The release of the Protein PACT's 2023 Continuous Improvement Report marks a significant milestone in the ongoing journey toward sustainability within the meat industry. It's a testament to the collective efforts of industry leaders, and CAT Squared is proud to play a key supportive role in these transformative endeavors.

The countdown has begun for the 2023 Poultry Symposium for Production & Processing, set to take place from October 9 to 11, 2023, at the Rogers Convention Center in Rogers, AR. You can find CAT Squared at booth 21. We are excited to connect with industry peers, showcase our solutions, and discuss the latest developments in poultry processing technology.

In an era defined by transformative change and unwavering sustainability commitments, the meat industry stands at a crossroads of innovation, responsibility, and progress. CAT Squared proudly announces its sponsorship of the North American Meat Institute's (NAMI) 2023 Protein PACT (People, Animals, Climate of Tomorrow) Summit, a dynamic event that crystallizes the collective determination to shape a responsible and sustainable future for the industry.

CAT Squared, a leading provider of advanced software solutions for the food industry, and Meyn, a global leader in poultry processing solutions, are proud to announce the joint presentation of their groundbreaking CYNERGY™ solution at Alimentaria FoodTech. The event is scheduled to take place from September 26th to 29th, 2023, at Fira Barcelona - Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain. Industry professionals are invited to experience the future of poultry processing and food production at Booth D82.
 
CYNERGY™ represents a cutting-edge collaboration between Meyn and CAT Squared, leveraging the strengths of both companies to deliver a comprehensive and intelligent solution that transforms the poultry processing industry. The innovative technology combines Meyn's expertise in poultry processing equipment with CAT Squared's advanced software suite, providing seamless integration and real-time data analysis for enhanced production efficiency and quality control.
 
At Booth D82, visitors will have the opportunity to explore the following key features of CYNERGY™:
 
Poultry Processing Excellence: CYNERGY™ showcases Meyn's state-of-the-art poultry processing equipment, renowned for its precision, speed, and reliability. Attendees will witness firsthand how the machinery optimizes the entire processing line, from evisceration and cutting to deboning and portioning.
 
Real-time Data Insights: CAT Squared's advanced software suite seamlessly integrates with Meyn's processing equipment, offering real-time data insights on key performance indicators. This data-driven approach empowers decision-makers with actionable information to enhance production efficiency, reduce downtime, and minimize waste.
 
Traceability and Quality Assurance: CYNERGY's farm-to-fork traceability solution, powered by CAT Squared, ensures complete transparency throughout the supply chain. From tracking the origin of raw materials to monitoring quality metrics, food manufacturers gain confidence in delivering safe and traceable products to consumers.
 
Compliance and Food Safety: With a focus on meeting industry-specific regulations and certifications, CYNERGY™ streamlines compliance management, reducing the risk of food safety incidents and ensuring adherence to international standards.
 
AI-driven Insights: AI capabilities enabled by the CYNERGY™ Cloud delivers predictive maintenance insights, optimizing equipment performance and prolonging the lifespan of processing machinery.
 
"We are thrilled to introduce CYNERGY™ at Alimentaria FoodTech," said Vernon Smith, CEO at CAT Squared. "This revolutionary solution represents the convergence of two industry leaders, Meyn and CAT Squared, to redefine the future of poultry processing. CYNERGY™ empowers food manufacturers with a level of automation, efficiency, and data-driven decision-making that sets new industry standards."
 
"CYNERGY™ is the result of a synergistic collaboration between Meyn and CAT Squared," said Eric-Jan Radstake, Chief Innovation Officer at Meyn. "By combining Meyn's best-in-class poultry processing equipment & software programs with CAT Squared's powerful software suite, we are delivering a solution that not only enhances productivity but also elevates food safety and quality throughout the entire production process."
 
Don't miss this opportunity to witness the future of poultry processing and food production. Join Meyn and CAT Squared at Booth D82 during Alimentaria FoodTech in Barcelona, Spain, from September 26th to 29th, 2023. Experience CYNERGY™ firsthand and learn how it can transform your poultry processing operations.
 
