Frequently Asked Questions

Rinse & Chill^® is a scientifically proven, government-approved process that enables meat processors to produce cleaner, safer and better quality meat.

Today, our customers are mostly independent meat processors supplying to larger end customers and markets, domestic and export.  Rinse & Chill^® helps them deliver on their commitment to produce safe, wholesome, consistently tender and great-tasting meat. It also helps many processors meet their quality assurance standards more easily.   Many well-known retailers across the U.S. carry Great Range Bison, the world’s first fresh, case-ready bison courtesy of Rocky Mountain Natural Meats, a MPSC Rinse & Chill^® client of almost 20 years.  Rinse & Chill^® ground beef is sold coast to coast to a comprehensive list of prominent QSR’s (Quick Serve Restaurants) and retailers alike.  Rinse & Chill^® lamb is newer, but making an impact in Australia and North America due to superior tenderness, color, flavor, shelf life and microbiological quality.  One article recently published in Meat Science documents a 50% improvement in lamb tenderness, other studies range from 18% to 33% improvement in shear force tenderness. Recent UW research documents a 25% to 58% shear force improvement in beef.

Early in the slaughtering process, an extremely dilute (1.5%) sugar-electrolyte chilled solution is used to rinse more residual blood out of the carcass, accelerate carcass chilling, optimize ideal pH levels and inhibit bacterial growth, leaving no detectable residues. As such, it meets the definition of processing aid.  The result is meat that is safer and cleaner, as well as tenderer and better tasting.

Rinse & Chill^® has been approved by government regulators in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.  It is a thoroughly tested, safe, effective and proven process.  It has been used many millions of times in numerous plants, and has an outstanding track record of safety and effectiveness during its over 25 years of commercial use.  At the time of its approval, Robert D. Ragland, D.V.M., Former Senior Staff Officer, USDA-FSIS stated  that Rinse & Chill® was “The most thoroughly investigated technology to be approved by USDA-FSIS.”  

The Rinse & Chill^® solution is 98.5% water and does not leave any detectable residues in the meat.  The solution is essential to making meat cleaner and safer.  Included in the solution are very small amounts of sugar and electrolytes which are completely metabolized, leaving no detectable residues (as documented in the studies available for your review on this website.)  These common food grade substrates are internationally GRAS listed on the CODEX Alimentarius (Generally Recognized as Safe, or “GRAS”) and by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, AQIS and the CFIA.  

There is a trained and certified Rinse & Chill^® technician in every customer facility on a regular basis.  We also remotely monitor the process and conduct regular tests to confirm that Rinse & Chill^® is helping achieve the highest levels of safety and efficacy possible.

University level, peer-reviewed, published and private research plus years of experience conclude that meat delivered through Rinse & Chill^® is safer, cleaner, tenderer and better tasting.  Yet, it does not alter the meat nutritionally.  It adds a tiny amount of moisture to the meat—less than 0.5%–which is compliant with USDA and CFIA standards for retained moisture.  The USDA-accepted test for added moisture shows de minimis carcass water uptake, similar to other commonly used carcass wash processes.

No. There is no consumer or regulatory mandate requiring the labeling of Rinse & Chill^® meat.  It is USDA, CFIA and AQIS inspected and approved.

No. The initiation of Rinse & Chill^® begins post-mortem after the animal has been humanely slaughtered.  Our technicians follow federally mandated Humane Animal Handling Procedures.

Rinse & Chill^® helps your plant achieve higher meat yield on a per animal basis, utilizing more of the carcass and reducing food waste at the plant level. Because of higher meat yields, less energy and water is used and less CO2 is emitted in the processing of each pound of meat. Additionally, Rinse & Chill^® significantly improves chilling efficiency, resulting in the potential for up to a 16% reduction in energy needed for refrigeration.

Rinse & Chill^® is helping the meat industry obtain more meat from each animal processed — meat that would otherwise be lost to waste or processed for secondary meat products. So for a 600 head/day plant, up to 4.7 million pounds¹ of additional meat may be gained each year, which is the annual beef consumption of over 80,000 people in the United States²!

¹ Based on processing 1,200 lb. fed cattle 260 days/year
² According to the USDA, 2022 per capita beef consumption in the U.S. was 59 lb.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=103767

The higher yield resulting from the use of Rinse & Chill^® means that each pound of meat is produced using less energy. Rinse & Chill^® also creates significant chilling efficiencies that reduce refrigeration time and have the potential to reduce refrigeration energy use by up to 16%. Combined, the energy efficiency gains through yield improvement and faster chilling time help to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with fossil fuels.

*It’s important to note that due to variability in plant size and processes, we can’t state with certainty what an individual plant’s actual energy efficiency outcomes will be without an understanding of the baseline energy use. By working with MPSC, we can help you establish your baseline and track energy and yield data to see progress and advancements in efficiency and energy reduction.

As an example, in a 1,200 pound cow, Rinse & Chill^® uses a nominal 14 gallons of water to rinse each animal. The higher yield resulting from the use of Rinse & Chill^® means that less water is used to process each pound of meat. Plus, because 40% more blood is removed up front, clean up water usage is reduced.¹ Rinse & Chill^® creates the potential for a 600 head/day processing plant to reduce water use by 6,100 gallons per day.² That’s 1.6 million gallons per year! Average daily water requirement to sustain life is about 26 gallons.³ Therefore, the annual water saving estimated for one beef plant alone that uses Rinse & Chill^® could be enough water saved for 168 people to live on for a year.

¹ Amount of water savings has not been measured but has been noted by processing plants to be significant.
² Based on 450 gallons of water per animal for processing and 2% efficiency improvement in water use per pound of product when using Rinse & Chill^®.
³ https://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/human_right_to_water.shtml

At MPSC, we are a meat processing solutions company and sustainability is one of our core values as well as a strategic business driver. We make our business decisions by placing people, animals, and nature at the center.

Our company is committed to being part of the solution to climate change, not part of the problem. Our contribution is to deliver technology to our customers that results in sustainable improvements in meat processing plants. We scale change one processing plant at a time. We also scale change by making our own commitments to sustainability. We don’t follow a “do as I say, not as I do approach to sustainability.” At MPSC, we commit to the following actions on sustainability:

1. Transparency.
2. Goal Setting on Waste, Energy, Emissions, Social Impact.
3. Sustainability Reporting.
4. Leadership.
5. Continuous Improvement.

MPSC, Inc. is the owner and developer of the globally patented Rinse & Chill^® technology.  Full USDA approval was granted in 2004 and the technology is now in use in a growing number of abattoirs, primarily in the U.S., Canada and Australia. Rinse & Chill^® is also approved for use in species such as pork, lamb, goat bison and even yaks!

Under its brand Rinse & Chill^®, MPSC Inc., provides meat slaughtering services, know-how, and groundbreaking science and technology.  Our team is composed of experienced slaughter-men, engineers, QA and meat scientists who can help you use this new tool called Rinse & Chill to produce cleaner, safer meat products that are also more tender, with brighter color and longer shelf-life.  Our services become integrated into daily production routines, with both remote and in-plant support personnel. We are invested in your success.