Meat&Poultry - June 2011 - 28

CORPORATE PROFILES

Jody Horner, who’s spent her entire career with Cargill Corp., was named president and CEO of CMS. While some economists say the recession is abating and others maintain the economy still struggles, Horner says the recession has changed consumer buying habits. “Many more meals are being prepared at home, rather than eaten out,” she says. “So, we have chef-inspired Sterling Silver Premium Meats, fresh, ready-to-cook meat options. These are stress-free meals to be made at home, and there are 12 or 13 varieties. Consumers are definitely looking for value; more in bulk for family packs,” she says. While there are signs the severity of the recession is dropping, with increasing employment and other positive indicators (some economists Horner even say the recession is over), Horner isn’t as quick to say everything is back to “normal.” Last year in an interview with Meat&Poultry, she said she didn’t want to underestimate the impact of the recession.

ment in all of its fed-cattle plants. It uses computer vision grading to bring scientific precision to its quality assessment of beef. At the same time, no other US pork processor uses both CO2 stunners and blast chillers to produce superior pork color. Cargill also pioneered steam pasteurization technology, revolutionizing and changing the way the beef industry battles E. coli O157:H7. CMS originated a trisodium phosphate rinse as a pre-chill intervention for its poultry industry, now widely used by that industry to fight Salmonella. In the company’s distribution centers, stateof-the-art robotics preserve product integrity by keeping to the absolute minimum the number of times boxes are handled. Cargill has been able to install computer chips in its truck

“Consumers are definitely looking for value; more in bulk for family packs.”

Change and diversity
Change affects the meat and poultry industry and every other industry in the world. Cargill points to change and diversity as a never-ending process that the company not only goes through, but improves its offerings as a result. The company relays American consumers as groups are more diverse than in the past. It talks about its Rumba line of meats, “foods of the soul, comidas del Alma,” the first brand tested and customized for multicultural consumers, including Hispanics, African Americans and Asians. The company has continued to grow and adapt to changing circumstances in the meat and poultry industry. It has invested almost $1 billion in research, technology and facility and plant design. Cargill Meat Solutions is the first American processor to install high-pressure hide washing equiptrailers in order to monitor and adjust the temperature of its products being transported. That way, the strict “coldchain” started within Cargill plants can be maintained. The company also uses its REDiFresh packaging system for its caseready meat products. This preserves fresh meat color from the fi rst day a product is sold until the last. CMS has also been greatly involved in processing technology and food safety for all of its operations, including foodservice, realizing its reputation, as well as those of the companies it sells its products to, are on the line. It says it achieves proper cooking and handling of meat and poultry products by everyone in the food chain by having fully modernized plants; innovative quickfreeze methods; deep basting; injection

and mechanical tenderizing; fresh, frozen and processed portion control; and computerized grinding and processing. It has FDA regulation-compliant cattle feeders, uses Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles and procedures, carries out regular equipment inspections, makes use of pre-evisceration acid rinses, advance sanitation procedures and systems, steam vacuum, steam pasteurization and carcass chilling. CMS has also been involved in acquisitions, including adding Cargill Turkey Products to CMS in 2001. Cargill entered the turkey processing business in 1967. It grew through the 1998 acquisition of Plantation Foods in Waco, Tex., and the 2001 acquisition of Rocco Foods in Harrisonburg, Va. Two years later, Cargill Meat Solutions created a business around Taylor Beef, from Wyalusing, Pa., which the company acquired in 2002. CMS brands include Angus Pride Premium Beef; Excel Fresh Meats; Honeysuckle White Turkey; Meadowland Farms Ground Beef; Preferred Angus Beef; Ranchers Registry Angus Beef; Rumba; Good Nature Pork, a natural product without antibiotics, growth stimulants, preservatives or hormones; Shady Brook Farms; Sterling Silver premium beef or pork; Circle T (fresh) Beef; and Tender Choice pork products, made with the company’s proprietary marinade. On the foodservice side, Cargill is involved with beef, pork and turkey. Cargill also has a meat solutions technical center in Wichita, employing 70 scientists and support staff trained in meat science, food science microbiology and regulatory affairs, providing broad technical expertise to beef, pork and turkey customers. The center includes a USDA inspected pilot plant and culinary design center. ■
Bernard Shire is M&P’s Washington correspondent, a contributing editor and a feature writer based in Lancaster, Pa. Shire also works as a food safety consultant and writer for Shire & Associates LLC. We would like to hear from you – to comment on this story or to request reprints, contact us by email at meatpoultry@sosland.com.

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