Operational strategies for the reduction of meat product losses in meat processing plants.

Written by:Diomer Antonio Galán Rincón.

Bachelor's Degree.Public Accounting / MSc.Science of Higher Education.

Currently, sausage meat products have been industrialized by leaps and bounds, to such an extent that it can be said that production extends throughout the world. Behind their production, there are parameters, restrictions and mechanisms for the management of variables such as time and temperature, which intervene in the process in order to guarantee product standardization.

Many of the losses have been considered inherent to the process, because what is not controlled cannot be measured. It is important to be able to control wastage and residues because it increases the efficiency of production, since resources can be better used and production costs can be reduced in the production of each unit.

The growing expansion that organizations are currently experiencing has brought as a consequence a series of demands in their production processes, forcing them to establish an endless number of controls that lead to optimum quality and maximum productivity of the companies in order to reduce losses generated in their processes. Meat and sausage companies do not escape from this and this is due to the levels of controls that must be carried out for the efficiency of the finished product.

Our country does not go unnoticed by the problems that generally occur in companies, as is the case with increases in losses, lack of control in terms of the statistical order that the company has regulated and unevenness that does not coincide with what is desired to guarantee the quality of the products that are produced. Therefore, different improvement methodologies have been implemented, reducing costs without exorbitant resources and generating harmony in the work group to make it more efficient and performing at a higher level than it had been managing.

That is why we can mention that product losses are usually present in the different stages such as baking, tempering and cooling; it is important to mention that if there are any material losses, they cannot be recovered. Shrinkage in the process stages can occur for various reasons due to elements that are related to the faithful compliance with the parameters that are established for the production of a product, knowing that it can happen that if they are not met, they can lead to differences in the expected shrinkage and therefore greatly affect the quality of the different products.

From another point of view, shrinkage, as already established, is not a negative aspect in the production of any product because it is part of the process, but it should be controlled so that it does not increase disproportionately without any control mechanism, since it would greatly affect production costs.

For this reason, the production processes should be monitored based on the company's procedures, making sure that each of the parameters established to quantify product shrinkage are complied with.

In order to comply with the proposal, it is necessary to update the yields of the processed product with a scope that goes from the preparation of the mixture to the cooling of the finished product.

On the other hand, the process allows the visualization of results adjacent to a broader horizon, with the purpose of always looking for innovation and effective results that increase competitiveness, decreasing process costs and in turn guiding the satisfaction of business needs and expectations, having as an ally the technological advances that offer new machinery that make productivity more outstanding.

However, the implementation of improvements in any product aims to establish production methods that favor the demand base, considering the stability in low costs and waste reduction, making it flexible and accessible with high quality in the final product.

I hope you like my article and I would appreciate all your comments.

1.- Asencio, L. (2010). Development of a methodology for the quantification of wastes in Zamorano feed mills. Zamorano, Honduras.