UNIVERSITY PARK. Pa. — When Monica Hepler and her husband decided to take the “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point for Meat and Poultry Processors” course offered by Penn State Extension a year ago, they had no idea, of course, that a global pandemic was coming.
The training allowed Hepler’s Meat Processing in Emlenton to satisfy U.S. Department of Agriculture requirements and ramp up their operation. Today — with large grocery store meat shelves not fully stocked and worried consumers looking to buy food locally — their business has grown so much they barely can keep up with demand. Many other small-scale meat processors in the state have seen similar explosive growth in business.
Hepler’s has been in the beef business for more than 25 years and in the butchering business for 20 years, but having the shop under inspection by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service prepared them to deal with a 75-80% increase in meat sales in recent months. Taking the “HACCP” training at Penn State’s University Park campus set them up for success, according to Hepler.
“With the shortages, people have learned that meat doesn’t just come from the grocery store shelves,” she said. “Getting trained by Penn State Extension and becoming USDA certified was a great move for us. We are fortunate.”
Hepler credits Meat Extension Specialist Jonathan Campbell, one of the instructors of the class, for helping them take their shop to the next level. “His help was extremely valuable,” she said. “When we had a few questions and issues while trying to get under inspection, I was able to reach out to him. Jonathan was just a wealth of knowledge for us. He had a lot of suggestions.”
But it’s not only small Pennsylvania meat processors who value Penn State Extension’s help. In recent months — as the COVID-19 outbreak has hit their plants, sickening workers and forcing closures — several large companies turned to extension for guidance about how to reopen and handle animals that could not be processed in the interim.