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CURRENT PUBLICATIONS PoultryTech (ATRP)
- Safety Issue, Fall 2009 The
Food Chain (FoodPAC) UPCOMING EVENTS6th Annual National Agricultural Week in Georgia Kick-Off Celebration & Georgia Food Festival The 2010 National Safety Conference for the Poultry Industry SPECIAL INTERESTUSPOULTRY announces Lamplighter AwardsRelease Date: February 4, 2010 U.S. Poultry & Egg Association announced the winners of its Lamplighter Awards during its 2010 International Poultry Expo: Henry Kuhl of the family-owned Kuhl Corporation, a manufacturer of egg incubators, was commended for exhibiting for more than 50 years and supporting the U.S. poultry industry. He is a past member of the board of directors of USPOULTRY. Andrew Rhorer, director of the National Poultry Improvement Program and a past executive vice president of the Indiana State Poultry Association, was recognized for his efforts in improving poultry health. Craig Wyvil, director of the Agriculture Technology Research Program at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, was recognized for 27 years of research into food processing technology prior to his retirement last April. Monty Henderson, outgoing USPOULTRY board chairman, said the 2010 Lamplighter Awardees “have served our industry well and we are grateful for their commitment and service.”
FPTD's Agricultural Technology Research Program receives the Gold Tower Award for PoultryTech newsletter
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ATRP RESEARCH NEWSResearchers Validate Optical Biosensor’s Detection Capability on Live Birds Experimentally Infected with the Avian Influenza Virus
Study Underway to Examine Which Poultry Processing Tasks May Contribute to Lower Back InjuryResearchers with the Georgia Tech Research Institute’s Agricultural Technology Research Program in conjunction with member companies of the Georgia Poultry Federation have been examining which tasks within a poultry processing plant could relate to lower back pain and injuries. In 1994, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published the “Applications Manual for the Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation.” However, the NIOSH lifting equation is based on a number of assumptions that do not account for environmental, practical, and procedural factors within a poultry processing plant (see sidebar: “The Applicability of Using the NIOSH Lifting Equation in a Poultry Processing Plant”). This supports the need to determine which tasks have the highest risk for causing lower back pain and injuries, in order to assess proper intervention strategies that reduce the cost of rehabilitation and lost days of work. The Applicability of Using the NIOSH Lifting Equation in a Poultry Processing PlantBy Linda Harley The revised National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) lifting equation was released in January 1994. The purpose of the lifting equation was to provide ergonomists a uniform method for evaluating manual lifting tasks in the hope of reducing lower back injuries and stimulate research. The primary assumptions used in the development of the NIOSH lifting equation may not apply to the poultry processing environment.
Integrating Food Safety Technologies Directly into Processing EquipmentBy Gary McMurray Gary McMurray, chief of the Georgia Tech Research Institute’s Food Processing Technology Division, discusses current research activities focused on the design and functionality of processing equipment that integrates food safety technologies directly into the equipment. Excerpted from “Designing food safety into processing equipment,” Poultry Times, August 31, 2009, pp. 4, 10. Reprinted with permission. At Georgia Tech, we are focused on the development of not only new sensor technology for product screening tasks, but also the design and functionality of processing equipment that integrates food safety technologies directly into the equipment. This is done with the ultimate goal of improving overall product safety and quality and decreasing total cost for food processing plants.
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FPTD is a division of the Georgia Tech Research Institute at the Georgia Institute of Technology. All inquiries for project information should be made to the appropriate personnel (project directors) or administrator. See the Directory of Personnel for the correct contact information. Comments pertaining to the website may be made to Steven Thomas. Copyright © Georgia Tech Research Coporation | Legal | Updated January 2010
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FPTD’s Agricultural Technology Research Program received a 2009 APEX Award of Excellence in the Annual Reports - Print category for its 2008 Annual Report.
Last fall, PoultryTech reported on the potential of using an optical biosensor developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) for the detection of the avian influenza (AI) virus, commonly known as bird flu (
Still Waiting on the SIP
This past June marked the third anniversary of the reissued State of Georgia (GAR000000) general permit for storm water discharges from industrial activities. As expected, during these three years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved Georgia's 2006 305(b)/303(d) List of Waters (impaired stream segments). With two years remaining until the general permit is set to expire, analysis of the data collected by facilities regarding the impact of animal processing activities on impaired streams is expected to begin. For the poultry industry, these milestones are a reminder to review existing storm water pollution prevention plans (SWP3) to ensure that monitoring requirements are up-to-date and that best management practices (BMPs) are working.
Researchers Examine Current Chiller Water Disinfection Management Practices
Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are developing cost-effective techniques for separating and converting poultry processing residuals into higher-value products such as high-grade fuels. The techniques would provide a beneficial use for these byproducts, which are typically blended back into lower-value products.
Gary McMurray Named Chief of GTRI’s Food Processing Technology Division
Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) recently completed preliminary modeling and testing of key cutting control techniques for their Intelligent Deboning System, which they believe will allow automated deboning systems to match if not exceed the yield and quality performance of the best manual deboning processes.
A washdown-ready robot for packing fresh meat into trays, developed by Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) engineers, recently underwent ten months of in-plant testing at Cargill Meat Solutions in Newnan, Georgia. The in-plant tests were conducted as part of a multi-year study funded by Georgia’s Traditional Industries Program for Food Processing and GTRI’s Agricultural Technology Research Program, focused on verifying the robot’s ability to withstand daily caustic and high-pressure cleanup; its operational performance over extended hours; and its accuracy in placing fresh meat products into trays.
Alerting technicians in a food processing plant about a substandard item on the processing line could be much easier in the future with a laser projection system developed by researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). 
Vision systems are becoming commonplace in many manufacturing operations for tasks such as quality assessment and process control. These systems bring the added benefits of high-speed, continuous, and uninterrupted operation. Unfortunately, food processing has not realized the same level of success with vision system implementation as other manufacturing sectors. This is because the food processing environment places a unique set of hardware requirements on the system design. While the costs associated with the electronics required to fabricate a new vision inspection system have dropped, the real expense is in the hardening of such a system for a food processing environment. The design and fabrication of the enclosures and conduits must withstand the rigors of the food processing environment and protect the sensitive electronics contained inside from the routine washdown and sanitation practices.