thanks to all of our Associate members for their support and participation in the association.

Friday evening was Casino Night, a fund raiser for SEMA scholarships.  PermaTherm and Advanced Surfaces donated door prizes.  Due to the generosity of our processor and associate members, SEMA has been able to help many students with their educational needs.

          For a convention to run smoothly it takes good people behind the scenes; thanks to our moderators, Christy Bratcher from Auburn and Dr. Dwight Loveday from University of Tennessee and a special thanks to Larry Eubanks from the University of FL for providing the audio-visual equipment and keeping the program on track. 

SEMA Annual Business Meeting

            The annual business meeting was held at the June convention.  There was an election of officers and directors.  The new slate of officers is as follows: Chairman of the Board Scott Kelley, Kelley Foods of Alabama, President Wayne Lord, Lord’s Sausage & Country Hams, Vice President Don Wilson, Fieldstone Meats of Alabama, and Treasurer Tom Carroll, Sunset Farm Foods. 
            Chris Hudson, Morty Pride Meats and Brian Sapp, White Oak Pastures were elected to the Board and the following directors were reelected for another term; George Baker - R.L. Ziegler Co., Adam Chernin – Central Beef LLC, Al Kaempfer – Register Meat Co., David Lee – D.L. Lee & Sons, Ferril Maddox – MH Foods, Billy Nettles – Nettles Sausage Co., David Solana – Roger Wood Foods, Hugh Tyler – The Butcher Shop, John Edd Wampler – Family Brand International, Ron Brown – Cryovac Sealed Air, Gene Funkhouser – A.C. Legg Inc, Karla Weiszer – Wolfson Casing Corp.

Things to Ponder . . . . . .
July has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays. This happens once every 823 years.

Wholesale Pork Negotiated Rulemaking Committee

          NAMP, AAMP and SEMA shared one seat on the Wholesale Pork Negotiated Rulemaking Committee.  Gary Malenke, Natural Food Holdings represented the three associations.  A copy of the minutes and supporting materials are posted at www.ams.usda.gov/NegotiatedRulemaking.

Sixth Food Defense Plan Survey

            FSIS issued announced the “Sixth Food Defense Plan Survey” that will run throughout the month of July.  The optional survey is to gather data about industry’s voluntary adoption of food defense plans.  The questions in the survey are intended to determine whether an establishment
has a food defense plan, and, if so, whether the plan is functional.  This survey is only applicable to official meat and poultry slaughter and processing establishments, processed egg product plants, and official import inspection establishments.  The results will be used to guide the FSIS outreach efforts and its consideration of whether or not to mandate food defense plans.
The notice can viewed at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/regulations_directives_&_notices/

FSIS-ASK

Q: Is an establishment required to eliminate all condensation in the facility?

A: Generally, No. The Agency understands that it is not feasible for establishments that slaughter or process food, particularly meat, poultry, and processed egg products, to completely eliminate condensation, odors, and vapors. However, 9 CFR 416.2(d) requires that establishments have ventilation that is "adequate to control" those conditions so that product does not become adulterated and insanitary conditions are not created.
In addition, 9 CFR 416.1 requires that facilities be maintained in a manner sufficient to prevent the creation of insanitary conditions and to ensure that product adulteration does not occur. Finally, 9 CFR 416.4 (a) and 461.4(b) require adequate cleaning and sanitizing of food contact and non-food contact surfaces in order to prevent the creation of insanitary conditions and adulteration of products

FSIS Directives & Notices

FSIS Notice 25-11  June 13
Sampling of Low Production Volume Raw Ground Beef Establishments for Salmonella and Escherichia Coli O157:H7

FSIS Notice 31-11  June 30
New Performance Standards for Salmonella and Campylobacter in Chilled Carcasses at Young Chicken and Turkey Slaughter Establishments

FSIS Directive 8021.1  June 29
Investigative Methodology for Conducting Misconduct, OIG Hotline, and Other Investigations

FSIS Notice 29-11  June 27
Reporting Field Screen Residue Results in the eSample Application

