Building a Stronger Safety Culture: Clark's Custom Meat and Missouri Enterprise's HACCP Partnership

Clark’s Custom Meat Co., based in St. Joseph, Missouri, is a family-owned business specializing in custom meat processing and retailing Clark's unique recipes. Founded by Butch and Trina Clark in 2003, the business has grown through dedication to quality and community. In 2023, Max and Danielle Carrillo became owners, continuing the Clark family’s legacy. Offering beef, pork, lamb, goat, and wild game processing, Clark's takes pride in being part of its customers' cherished dining traditions. 

Clark’s became a state and federally-inspected processing plant; because of this, a HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) plan was essential to maintaining food safety and regulatory compliance. This plan ensures that every processing step is carefully monitored, from receiving raw materials to the final product, identifying and controlling potential hazards to prevent contamination. While Max, one of the owners at the plant, was already certified in HACCP, sharing this critical responsibility with the co-owner, Danielle, was equally important. They felt that certification for both owners would divide oversight, reducing pressure on a single individual and encouraging a collaborative approach to managing safety standards. By building a knowledgeable team that understands and implements the HACCP plan, the plant is better prepared for inspections. It can consistently maintain high safety standards, ultimately protecting the product and the business's reputation.

Missouri Enterprise, part of the MEP National Network™, was crucial in helping Clark's Custom Meat Co. build a strong foundation in HACCP standards, especially as they aimed to share safety responsibilities between Max and Danielle. When the need arose for Danielle to gain certification, Missouri Enterprise stepped in. The instructor was hands-on and thorough, ensuring everyone understood the essentials of HACCP planning and food safety protocols. Through this, Max, Danielle, and their team didn’t just learn the standards—they gained the skills to develop a HACCP plan that was clear, actionable, and adaptable. Now, Clark’s Custom Meat has a strong safety framework in place, where the owners and any trained team member can understand and execute the necessary safety protocols, ensuring plant safety runs smoothly, even in their absence.