THE LEGISLATURE AS SAUSAGE FACTORY IT S ABOUT TIME EXAMINE THIS METAPHOR.

• Author: Rosenthal, Alan
• Position: Sausage making

When you get right different than making law down to it, making sausage is a lot no matter what the old saw says.

If you spend any time hanging around legislatures or around Congress for that matter, you will inevitably hear the expression, "There are two things you don't want to see being made--sausage and legislation." Attributed to Otto von Bismark (1815-1898), Germany's chancellor, the metaphor of sausage making and lawmaking has had a remarkably long run. But, I wonder, does it still apply or are today's sausages and legislation on separate tracks, unlike in the 19th century?

In connection with a book I am writing, I have been closely observing lawmaking in four states. So when I had the opportunity to observe sausage making at the Ohio Packing Company, I took it.

Established as a neighborhood butcher shop in 1907, Ohio Packing has two processing facilities in Columbus, one of which turns out 40,000 pounds of sausage a day. As sausage factories go, this is a medium-sized plant. Larger plants are more automated and have more bells and whistles, but the process is nearly the same. Rick Carter, the quality control manager in the facility served as my guide.

THE GUTS OF SAUSAGE MAKING

Sausage making occurs in distinct stages, each of which takes place in a specified room or area. First comes the raw materials cooler, where sausage ingredients are mixed according to computer formulations. A vat will hold 2,000 pounds of one-quarter fat trimmings and three-quarters lean trimmings. At the second stage, the raw materials proceed to the sausage kitchen. A grinder processes up to 40,000 pounds per hour, a blender allows water and seasoning to be added, an emulsifier reshapes the content into a new form, and natural hog casings are stuffed with ingredients.

The cooking process is the third stage. Huge processing ovens dry, smoke, cook or steam the sausage. A gas fire, using hickory chips, provides natural smoking. The chilling or holding area is the fourth stage. Here, the sausage sits around waiting to be packaged, which comes fifth and is accomplished by three large machines. With the assistance of 10 to 15 packagers, the machines wrap multiple sausages in plastic film. Sixth is storage in a huge freezer with a capacity of about a million pounds. Finally, seventh is the shipping area where wrapped, packaged sausage waits to be loaded on trailer trucks.

THE SAUSAGE LINK

At first glance, sausage making and lawmaking would appear to be a lot...