Managing Trimmings for Optimum Ground Beef

Ground beef quality was a mandate and expectation by customers my entire career which included working at companies that made very large quantities of ground beef daily, then after decades of learnings, it turned into a passion! 

Ground beef quality may be the single best indicator of a production plant’s microbial and sanitation performance.  While there is no single measure that can perfectly rate a plant’s overall hygiene, ground beef gets really close in my opinion!  This is because trim, the largest “primal cut” from the carcass, comes from nearly the entire external surface, where most contamination and microbial growth occur.  

Major factors that affect ground beef quality: 

• Sanitation – a plant must start clean and there is only one clean!  Regardless if you are a slaughter plant or a Ready-to-eat (RTE) facility.  This includes all areas including slaughter floors, fab floors, and GB rooms. 

• Sanitary dress on the slaughter floor – you must have good processes validated with microbial sampling and validated interventions.  If you don’t get the hide off cleanly, then the carcass won’t be clean, which means the trim generated won’t be either! 

• Carcass Chilling – this is a critical step in the process, not only for trim, but for primal quality.  Has anyone ever seen a green two-tone inside round from poor carcass chilling that smells sour? Yuck!  Proper chilling slows microbial growth and delays signs of off condition. 

• Environmental cleanliness – hot boxes, sales coolers, floors, overhead areas, etc. are all ideal harborage points “niches” for microbial growth.  Think about air units, overhead duct and vents, floors, roof cracks / leaks, drains, and the list goes on….  For these reasons, many have an intervention in their spray chill, which makes a great environmental treatment but can be challenging for the maintenance crew in regard to impact on what some of these treatments do to air units, structural framework, and flooring! 

• Sanitary design – proper design of equipment and processing floor structures help ensure proper sanitation and avoidance of harborage points.  Never use square tubing to construct any table, framework, or in-plant structure as this creates an easy harborage location for microbial contamination to grow and contaminate future production. 

• Trim temperature – as trim is accumulated on the fabrication floor it often requires addition of dry ice to achieve a 36 F or less within 24 hours.  Obviously, carcass temperature at the time of fabrication impacts how much dry ice must be added to trim to achieve proper temperature requirements.  Again, proper temperatures will help mitigate microbial growth! 

• Trim age at grind – Ideally, trim should be ground as soon as possible to maintain quality. However, considering the various factors involved, a 4-day max age is a practical limit for large fresh ground beef systems, especially when trim needs to be transported from suppliers.  If trim is going into frozen or cooked products, the age limit can be extended. 

• Cold chain –.  Maintaining proper temperature is crucial from the moment an animal is harvested through the entire supply chain until the product reaches the consumer and is consumed. Any fluctuation in temperature can negatively impact the quality and shelf life of the product. 

• Keep it clean, keep it cold, and keep it moving! 

Achieving all of these items all the time is very challenging, but if properly done, you can produce excellent quality ground beef that will withstand its defined shelf life, meet customers’ expectations, and encourage repeat buyers! 

By Brian McFarlane, M.S.

Owner, McFarlane Enterprises