One key aspect of sustainability is stewardship – or the wise use of resources and efficiency in how growers and processors feed families and the world. When considering the large amount of acreage required for grazing, corn for finishing, and water for processing beef, pork and other animals, it makes sense to recover as much meat as possible from the animals that are harvested.
Whizard® trimming tools from Bettcher Industries represent a proven method to recover more meat, optimize the labor involved in processing and improve plant profits, while at the same time promoting sustainable practices that positively affect the “triple bottom line.”
The inspiration for the first Whizard® Trimmer came when inventor and company founder Louis Bettcher visited a pork processing plant in Cleveland, OH back in 1945. As he observed the straight knife and hand-boning techniques being used, Bettcher was amazed at how much meat was being left on pork neck bones and the degree of waste that resulted.
The powered Whizard® Knife that Louis Bettcher designed in response to what he observed made an easier task of the job, while resulting in significant improvements in meat yields.
What Bettcher witnessed and responded to more than 50 years ago underscores the fact that even simple meat processing applications can result in significant improvement in yield. In the case of pork neck bone trimming, it’s an extra five ounces per animal versus what a trained operator using a straight knife could achieve.
Taken by itself, five ounces of meat might not seem very significant. But over the course of one year, it means that substantially more meat can be harvested from fewer animals. To illustrate this, for the average pork plant processing 3,000 hogs per day and assuming 251 production days during the year, an additional five ounces of lean neck bone meat per animal is nearly 3.8 million ounces in total.
That’s the equivalent of the entire meat yield from an additional 940 pigs that didn’t have to be grown, transported, slaughtered and processed, thereby allowing the ability to feed more people with less impact on the environment.
The story is much the same for beef neck bone processing. The use of innovative powered Whizard® Trimmers results in yield improvements of up to 50% in contamination trim and lean meat recovery – or nearly two pounds per steer from neck bones. It all adds up to making better utilization of the animals that are processed.
The Whizard® Trimmer is available in many sizes and configurations designed to recover more meat and higher profits while promoting sustainability. Even small trimmer models such as the Model 350 Whizard® Trimmer have the ability to harvest high-priced white meat under turkey wishbones that would otherwise be classified MDM (mechanically deboned meat) at a fraction of its true potential value.
In this particular application, recovery of 1.2 oz. more meat per frame is typical – and if workers can also scrape the turkey frame after the initial meat has been removed, it is possible to collect an additional 2.0 oz. of white meat per frame.
For a plant processing 20,000 birds per day, those additional yields add up quickly to 64,000 more ounces. It’s the equivalent of meat from 200 additional birds per day – turkeys that wouldn’t otherwise need to be grown, transported, slaughtered and processed due to utilizing the latest trimming technology.
Bettcher’s yield specialists are experts in determining the trimming applications that can have the most dramatic impact on improving product yields and profits in meat and poultry plants, while also advancing the important goal of sustainability – the “triple bottom line.”
For more information on how to align improved product yields, plant efficiencies and profits with today’s sustainability goals, contact Scott Gregory at 800-321-8763 or 440-965-4422. You may also e-mail your request to sales@bettcher.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or visit www.bettcher.com.
Established in 1944, Bettcher Industries brings more than five decades of successful innovation to the food processing industry. The company is a leading developer and manufacturer of innovative precision cutting tools for food processing and industrial operations. Based in the United States, Bettcher Industries is an ISO 9001-certified company with direct distribution and service in more than 50 countries.
Source: Bettcher Industries