Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 4/3/14


A new poll shows only 34 percent of Americans know that meat plants are cleaned and sanitized daily. The American Meat Institute decided to do something about that.

In the fourth video in AMI’s Glass Walls series, John Butts, vice president of research at Land O’Frost, takes viewers through the sanitation process, including: taking apart each piece of machinery; scrubbing the equipment, ceilings and floors with foam cleansers; testing for microbes and USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service inspection and approval before a plant can reopen for business.

“As part of our efforts to increase transparency and show what happens in meat plants, we want people to see how thoroughly plants are cleaned everyday,” said AMI Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Member Services Janet Riley. “We clean each piece of equipment after use, though we ensure it isn’t just visibly clean, but microbiologically clean before we process.  The steps we take in our plants are similar to those a hospital would take to clean an operating room.  While I pride myself on having a clean kitchen at home, my efforts pale in comparison so what happens every day in meat and poultry plants.”

Other Glass Walls videos also feature tours of beef, pork and turkey plants led by animal welfare expert Temple Grandin, professor of animal science at Colorado State University.

The new video is available here. Complimentary copies are provided to teachers who cannot access YouTube. To receive a copy, send a request to Glass Walls Sanitation, 1150 Connecticut Ave, NW, Suite 1200, Washington, DC, 20036 or email publicaffairs@meatami.com.

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