North Carolina Pork Council

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a market development trip to Japan organized by the Noth Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. Over the next week or so I’ll be sharing highlights of the trip and some general observations. NC Pork was fortunate to have Lorenda Overman representing us on this trip. Lorenda is a past president of NC Pork Council, and vice-chair of the American Farm Bureau’s Women’s Committee. She has tremendous knowledge of what we do on the farm every day and how to engage with diverse audiences. Having Lorenda on this trip was a real treat. From a pork industry perspective, top of the list had to be the visit to a pork processor who buys US pork and specifically pork from North Carolina and then further processes that product into packages and cuts for the Japanese market. One of the things that jumped out to me immediately was the attention to cleanliness and sanitation at the plant. This wasn’t the first pork processor I had visited but it was the first that had us change shoes immediately upon entering the building. They gave us slippers to wear until we were ready to enter the processing area. Additionally, after getting our white coats, hair nets, and masks, we went through an air chamber designed to help remove any dirt or lint from our clothes. When we exited the air chamber, we were asked to use a lint roller as a final preparation effort. Once inside the processing area, our hosts took photos of anything we asked and I’ve picked a few photos to share. The first thing we saw inside the processing area was the preparation of pork chops for tonkatsu. The plant was using pork loins from Smithfield Foods out of plants in NC. They used a press on each loin to ensure every chop cut for the tonkatsu was uniform in size and shape. They started with frozen pork loins. Each chop was then cut to precise thickness and tenderized and packaged for use in food service settings. We also saw the processing of pork bellies into what I would call chunks. They took a frozen belly and cut it into long strips and cut the strips into chunks.  Another machine took loins and literally diced them. If you’ve seen the packages of diced ham at a local grocer, that’s what these looked like. It wasn’t ham but it had that appearance. Other products include thin slices of loin, Boston butts and bellies for different cooking styles. This included packaging for food service and for retail service. I’ve got more highlights to share. Stay tuned. 

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a market development trip to Japan organized by the Noth Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. Over the next week or so I’ll be sharing highlights of the trip and some general observations. NC Pork was fortunate to have Lorenda Overman representing us on this trip. Lorenda is a past president of NC Pork Council, and vice-chair of the American Farm Bureau’s Women’s Committee. She has tremendous knowledge of what we do on the farm every day and how to engage with diverse audiences. Having Lorenda on this trip was a real treat. From a pork industry perspective, top of the list had to be the visit to a pork processor who buys US pork and specifically pork from North Carolina and then further processes that product into packages and cuts for the Japanese market. One of the things that jumped out to me immediately was the attention to cleanliness and sanitation at the plant. This wasn’t the first pork processor I had visited but it was the first that had us change shoes immediately upon entering the building. They gave us slippers to wear until we were ready to enter the processing area. Additionally, after getting our white coats, hair nets, and masks, we went through an air chamber designed to help remove any dirt or lint from our clothes. When we exited the air chamber, we were asked to use a lint roller as a final preparation effort. Once inside the processing area, our hosts took photos of anything we asked and I’ve picked a few photos to share. The first thing we saw inside the processing area was the preparation of pork chops for tonkatsu. The plant was using pork loins from Smithfield Foods out of plants in NC. They used a press on each loin to ensure every chop cut for the tonkatsu was uniform in size and shape. They started with frozen pork loins. Each chop was then cut to precise thickness and tenderized and packaged for use in food service settings. We also saw the processing of pork bellies into what I would call chunks. They took a frozen belly and cut it into long strips and cut the strips into chunks.  Another machine took loins and literally diced them. If you’ve seen the packages of diced ham at a local grocer, that’s what these looked like. It wasn’t ham but it had that appearance. Other products include thin slices of loin, Boston butts and bellies for different cooking styles. This included packaging for food service and for retail service. I’ve got more highlights to share. Stay tuned. 

I love my job!! I get to work with some of the most caring, dedicated, and compassionate people. This gift will help thousands of hungry North Carolinians as the struggle to recover from Helene continues.