ABOUT SWISS MEAT & SAUSAGE COMPANY. Located in the little village of Swiss, just south of Hermann, the origin of Swiss Meat & Sausage Company began in what was the Swiss Country Store. This country store had served the needs of the local community since the mid 1800’s. Purchased in 1965 by Bill and Margie Sloan, Bill, a former meat manager, began cutting meat and manufacturing sausages and cured meats from animals brought in by local farmers. Things grew quickly from there, when in 1969, they built a separate 24 x 48 block structure processing facility located behind the country store. Many expansions and building additions were made throughout the years that followed, including a retail store front that now showcases their award-winning meat products. This retail expansion was made possible when in 2006, they were fortunate to host a Food Network television show featuring Jamie & Bobby Deen (sons of Paula Deen). This nationwide broadcast of their show “Road Tasted” brought nation recognition to Swiss Meat. Their famous brats also caught the attention of “Mizzou Athletics” when they were dubbed “The Official Bratwurst of Mizzou.” Swiss Meat continues to be a destination for shoppers and producers nationwide as they look for local, top quality meat products.
THE CHALLENGE. Like all food processors, Swiss Meat & Sausage Company must follow rigid safety standards to ensure the safety and quality of their products. With growth and personnel changes, they needed to ensure their team was on top of their Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) food safety plan to ensure full compliance. They needed to perform a review of their existing HACCP procedures and conduct a Safe Quality Food (SQF) Analysis to identify areas where they needed to make improvements to meet SQF Certification. Just as importantly, Swiss Meats wanted to make sure their staff was up to par on the ins and outs of the rules so everyone understood the details of their current HACCP plan, and how to make sure it was followed to the letter. They reached out to Missouri Enterprise for assistance.
MEP CENTER’S ROLE. Missouri Enterprise brought in one of their food safety experts to conduct a HACCP Plan review and SQF Gap Analysis to identify areas Swiss Meats needed to focus on. They began the process by walking through the plant with key personnel to review every aspect of processing, explaining in simple terms what needed to be done to secure SQF compliance. A detailed written report was produced that identified “gaps” between Swiss Meats’ HACCP Quality Management standard, and specific recommendations to achieve SQF certification. “They took the time to see what we do in real life, reviewing every step of our processes and communicating with our staff and answering questions to make sure everyone understood what we needed to do,” says Sharon Fennewald, Manager at Swiss Meats. “When they were done, we had a detailed action plan to get and keep us on track.”
“Missouri Enterprise’s experts are extremely knowledgeable and helpful in every phase of training. They explain everything in easy-to-understand terms so everyone involved knows their role and what needs to be done to keep on top of all our Food Safety and Continuous Improvement practices. They’re great!” Sharon Fennewald, Manager
RESULTS.
- $2,000,000 in retained sales.
- $200,000 increased investment in the plant or equipment
- $8,600 increased investment in information systems/software.
- $2,500 increased investment in workforce and employee skills.
- 30+ jobs retained.