Meat + Poultry - February 2006 - 19

SMARTER
SAUSAGE PROCESSING
raw products' exposure to pathogens.
"The plastic casings are helping from
the standpoint that the product is going
into the casings raw and isn't exposed
to any atmospheric conditions after
heat processing," which typically kills
a majority of pathogens.
A veteran of the processed meats
industry, Armstrong says the industry
has, for years, relied on the raw material being of good quality resulting in
good quality products coming out of
the smokehouse. Products coming out
of the smokehouse are most vulnerable
to pathogen exposure, he says.
Sausage processing I.Q. has
evolved over the years and continues
to improve, says Armstrong. "Thirty
years ago, when I first came into the
industry, we went from 15 days (of
shelf life) on vacuum-packaged wieners to 35 days, and we were celebrating, waving flags and screaming," he
says. Brine showers were a big step in
those days - once processors realized the benefit of getting the product
cold and then applying a salt shower
to the surface, which creates a bacteriostatic effect.
The next big step occurred more than
a decade later, when sausage processors
raelized the value in separating raw and
cooked products within their plants.
"Product can tolerate a certain amount
of bacteria load on the raw side," he
says. "But once it has been run through
the heat process the big thing is to keep
it as clean as possible."
The future is plastic
Fast forward to today. Armstrong
says in the sausage processing industry, significant strides are being made
with plastic casings, which have been
available for nearly 20 years but have
seen the most progress being made in
the last eight years or so. "Every one
of the major casing companies now has
some type of plastic or nonpermeable
casing," he says.
Recent advances allow sausage manufacturers to coat the inside of plastic (and
some fibrous) casings with ingredients
to enhance flavor and color without ex20

MEAT&POULTRY

February 2006

posing the raw product to pathogens.
"This is where we're seeing processors
make some gains," Armstrong says. "If
the product is not opened after it goes
through its final heat processing, usually
you'll have good shelf life. Sealed packaging prior to the last heat process really
is the key." When plastic casings are used
and the product has to be removed from
its casing before it is packaged postpackaging pasteurization can be utilized
to maximize shelf life.
Using smarter materials and processing practices designed to enhance
food safety and shelf life has increased
almost exponentially in the past several decades. Short of irradiation, Armstrong says processors may have exhausted all the shelf life enhancements
currently available, but the strides
made have been impressive.
"In 30 years we've seen shelf life
go from under 30 days up to 90 days
and, in some cases, even 120 days," he
says, while keeping products relatively
pathogen-free.
Success through failure
Sausage making used to be considered a craft. "When I came in the industry," Armstrong recalls, "to make
a wiener of bologna was really an art
form, whereas today the process is
pretty scientific." Most contemporary processors work from an established formula, and they might adjust
the formulation to optimize the fat
percentage and water. Water tends to
be the focus.
While sophistication in processing
has its obvious upside, knowing what
it takes to make sausage the old way
also has its benefits from a knowledge
standpoint. In this regard, some of the
industry veterans benefit from their
"been-there, done-that" background.
"I don't know how many young
people in the industry today have ever
seen a complete emulsion failure," says
Armstrong. He says one of the hard
knocks of learning about sausage making and how to avoid pitfalls is seeing
how incorrect processing can result in
emulsion that breaks down and sepa-

www.MEATPOULTRY.com

rates into fats, proteins and water.
Smarter ingredients have also led to
more intelligent sausage processing. It
is no secret how using sodium diacetate and/or sodium lactate have proven
to help processors' efforts in producing
safer products. Another sausage ingredient gaining ground are bacteriostats
such as sodium citrate, one variety of
which is Ionol. Applications with sodium citrate in meat processing environments have been worked on since the
early '90s. Sodium citrate is used as an
alternative to sodium diacetate and sodium lactate.
While advances in ingredients and
equipment are effective in minimizing
pathogen threats in sausage products, a
certain amount of necessary risks are
assumed when people handle products. "That part of the equation has not
been eliminated because you still have
to open boxes and scoop product, and
there is still a lot of handling of the raw
material."
Another area where strides have
been made, especially in the processing of meat snacks, is monitoring of
water activity. Processors, who 20
years ago focused only on moistureprotein ratios, must now consider
water activity. Cook processes and
the raw materials used affect water
activity. "The more dry raw material
you use, the lower the water activity
will be," Armstrong says. "Or when
you cook it longer you'll have lower
activity."
Still, another advance making processing more intelligent is the use of
sprays applied on products as a bacteriostat after the heating process,
when exposure to the atmosphere occurs just before the vacuum packaging step and/or post-packaging pasteurization. "This isn't a process that
is universally used in the industry
right now," says Armstrong. "I know
of a couple of processors are looking
at it, but it hasn't been adopted across
the industry."
We would like to hear from you-your comments
and questions about this article are welcome. E-mail
the author at: jcrews@sosland.com

http://www.MEATPOULTRY.com

Meat + Poultry - February 2006

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meat + Poultry - February 2006