FSIS Directive 5420.1  June 27
Food Defense Verification Procedures and National Terrorism Advisory System Alert Response for the Office of Field Operations - Revision 7

More at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/index.asp  

NAMP Announces Second Campylobacter Workshop

            Learn the very latest about the most challenging topics beef processors are dealing with today at NAMP’s E. coli Conference for Beef Further Processors, Aug. 17-18, at the Four Points by Sheraton near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.
The conference is designed for processors who produce ground beef, mechanically tenderized steaks and other non-intact beef products.
NAMP is partnering with 12 other meat industry organizations, USDA’s Food Safety In­spection Service (FSIS), and six trade media to host the ‘Prevention of E. coli Conference for North American Beef Further Processors’.
The Beef Industry Food Safety Council (BIFSCo) is supporting the conference. The USDA FSIS Office of Outreach, Employee Education, and Training also is collaborating.
This year’s conference features top industry experts, including:

• Dr. Dan Engeljohn, Deputy Assistant Administrator, USDA FSIS Office of Policy & Program Development, on validation and E. coli policies.
• Dr. Jim Marsden, Regent’s Distinguished Professor of Meat Science at Kansas State University and recognized E. coli prevention authority, on non-O157 STECs and processing interventions.
• Dr. Barb Masters, Senior Policy Advisor at Olson, Frank & Weeda law firm on sam­pling and preventing recalls.
• Dr. Kerri Harris, President, International HACCP Alliance, on addressing interven­tions and non-intact steaks in HACCP Plans.
• Dr. Mohammad Koohmaraie, CEO of the Meat Division at IEH Laboratories on labo­ratory methods and prevalence of non-O157 STECs.

And much more…
Register now to take advantage of the early registration discount. Until Aug. 3, the registration fee for the two-day conference is US$449 for members of NAMP and its partner organizations, and US$549 for non-members.

A block of rooms has been set aside at a significantly discounted rate of US$99/night.   Register and get more information, including lodging and accommodation at: www.namp.com.

SEMA Industry News

CDC Software would like to share its White Paper URL: Complying with Food Safety Modernization Act Isn’t Enough
Today, your customers and retailers may have more stringent food safety requirements than Uncle Sam. Download a 17-point checklist for evaluating technology enablers that can help you limit the scope of recalls, expedite recalls, and help you retain and win new business. White Paper URL:
http://www.cdcsoftware.com/en/Resource-Library/Documents/White-Papers-and-Articles/RERP-FB-RC-WP-FOODSAFETY2011-US-NA-031111
For more information contact John Garcia at 678.892.2989.

Get to Know SEMA New Member

Enviro-Pak - Clackamas, Oregon
The Enviro-Pak product line consists of dryers, smokers, ovens, steam cabinets and chillers primarily for the meat, fish and poultry industries.  They are also being used for pet treats, drying of vegetables and herbs and varied other products.  These units are built for individual uses such as "drying" only or they are built as combination units that do all of the above functions.  Our units can process as little product as 50 pounds or as much as 36,000 pounds.  The units are available in either vertical airflow styles for products that are processed hung vertically or horizontal airflow style for products that are best processed laid out on screens (multiple layers).  Seafood and beef jerky are good examples of products that are best processed in horizontal airflow ovens.  Batch, batch flow through, indexed travel or continuous styles are available.  Continuous styles are either straight through, spiral conveyor or multi-level conveyor.  Heating methods utilized in our ovens are electric heat, gas fired, and live steam or steam heat exchanger.  For those applications that require "smoke application", customers can choose from a variety of sizes of natural smoke generators, pellet smoke generator or liquid smoke systems.

Customers can choose from a variety of electro-mechanical control systems, microprocessor control systems or PLC systems.  Enviro-Pak has – from its beginning – provided high volume airflow with more air changes per minute than competitive models, with best uniformity at highest production rates.  We have built rugged, trouble free, high technology equipment for over 30 years and have supported them with knowledgeable personnel thereby building a reputation that is unsurpassed.  

Enviro-Pak also represents the product lines of Frigomeccanica, Colussi Ermes and Veripack.
For more information on Enviro-Pak products contact Patrick Martini @ 503.655.7044.

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