On day 8 of our summer ag tour, we got the opportunity to visit Fries Frozen Foods in Millen, GA. Fries Frozen Foods processes pork, lamb, and beef which is 20% of their own animals and 80% of the public bringing their animals. Our tour guides, Mrs. Becca and Mr. Jarrod Creasy greeted us outside when we arrived with a warm welcome. Before going inside we had to put on hairnets and booties so that we wouldn’t transfer any bacteria that we had accumulated while visiting other farms during the day.
Once we got inside, we immediately got to see how staff went about cutting a pig’s carcass to get ready to package for customers. The process was a lot faster than I had expected and it was very interesting to watch even though at first it was surprising to see as soon as we walked in! After, we were shown the carcass floor. The carcass floor is where the animals are rendered unconscious. They process 20-25 head a week! Cattle gets split in quarters after they are eviscerated and the hide is removed. Pigs get scalded in a special machine to remove hair, before they are able to go on the rails. This is also where all the meat is federally inspected by the USDA. Someone from the USDA is there every hour of the day to make sure all the meat that is being processed meets high standards. Afterwards, we got to see where the carcasses are stored (the cooler room) which always stays below 42°. We also got to see the freezers which are stored at -4°. Overall it was an amazing experience to be able to see what the meat we eat goes through before it gets on our plate!
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