What You'll Learn
- How a longtime conventional meat processor added organic, which has become a third of its production.
- Why time segregation and using a single color signal prevents cross-contamination.
- How lot codes and cutting instruction sheets keep meat traceable through processing.
- Why organic-approved sanitation and a required rinse step protect organic integrity.
- Why sourcing organic seasonings and reformulating products takes time.
Watch Time: 9:26
This video profiles Sailer’s Food Market and Meat Processing, a specialty meat processor in business since 1923 that added organic certification in 2016. The move came when a customer asked whether Sailer’s could process their organic beef, and Sailer’s recognized that going organic would open the door to new customers and markets. Customer Account Specialist Kaylee Pickering is candid that their transition to organic was largely self-taught, pieced together from watching videos, talking with inspectors, tapping USDA resources, and reading a lot of paperwork. Organic now makes up about a third of the operation’s overall production, making this a useful example of a split meat operation for handlers in a similar spot.
The heart of the video is keeping organic and nonorganic separate through slaughter, cutting, and processing. Organic animals have to meet all the requirements and are run first so there’s no chance of cross-contamination. The operation also uses the color green as its universal organic signal, with green stickers and green sausage loops so anyone on the floor knows organic product is running. Each animal carries its own cutting instruction page that follows the meat throughout, buggies are tagged with the customer’s name and a green sticker, and finished packages get a lot number, lot code, and best-by date. Pickering feels that organic and nonorganic processing actually work hand in hand at Sailer’s, as far as tracing materials, keeping batch records, and maintaining segregation. Sanitation requires a few adjustments and Sailer’s uses organic-approved chemicals with a required rinse step after cleaning, and peracetic acid, also organic-approved, as an E. coli prevention step on carcasses.
The video is honest about the challenges of organic certification and closes on why it’s worth it. Segregation of raw materials and dry ingredients is the biggest ongoing effort, and sourcing organic ingredients can be difficult, since a seasoning may only be available seasonally, and reformulating means finding a new compliant supplier, putting product on hold, running R&D to match flavor and price, and getting customer and label approval. Pickering describes a first inspection that was more overwhelming than stressful, with inspectors wanting to see every process and paperwork and running a traceback audit from lot number to production date to all the raw materials, pulling bills of lading, packing slips, and invoices. Her advice is to keep reading, learning, and exploring other facilities, and her bottom line is that organic is worth it for the customers, the market, and the community it connects you to.=
About the Featured Operation
Sailer's Food Market & Meat Processing
- Meat Processor & Butcher
- Wilson, WI
- 28 Employees
- Certified Organic since 2016
A meat operation offering both slaughter and processing services for organic and conventional products. It handles animals from intake through cutting, cooking, and packaging, and also hauls livestock for customers who lack their own transport, caring for animals in its possession as they would be on the farm.
