Natural Pork Flavor Warmly Welcomes Air-Chilling

Nature's Premium Brand First to Market Air-Chilled Fresh Pork

Northfield, Ill. - Nature's Premium Brand, LLC becomes the first company in the United States marketing air-chilled pork.

Air-chilling, a process used to cool hog carcasses after slaughter, is relatively new to the pork industry. Rather than cooling carcasses by cold water immersion, air-chilling uses ultra-cold air circulated at high velocity to quickly and safely bring them to temperature. Air-chilling is a process that’s been employed by the poultry industry for nearly ten years, with great success. The primary benefits of the process are better tasting, safer product and a considerable savings in water usage.

Nature’s Premium fresh pork is produced in a state-of-the-art plant that employs this cutting edge air-chill technology. With air-chilling as a core feature of their fresh pork product, the company is seeing a large increase in interest from retailers who value this as a point of differentiation.

Technically speaking, the air-chilling process helps to maintain the meat’s critical pH level. This level gives the pork a darker “reddish” color and locks in critical muscle moisture. This process contributes to meat tenderness, desirable texture and a more pure pork flavor. And because the carcasses are not chilled conventionally using cold water baths and sprinklers, nothing extraneous is being added to the meat, providing a greater yield when cooked.

“Our state-of-the-art plant, one of just a handful in North America using air-chilling to cool pork carcasses, and our Duroc–sired genetics, means the consumer is going to get a tender and flavorful eating experience. During processing, our fresh pork products are never pumped in any way…..no water added at any point” said Joe Bill Meng, Vice President of Livestock Systems and Protocols for Nature’s Premium Brand.

Air-chilling also offers a level of food safety to production. “By cooling the carcasses quickly using this air chilling method, we are drastically reducing any surface-borne bacteria or contaminants that may have remained on the carcass after processing, as well as eliminating those contaminants that could develop from the water sprayed on the carcass itself.” said Joe Bill.

And because extra water is not being used in baths and sprinklers to bring the carcass temperature down, resources are being conserved too, according to Nature’s Premium Vice President of Marketing Dan Stewart, Jr. “Our air-chilling process, combined with other resource-saving systems and methods in our plant, are helping us to conserve almost 6 million gallons of water normally used during processing each year.”

Nature’s Premium is promoting its all-natural, antibiotic-free fresh pork with the “Get Real” campaign, which features informative brochures, signage and a website (www.naturespremiumbrand.com) that helps educate consumers about natural foods with facts, recipes and more.

Established in 2007, Nature’s Premium Brand LLC delivers unprecedented consumer benefits with the highest quality natural foods. Product offerings include Antibiotic-free Fresh Pork, All-Natural Deli Meats, rBGH-Free Cheeses and All-Natural Sausages and Bacon. A true natural brand, Nature’s Premium is committed to animal welfare, food quality and food safety. Leading retail and foodservice outlets nationwide trust Nature's Premium Brand products for the all-natural, wholesome options their customers seek today.

For more information about Nature’s Premium Brand, retailers can contact the company at 1-888-485-2032 or visit www.NaturesPremiumBrand.com.

Media Contact:
Dan Stewart, Jr.
847-441-5857
dstewartjr@triadfoodsgroup.com