Processed Meats Defects
Bone-In Hams/Ham Slices/Smoked Chops
1. Blood Spots/Bruises
3. Casing/Netting Defects
5. Fat to Lean distribution
6. Foreign Material
7. Inconsistent size/length/diameter
8. Muscle/Seam separation
10. Smoke Defects
11. Tar/Ash/Creosote contamination
12. Tiger Striping
13. Uncured Spots/Faded Cure color
14. Voids/Pickle Pockets/Air Pocket
Canadian Bacon
1. Blood Spots/Bruises
2. Bone/cartilage
3. Casing/Netting Defects
5. Fat to Lean distribution
6. Foreign Material
7. Inconsistent size/length/diameter
8. Muscle/Seam separation
10. Smoke Defects
11. Tar/Ash/Creosote contamination
12. Tiger striping
13. Uncured Spots/Faded Cure color
14. Voids/Pickle Pockets/Air Pocket
Luncheon Meat/Boneless Hams
1. Blood Spots/Bruises
2. Bone/cartilage
3. Casing/Netting Defects
5. Fat to Lean Distribution
6. Foreign Material
7. Inconsistent size/length/Diameter
10. Smoke Defects
11. Tar/Ash/Creosote contamination
13. Uncured spots/faded cure color
14. Voids/Pickle pockets/Air pockets
Raw Bacon Slices
1.Blood Spots/Bruises
2. Bone/Cartilage
7. Inconsistent size/length/diameter
9. Shattered slices
10. Smoke Defects
11. Tar/Ash/Creosote contamination
12. Tiger Striping
13. Uncured spots/Faded Cure Color
14. Voids/Pickle pockets/Air pockets
Precooked Bacon
1.Blood Spots/Bruises
2.Bone/Cartilage
7. Inconsistent size/length/diameter = Thin/Thick
Slices
8. Muscle/Seam separation
9. Shattered slices
11. Tar/Ash/Creosote Contamination
13. Uncured spots/Faded Cure Color
14. Pickle Pockets
Sausage (Coarse Ground/Emulsified/Smoked & Cooked/Dry)
2. Bone/cartilage
3. Casing/netting defects
4. Fating out
5. Fat to lean distribution
6. Foreign Material
7. Inconsistent size/length/diameter
10. Smoke Defects =
11. Tar/Ash/Creosote contamination
13. Uncured spots/faded cure color
14. Voids/Air pockets
Sausage (Fresh)
2. Bone/Cartilage
3. Casing/netting defects
5. Fat to lean distribution
6. Foreign Material
7. Inconsistent size/length/diameter
Defect Descriptions
1. Blood Spots/Bruises – Specks or spots of blood should not be visible and the muscle should be free of noticeable bruising.
2. Bone/Cartilage – Noticeable pieces of bone and/or cartilage present in boneless or ground products
3. Casing/Netting Defects – Split casings, twisted ends, exterior tears due to casing/net removal, exterior wrinkles, non-uniform netting pattern.
4. Fating Out – Excess fat separating from the sausage.
5. Fat-to-Lean Distribution – There should not be excess amounts of fat or lean in products. A balanced distribution of fat and fat particles in the cut surface is desirable, especially in exhibits of sliced or slab bacon where a 1-to-1 ratio is idea.
6. Foreign Material – Any material that does not belong in that product. This could be from the animal (abscess, lymph nodes) or from the processing facility (pieces of gloves, tote liners, pallet wood, etc.)
7. Inconsistent Size/Length/Diameter – Products should be uniform from end-to-end. This includes diameter, length, slice thickness, width and count.
8. Muscle/Seam Separation – Noticeable separation between muscles.
9. Shattered Slices – Lacy or patterned appearance of the fat or muscles or both within a slice.
10. Smoke Defects – Smoke color should be a uniform and even mahogany color. Defects include dark (almost black) appearance, muddy or inconsistent smoke color, pale or no smoke color development, smoke streaking, and splotchy color. “Touch marks” or pale, colorless spots on products where two ends were touching during thermal processing and the smoke couldn’t penetrate the surface, would also be considered a Smoke Defect.
11. Tar/Ash/Creosote Contamination – Specks of black colored particles that appear on the surface of products. Usually occurs in the smokehouse and cooking process from improper cleaning of the smokehouse.
12. Tiger Striping – Colored or iridescent streaks that show the needle injector patterns or different intensities of cured color along the cut surface.
13. Uncured Spots/Faded Cure Color – Cured color should be dark, reddish-pink and uniform throughout the muscle, with as little color variation between muscles as possible. The color within a single muscle should not be “twotoned” or “green” in nature.
14. Voids/Pickle Pockets/Air Pocket – Voids could consist of gel pockets, pickle pockets, needle marks, or air pockets.