Jack was a stocky individual with a doughy face and a slightly upturned porcine nose. He smiled ingratiatingly.
“I want to talk with the president,” Kim said.
“Listen,” Jack said without a beat, “I’m truly sorry to hear that your daughter is ill.”
“She’s more than ill,” Kim said. “She’s at death’s door, fighting for her life against a bacteria called E. coli 0157:H7. I imagine this is a bug you’ve heard of.”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Jack said. His smile vanished. “Everyone in the meat business is aware of it, especially after the Hudson Meat recall. In fact, we’re so paranoid about it, we make an effort to exceed by far all USDA rules, regulations, and recommendations. And as proof of our efforts, we’ve never been cited for a single deficiency.”
“I want to visit the hamburger-patty production area, Kim said. He wasn’t interested in Jack’s obviously canned spiel.
“Now, that’s impossible,” Jack said. “We understandably limit access to avoid contamination. But…”
“Hold up,” Kim interjected as his face reddened. “I’m a doctor. I understand contamination. I’ll be willing to put on any suit that’s normally worn in the area. Whatever has to be done, I’ll do. But I’m not going to take no for an answer.”
“Hey, calm down,” Jack said good-naturedly. “You didn’t let me finish. You can’t go onto the production floor, but we have a glassed-in observation walk so you can see the whole process. What’s more, you don’t have to change out of your street clothes.”
“That’s a start, I suppose,” Kim said.
“Great!” Jack commented. “Follow me.”
Jack preceded Kim, leading him along a corridor.
“Are you only interested in hamburger production?” Jack asked. “What about some other meat product, like sausage?”
“Just hamburger,” Kim said.
“Fine and dandy,” Jack said cheerfully.
They got to a stair and started up.
“I want to emphasize we’re tigers about cleanliness here at Mercer Meats,” Jack said. “Hell, the entire meat-production area gets cleaned every day, first with high-pressure steam and then with a quaternary ammonium compound. I mean, you could eat off the floor.”
“Uh-huh,” Kim intoned.
“The whole production area is kept at thirty-five degrees,” Jack said as they reached the top of the stairs. He grabbed the handle of a tire door. “It’s tough on the workers but tougher on the bacteria. You know what I mean?” Jack laughed; Kim stayed silent.
They went through the door and entered a glass enclosed corridor perched a floor above the production area. It ran the entire length of the building.
“Pretty impressive, wouldn’t you say?” Jack said proudly.
“Where’s the patty area?” Kim asked.
“We’ll get to that,” Jack said. “But let me explain to you what all this machinery is doing.”
Below, Kim could see workers going about their business. They were all dressed in white uniforms with white caps that resembled shower hats. They were also wearing gloves and shoe covers. Kim had to admit that the plant looked new and clean. He was surprised. He’d expected something significantly less impressive.
Jack had to speak loudly over the sound of the machinery. The glass on either side of the walkway was single-paned.
“I don’t know if you are aware that hamburger is usually a blend of fresh meat and frozen,” Jack said. “It’s course ground separately over there. Of course, the frozen stuff has to be defrosted first.”
Kim nodded.
“After the course grind, the fresh and the frozen meat are dumped into the formulation blender over there to make a batch. Then the batch is finely ground in those big grinders.”
Jack pointed. Kim nodded.
“We do five batches per hour,” Jack said. “The batches are then combined into a lot.”
Kim pointed to a large rubber or plastic bin on wheels. “Does the fresh meat come in those containers?” he asked.
“Yup,” Jack agreed. “They’re called ‘combo bins’ and they hold two thousand pounds. We’re very particular with our fresh meat. It has to be used within five days, and it’s got to be kept below thirty-five degrees. I’m sure you know that thirty-five degrees is colder than a standard refrigerator.”
“What happens to the lot?” Kim asked.
“As soon as it comes out of the fine grinder it goes by this conveyor below us to the patty-formulating machine over yonder.”