Americans have a strong love for turkey that extends beyond Thanksgiving. This holiday, synonymous with gratitude and family gatherings, features a turkey-centric feast deeply rooted in American culture. Since, 1970, turkey consumption has surged by 110%. In 2021, U.S. consumption of turkey reached a staggering 5.1 billion pounds, equating to approximately 15.3 pounds per capita, meaning that Americans collectively consumed around 340 million turkeys.
Thanksgiving marks the peak of turkey consumption in the United States, with a staggering 88% of Americans enjoying it, resulting in the devouring of approximately 46 million turkeys. Christmas and Easter also feature turkey feasts, with 22 million and 19 million turkeys consumed, respectively. These numbers are expected to increase, underlining the significance of turkey in the American diet. But what’s even more interesting is that the United States doesn’t just consume turkeys; it’s a major turkey exporter as well.
To ensure a seamless and safe journey from farm to table, various stakeholders in the Thanksgiving turkey supply chain work tirelessly to adhere to strict regulations and guidelines. In this article, we will explore the importance of transportation security and food safety measures related to shipping both frozen and fresh turkeys and the potential ramifications of not following these guidelines. Let’s delve into how the various stakeholders ensure that your holiday feast is not just delicious but also safe.
Regulations and Food Safety: Cornerstones of the Supply Chain
The journey of the Thanksgiving turkey from farm to table is a remarkable journey involving a complex supply chain, stringent regulations, and meticulous planning. Regulations and food safety are the cornerstones of the Thanksgiving turkey supply chain. The USDA is responsible for setting and enforcing the rules that ensure the safety and quality of the turkey from farm to table.
From the farms where turkeys are raised to the packaging and transportation processes, adherence to these regulations is critical to safeguarding public health. To fully understand the complexity of the turkey supply chain, we need to understand where these birds come from and how many are produced. According to the USDA, the United States raised 216.5 million turkeys in 2021.
The top eight states that produced the most turkeys were:
1. Minnesota: 40.5 million
2. North Carolina: 30 million
3. Arkansas: 27.5 million
4. Indiana: 20.5 million
5. Missouri: 17 million
6. Virgina: 14.5 million
7. Iowa: 11.7 million
8. Pennsylvania: 6.9 million
Planning and Preparation for a Smooth Supply Chain
- Advanced logistics planning and preparation are crucial for a successful Thanksgiving turkey supply chain, mirroring the meticulousness of preparing a Thanksgiving dinner.
- Effective communication is essential during the holiday season, requiring seamless collaboration among suppliers, retailers, and transportation partners to coordinate capacity, pickups, and deliveries. Proactive planning for disruptions and service failures is vital.
- Shipment visibility is a critical factor as millions of turkeys are in transit, with suppliers prioritizing order visibility for precise tracking and resource preparation. This involves maintaining well-maintained vehicles and a skilled workforce.
- Meeting the demand for fresh turkeys presents unique challenges, including limited shelf life. The efficient transport of fresh turkeys relies on accurate supply-demand planning, constant communication, and coordination among retailers, turkey farmers, distributors, and logistics carriers to ensure on-time, safe, and high-quality deliveries.
Guidelines and Preventative Measures
- Implement Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans to control food safety hazards.
- Follow Sanitary Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs) for cleanliness and protection. Inspect and test turkey shipments for diseases, E. coli, and salmonella.
- Limit access to freight information to a few trusted key personnel when shipping large volumes or highly valuable items. By limiting route and delivery location details, you reduce the risk of pilferage or theft.
- Turkeys require special handling to meet federal regulations and ensure food safety. Turkeys must be transported in a way that preserves their freshness and protects their containers from damage and contamination. Include safe handling instructions on turkey product packaging.
- Highly perishable Turkeys undergo flash-freezing to maintain taste and texture while preventing ice crystal formation. Perishable goods, whether fresh or frozen, must be transported at 40°F or lower to prevent bacterial growth. Maintain the cold chain throughout transportation to ensure proper temperatures and mitigate contamination by deploying our TydenTrackers.
- Leverage our TrackSecure platform for real-time alerts of tilt, shock, light/door open breaches or temperature deviations that might signal turkey damage, potentially leading to unsellable products and losses. The ability to be proactive versus reactive is critical when shipping sensitive perishables.
- Effective communication and visibility are crucial to ensuring the safe transportation of fresh turkeys. Stakeholders in the supply chain need to coordinate their efforts to minimize their risks. By creating Geofence route alerts within the TrackSecure platform, you ensure the safety of your drivers, and that fresh turkeys reach their destination in a safe and timely manner.
- Financial losses can occur due to pilferage, shrinkage, and theft, while damage to a company’s reputation, resulting from issues like theft and contamination, may lead to a loss of trust from customers and suppliers. Prevent unauthorized access to your conveyances by employing TydenBrooks proven ISO 17712 high security barrier seals such as, our Ez Loc cable seal or our SnapTracker bolt seal.
Securing the World
In a world of intricate supply chains and challenging logistical demands, TydenBrooks stands as a steadfast partner, safeguarding your shipments and reputation. Our dedication to supply chain security solutions is rooted in the understanding that every step of the journey matters. That eliminating uncertainty by providing proven tailored end-to-end perishable goods security is paramount to the success of our customers.
Whether it’s the prevention of financial losses through theft or contamination, safeguarding your reputation, or ensuring the safety of consumers, TydenBrooks is the trusted ally that ensures your shipments arrive on time and in perfect condition. With our 150-year-old legacy, we continue to serve as the dependable bridge between you and supply chain success.
