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* 2010 Convention Recap Newsletter - opens in new page

SOUTHEASTERN MEAT ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 2010                                 VOLUME 25, No. 9

Private Label Business is Good Business

An increasing number of meat companies are discovering that the production of private label products can be a profitable part of their business. These are products on which they put someone else’s name and label. One very nice thing about private label business is that instantly you have someone else selling products which you produce.

Some of the pitfalls of private label business include:

  1. Having too high a percentage of your business with one customer.
  2. Deciding on who pays for the labels. Be careful that you don’t end up with a lot of money invested in labels that someone else may decide to discontinue using.
  3. Extending too much credit for too long a time.

Perhaps there is some private label business in your area you should solicit.

From the NAMP NewsLine, by Dr. Joe Cordray, Professor of Animal Science
at Iowa State University & a member of the NAMP College of Experts.
You can reach Dr. Cordray at 515.294.4266 or jcordray@iastate.edu.

"Donning and Doffing" As Part of Workday for Inspection Program Personnel

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced a proposed rule that would amend current regulations governing the schedule of operations at federally inspected meat and poultry slaughter establishments. FSIS is proposing to redefine the eight-hour workday for inspection program personnel to include time needed at the workplace to put on, or "don," and take off, or "doff," required gear, time spent walking to work stations after donning required gear, and time spent walking from work stations before doffing required gear.

FSIS is proposing the rule in accordance with the Supreme Court's holding in IBP, Inc. v. Alvarez and policy guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The regulations define the basic workweek as five consecutive eight-hour days, excluding the lunch period. FSIS proposes that the eight hours of inspection service provided by the Agency include sufficient time for inspection program personnel to put on required gear and walk to a work station as well as to return from a workstation and remove required gear. Any time over those eight hours is overtime charged to an establishment. The Agency seeks comments on or before September 8, 2010, through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov.

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If you are patient in one moment of anger,
you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.
Chinese Proverb
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New Under Secretary for Food Safety

President Obama did a “recess appointment” of Elisabeth Hagen for the Under Secretary for Food Safety. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the following statement on the appointment of Dr. Elisabeth Hagen as Under Secretary for Food Safety. "There is no higher priority at USDA than ensuring that Americans have access to a safe and healthy food supply, and Dr. Hagen's background as the Chief Medical Officer and senior executive within USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service will enable her to successfully lead the effort to develop and execute the agency's scientific and public health agenda, and continue to build the coordination with public health partners at federal, state, and local level needed to achieve the objectives of President Obama's Food Safety Working Group."

Prior to her nomination as Under Secretary for Food Safety, Dr. Elisabeth Hagen served as the USDA's Chief Medical Officer, a senior executive at USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, where she played a key role in developing and executing the agency's scientific and public health agendas.

FSIS-ASK

"Documentation"
Question: Is a plant required to determine, and document, preventive measures when it, or FSIS, finds an unclean food contact surface during pre-operational (pre-op) sanitation monitoring?

Answer: No. When an unclean food contact surface, equipment, or utensil is found during pre-op by the plant, before any product has passed over the unclean surface, the establishment needs to clean the surface, but there is no noncompliance. The plant's system worked as designed. The establishment should generate an appropriate record in accordance with 9 CFR 416.16.

If FSIS were to have found the unclean surface, the Agency would expect the plant to clean the surface and would issue a noncompliance record because of the insanitary condition. In addition, FSIS would expect the plant to consider how to make appropriate improvements in the execution of its pre-operational procedures because the establishment must be maintained in a manner sufficient to prevent the creation of insanitary conditions. Preventive measures would not need to be documented, unless the product has been adulterated or contaminated by the unclean surface, equipment, or utensil.

SEMA Industry News

VC999 celebrated 25 years of serving North America with an open house in July. More than 200 industry guests had the opportunity to meet the VC999 team and tour the new manufacturing and engineering expansion. The expansion added more than 40,000 square feet of manufacturing space to the growing company. Guests enjoyed music from a traditional Swiss music group, mariachi band and the country-rock group, the Dixie Cadillac’s. A global collection of favorite foods filled six international food stations and a variety of drinks made for an enjoyable evening.

“We were excited to be able to celebrate this accomplishment with so many of our customers and friends. Our team has worked hard to grow VC999 into the international leader we are today,” Said Silvio Weder, company president. Jim Wright, vice president of sales and marketing for VC999 North America, said that, “We are fortunate to have a special, almost family-like, relationship with many of our customers. We believe that in order for VC999 to continue to grow, we have to find ways to help our customers continue to grow. Celebrations like this are only possible because of our valued customers.”

VC999 Packaging Systems’ North American headquarters is located in Kansas City, MO. VC999 is a global leader in the design and manufacturing of packaging machines for both the food and non-food industries. The company website can be viewed at www.VC999.com.


ULMA Packaging has announced that they and Harpak have joined forces and will be operating as one company. This alliance will allow them to provide a wider range of packaging solutions. The new entity will operate under the name HARPAK-ULMA Packaging. ULMA’s existing salesperson, customer service and technical contacts will remain unchanged.

WELCOME NEW MEMBER

Morty Pride Meats
Chris Hudson
3603 Clinton Rd. Fayetteville, NC 28312
910.483.6004

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

SEMA Annual Convention
407.365.5661
 Daytona Beach Shores, FL June 9-11, 2011

Univ of GA Developing & Implementing HACCP for Meat & Poultry Athens, GA
706.542.2574

 Athens, GA Sept 14-16
Univ of GA Advancing Your HACCP Program
706.542.2574
 Athens, GA Oct 12-13
NAMP FSIS Validation Guidance E.coli Conference
1 800.368.3043 ext. 103
 Chicago, IL Sept 28-29

"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing."
Edmund Burke

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