Meat Industry INSIGHTS Newsletter

970901 Taylor Boosts Production of Meat Safety Products

September 3, 1997

OAK BROOK, Ill. - Taylor Precision Products has ramped up production of its Bi-Therm(R) instant-read pocket thermometers and other refrigerator, oven and food thermometers in response to strong consumer and trade demand for the food-safety devices.

"The Hudson Foods E. coli contamination incident has substantially increased consumer and trade awareness of the need to safeguard meat and food safety through the use of high-quality thermometers," said Lawrence Zalusky, Taylor's president and chief executive officer. "For example, thermometer sales jumped 32% at one of our better-known kitchen-products retailers last week. A meat packer ordered 6,000 of our Bi-Therm thermometers so that every one of its customers will have this accurate and convenient tool readily available."

In addition, Zalusky said, three Taylor executives met last week with officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service to review the use of refrigerator, oven and instant-read food thermometers to safeguard the food supply. The discussion of thermometer types and their uses was organized by Susan Conley, director of food safety education and communications for the service.

"We welcomed the opportunity to discuss our newest thermometer technology with the USDA, which sets the standards for safe food preparation and handling," Zalusky said. "We will do everything we can to support state and federal officials to safeguard the food chain. We know that E. coli and other pathogens in food can be killed if heated and held to the proper temperature, and we know that thermometers are an inexpensive, convenient and nearly foolproof way to determine whether those temperatures have been reached. Consumer education is an important way to avoid unnecessary food-contamination tragedies."

Taylor has increased production of thermometers at its plants in both Fletcher, North Carolina, and Juarez, Mexico, Zalusky said. The company has alerted its packaging and raw materials suppliers of the need for additional product.

"With the holiday and family-banquet season approaching, we want to be sure that every family that wants a high-quality thermometer can find one in the marketplace," Zalusky said. "There are important differences in these products. Our Bi-Therm thermometer, for example, is the only instrument on the consumer market that can be calibrated for enhanced accuracy. We'll do all we can to meet the already growing demand for it and our other products." Taylor Precision Instruments is the leading North American manufacturer of thermometers, hygrometers and other measurement products for the consumer, industrial, food service and HVAC markets.

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