CONTACT:
 
CAT Squared: Guillermo Milman, Technical Sales Manager Iberoamérica, Guillermo.Milman@catsquared.com, +34 635 507 140  
 
MEYN: Albert Ribalta, Commercial Director, Meyn Food Equipment Iberica, aribalta@meyn.com  +34 620043209
 
About Meyn:
Meyn is a leading global supplier of innovative poultry processing solutions, offering a comprehensive range of equipment and services to poultry processors worldwide. With a commitment to excellence, Meyn's cutting-edge technology and reliable machinery set the industry standard, ensuring efficient and high-quality poultry processing operations.
 
About CAT Squared:
CAT Squared is a trusted provider of advanced software solutions for the food and beverage manufacturing industry. The company's software suite empowers food manufacturers with real-time data insights, traceability solutions, and predictive analytics to optimize production processes, enhance food safety, and ensure compliance with industry standards.

A case study coauthored by GS1 US and Nestlé Professional demonstrates that good data governance saves time and money while providing transparency and trust to the customers.

In 2022, Fieldale Farms received a customer request to implement new traceability requirements. The customer’s goal was to increase traceability transparency for their consumers, eliminate manual scanning at all levels of their supply chain, improve their inventory accuracies, and build consumer trust. Fieldale brought in CAT Squared to build seamless integrations between the traceability platform and plant-floor hardware to meet the customer’s request.

"CAT Squared helped us achieve the goals our customer asked for by providing new developments in RFID technology systems," said Cameron Smith, IT plant liaison at Fieldale Farms Corporation. Because CAT Squared’s plant-floor solutions are hardware- and software-agnostic, the team was easily able to integrate with readers from Zebra Technologies, software from Mojix, and labeling systems from Avery Dennison.

The customer’s RFID program required Fieldale to incorporate label attributes that comply with the GS1 Foodservice traceability program. The GS1-128 barcodes are scanned throughout the supply chain, capturing the physical location and context of specific products, their lot numbers, production dates, and expiration dates. RFIDs rely on the serialization of each case and linking that serial number to a product commissioning event.

To meet that requirement, CAT Squared handled the encoding (and decoding) of serials to SGTIN-96 (Serialized Global Trade Identification Number) for creating the RFID labels. The system then transmitted Fieldale’s production data by product to Mojix for commissioning events.

In addition to meeting their customer’s requirements, the RFID initiative is anticipated to save Fieldale time on inventory management and stock rotation, mitigate human error, and increase expiration date visibility. Ultimately, the goal is to create a more transparent supply chain through a best-in-class traceability system to enable safety, efficiency, and the verification of food with integrity.

The North American Meat Institute (NAMI) with the support of CAT Squared will present "Building a Framework for Digital Success," a webinar sharing industry best practices for technology adoption for meat and poultry producers.

"The Meat Institute’s first-ever continuous improvement report is a game changer for transparency in the sector – setting transparent baselines that will allow us to measure progress and verify our sector’s contributions to global goals,” said NAMI President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. Potts was referring to the first of many reports to come from the North American Meat Institute’s (NAMI) Protein PACT (for the People, Animals, and Climate of Tomorrow). 

Join CAT Squared's Jack Teague for his IPPE TECHTalk presentation Assessing a Business's Readiness for Smart Automation and Winning Stakeholder Support. The presentation will feature three main objectives:

The FDA’s FSMA 204 Food Traceability Rule has introduced stricter data requirements for certain foods—but many processors are still unsure how this affects them. If you manufacture, process, or pack foods on the FDA’s Food Traceability List (FTL), FSMA 204 applies to you.

Update (May 2025): The FDA has officially extended the compliance deadline for FSMA 204 from January 2026 to July 20, 2028. While this delay offers more time to prepare, it doesn’t reduce the risk of costly, overly broad recalls for companies that lack robust traceability systems.