Jerky lasts forever?

A typical misconception regarding beef jerky is that is will last forever. Some would call it indestructable. Both of these are dangerous misconceptions. Food preservation comes via several methods:

• Drying
• Freezing
• Preservative additives

Commercially produced beef jerky is manufactured under USDA guidelines, which monitor for specific temperature guidelines, and general sanitation habits during process. So, even with the USDA inspection, you are only gauranteed that the product was made in a safe environment, and at the time of process was a wholesome product. The USDA does not involve themselves in testing that will guarantee shelf stability.

These are further tests done by the manufacturer and typically revolve around water analyisis of the product. Once the product is finished, in order to be stable, it must fall below a known level of "free water". In order for the product to spoil, their first must be a "field" for the bacteria to grow in. So, remove the water, no field, product should/will last for quite some time. A lot of folks think this is some sort of new science the meat guys came up with, but in fact, the American Indians were the first to discover this trick. So, now we have the water below a threshold level, the bacteria has no chance of growing.

But wait......what bacteria? The bacteria I am talking about can be introduced during the process, post process, and or in the field at the point of sale. Some are fairly harmless, some can kill you. So, we need to go back and re-visit the process again. The environment that the product is manufactured in is critical to the shelf life of the finished product. Starting with a sanitary work room and equipment, that have been sanitized (not just washed). The USDA requires a cleanup water temperature of 180F. So, with all the "home made products" out there......this should be your first scare. No household has a hot water tank that runs at 180F, more typically they are in the 140F range.....This means, any bacteria present in the work space, is still present after cleaning....OK, so there are anti-bacterial cleaning agents out there......did they get all the bugs? And more importantly, did that homeowner clean all the soaps away?

Now we move on to the cooking process. While the Indians didn't take internal temperatures on thier product drying over the fire, the USDA requires it today. We have learned over time that the magic "safe" number for processed foods is 152F. Once the product passes this internal (not oven) temperature, the more dangerous bugs are dead. From the cooking process, back to that (hopefully) clean room for packaging. So here we are in the clean, sanitary room, and what happens if one of the packagers forgot to wash thier hands after using the bathroom? Biggest threat would be our (becoming more popular every day in the news) friend....eColi bacteria. This bacteria along with some others can hurt and even kill you. The point being.......don't think just because there are no mold spores growing on your jerky that it is safe to eat......


So, now that you now have a *general* idea of the process......why would anyone buy homemade products? It is very bothersome to me that in todays online marketplace, I continue to see "home made" products advertised, and selling! Seems folks think that because it is "home made" it is better than anything you could buy in the market. This thinking could kill you! Beware of the homemade products. Another bad one seen online is "too good to be true prices" on USDA products. These are typically distressed goods, meaning they are at or past the shelf date of the manufacturer. Typcial shelf life of beef jerky coming out of a USDA plant is 1 year. So, buying distressed goods, you are buying products that are over a year old. While this does not mean it will be harmfull to you, it will mean the quality of the product is past what it should be. And depending on the type of product, could harm you.Bottom line:Beware of home made food products, and when it comes to beef jerky, stay away from those "deep discounts", or at a minimum, ask the seller what the shelf date is.


But wait, I forgot..................Jerky last forever............right???

Welcome to Ask the Jerky Guy...........

Hi, my name is Dave Taylor. I have been in the meat business for 40yrs, and am well known for quality jerky and snack meat products. I started a company called Taylor Country Farms, LTD. in 1979. In the beginning TCF was a small company with only a handful of employees. We quickly grew to national distribution, and over 100 employees.
The plan was simple.....we tried something new......we made quality products and sold them at a fair price! Back in the day, the competition saw us coming, and for the most part, blew us off. After all, when you are a public company with a very deep product development staff, all food science experts with degrees........why would they worry about this little startup company out in Oregon?
All the degrees in the world could not match with the hands on knowledge, and creativeness that TCF kept putting out. Starting with the product line, all the way to the methods of distribution....we really set those college kids back on their heels.....Before they knew it, we had become known as "The product standard that consumers had come to expect" (Frito Lay, 1988), published in a Frito Lay newsletter talking about their new product that was "close" to the Taylor Farms product (in their opinion).
The competition called me a loose cannon....a red neck, a little guy that couldn't possibly go anywhere......little did they know!
By the time 1999 rolled around, we were still growing nationally, and had added some export as well. Still, even with the financial growing pains and product costs on the rise, we maintained our quality, as well as pricing. It was about that time that we started seeing our competition sniffing us out for possible acquisition. We heard from many, all wanted a "sit down and plant tour" (interpretation: they wanted to come out and learn all our trade secrets, go home and make it themselves.........).
They came in droves.....

• GoodMark Foods (Slim Jims)
• Jack Link Snacks
• Fletchers Fine Foods

And the list goes on.......... Nobody was serious, but rather wanted to learn as much as they could about our products, and processes. Most brought their product development COO with them, and all left the visit with no clue as to how we did what we did..........It was late 1999 when we got another request to buy us out from a smaller company out of Idaho, called King B Snacks.
Like the others, we forwarded them a non disclosure agreement, and a day later they were on property. The difference here was, they actually made us an offer we couldn't refuse 3 days later! From there, things moved quickly, and before I knew it, 30 days later, I no longer owned a meat company! At first it felt real good.....pile of cash in the bank, no more headaches, my product line will go on, and expand.........but then I see them start to change things, product and marketing wise, all in the first few months.
Now, you have to ask yourself, why bother buying a company for (their words) our:

• Product line
• Marketing exposure
• Distribution

Only to change things, and in effect make the TCF products more like the King B products? OK, so I figured, not my problem.....and moved on.A couple years later, I hear some news that Jack Link had bought out King B (and Taylor). Jack was an old friend of mine, and he had always been excited about our line. Wow....TCF is now part of the largest meat snacks company in the US!
This was a very proud moment for me. I called Jack, and congratulated him. He finally had the best beef jerky in the country....with his size and resources, this was a good thing!
A few short months later, I hear the news......Links had killed the Taylor line........Completely! I couldn't believe what I was hearing....my old friend had bought King B and Taylor only to get Taylor out of the marketplace! He then shutdown both the Hubbard plant (old TCF plant) and all but shutdown the Idaho plant (old King B plant). So, here I am out of the meat business, no more meat plant, and distributors calling me wondering what they are going to do? Well, by this time, I have gotten pretty used to Tuna Fishing off the Oregon coast, have several new grand babies to play with....I really don't want to get back in the manufacturing business.
So, I called a few old buddies of mine, took a look at what products they were making, and have started to sell products for a few of them. I call it JerkyNet and can be found at http://www.jerkynet.com/. To start we are distributing the World Kitchens Beef Jerky. The WK plant is 35 miles from us, so we are able to get fresh production as needed. While the product is great...it is not TCF ....but close. The president of the company I trust completely. He and I go way way back.
Enough for now..........hope this explains what I have been up to for the last few years.......Now, to coin a Jack Nicholson quote........"He's back..............."

Dave............