With increasing interest in specialty fermented and dried meat products such as jerky, biltong, basturma, and soudjouk there is a need for validated processes that utilize multi-hurdle approaches to achieve lethality of pathogens and that can be implemented by small and very small processors.  Multi-hurdle approaches (lethality achieved in multiple stages) are used for many ready-to-eat (RTE) products to achieve lethality of pathogens since these processes do not often include sufficient heat treatment.  Outbreaks associated with these products have been attributed to inadequate scientific support for the lethality treatment.  Under Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations, FSIS regulated processors are required to control the food safety hazards in their products and validate that their systems work as intended.   This symposium will bring together speakers from academia, industry, and government to present tools that small and very small processors can use to support the safety of RTE meat and poultry processes to comply with FSIS regulations and reduce the risk of foodborne illness from their products.

Presentations