Food Safety

We operate under the most time-tested, successful food safety programs with a food safety record that is unsurpassed by anyone in the industry. While the technical aspects of our food safety programs are critical to our unprecedented success, it is the fact that Food Safety is a fundamental part of our corporate culture, championed by our president, and interwoven into every aspect of our business which makes these outstanding programs so effective.

There are hundreds of integrated Food Safety programs used to produce safe food in each of our facilities. The programs are developed and used in support of overarching HACCP programs (Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points) which have been developed for each facility and address all reasonably occurring physical, chemical and microbiological hazards.

To aid us in oversight of our plants food safety programs, all our facilities are certified annually through a process of allowing internationally recognized Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) certified auditors 100% access to all aspects of our food safety programs and facilities for extensive review and audit. All our facilities are currently GFSI certified and our food safety culture demands they remain vigilant in upholding the high level of food safety and quality necessary to maintain these prestigious certifications.

Environmental and Worker Safety

Environmental Certification

• ISO14001 registered – the global gold standard for Environmental Management System certification.
• All facilities develop and execute environmentally friendly processes that save millions of dollars annually.
• Recognized by the American Meat Institute with Environmental MAPS Recognition Awards.

Plant/Employee Safety
Keeping our employees safe is a top priority.

Quality Assurance

Product Screening

• All suppliers are pre-approved and all incoming raw materials and ingredients are inspected and documented.
• Finished products are routinely checked against the product specification.
• Facilities monitor net weights to insure compliance with the USDA net weight guidelines.
• Shelf life testing determines the spoilage of processed meats by organoleptic, microbiological, and challenge studies

Nutritional Analysis and Certification
Products are frequently evaluated by a 3rd party lab for nutritional composition.

Equipment Monitoring
All equipment (scales, thermometers, pH meters, etc.) are checked and calibrated routinely.

Listening to our Customers
Complaints and product feedback are received via e-mail, phone, letter and website and are relayed to the facility for investigation, follow-up and trend analysis.