MANUFACTURING
The purpose of this
information is to provide a general overview of our Quality Policies and
Programs. Details of individual or particular processes or products will
be answered upon request. We encourage any customer to visit our Grand
Rapids, Michigan facility to understand the depth and magnitude of our
Manufacturing and Quality Assurance Policies and Procedures.
Kent Quality Foods
is a USDA inspected facility producing a wide variety of processed
cooked sausage, franks, bologna and salami. All products are formulated,
mixed, stuffed, cooked and packaged to Kent Quality Foods specifications.
 | All raw materials are
received from USDA inspected facilities and are visually examined
during each step of our process. |
| Each batch of product
is individually analyzed and formulated to specified nutrient
content. |
| Spices and seasonings
are custom blended to our specifications and hand weighed to assure
a constant favor profile. |
| The meat, spices and
seasonings are mixed for specific time to assure consistent
texture. |
| The products are
passed through metal detection and stuffed to specified
weight. |
| Each product is
cooked to a minimum of 1600°F in smokehouses and each batch of
product is temperature checked with a daily calibrated
thermometer. |
| Packing of the cooked
product is done in segregated rooms operating with the most
stringent controls possible. |
Some of the controls
include:
| floor sanitizing at
the employee entrance into the rooms |
| special sanitary
clothing which is maintained in the packing rooms |
| hand washing each
time any employee enters the rooms |
| use of specially
designed sanitizers at designated time during the production day |
Kent Quality Foods
has a staff of six Research and Development and Quality Assurance
personnel. This staff, in addition to our Operational and Maintenance
personnel continually monitor our process. The types of monitoring
include visual inspection of the facility, equipment and processing
methods before and during production. Microbiological analysis,
complying with the recommended guideline of the American Meat Institute,
is conducted on a random basis on products, production equipment, and
the facility. Additionally, Kent Quality Foods maintains
an USDA Accredited Chemical Analysis Laboratory which provides data to
support our process and nutritional information.
Some specifics of the
Manufacturing and Quality Assurance Procedures are as follows:
1. RECEIVING
a. incoming raw meats evaluation for age, temperature, wholesomeness, fat analysis and container condition.
b. Incoming non-meat ingredients for lot coding and container condition.
2. PRODUCT FORMULATION
a. Pre-blend analysis on each batch of product to adjust final mix to achieve fat and added water control.
b. Each unit of dry non-meat ingredient weighed on a calibrated scale.
c. Stuffed weight checks at start of production and at least every hour there after.
d. Metal detector calibration and checks prior to start-up and at each break and lunch.
3. PRODUCT COOKiNG
a. Finished product cook temperature on each cook batch.
b. Finished product color evaluation on each cook batch.
4. PACKING
a. Net weight check prior to packing.
b. Chilled product temperature prior to packing.
c. First piece check for correct sell-by, film or label placement, product weight.
d. Net weight checks after packing.
5. SHIPPING
a. Finished product rotation.
b. Chilling of truck(s) prior to loading.
6. FINISHED PRODUCT
a. Random finished product chemical analysis.
b. Random finished product microbiological analysis.
c. Random finished product organoleptic evaluation.
Kent Quality Foods
makes every effort to produce the most consistent, wholesome and
defect-free product possible in order to fulfill our mission statement -
"To gain the respect and commitment of the people we serve and
ultimately lead the industry."
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