The original father-son Griffith team understood from the founding of the company that customers and prospects needed to see their products for themselves. In the 1920s, the Griffith sales team began calling on sausage makers with sales kits that contained product information and samples. In the same decade, and based on information gathered from the industry, Griffith began developing exclusive blends of seasonings for meat products that addressed regional tastes.
One of the company's most significant early products resulted from the close study by Griffith's scientists of a technique developed in Germany for quick curing meats. Short on manpower and time, German meat processors had begun curing meats using nitrite with salt instead of slow-acting potassium nitrate. This compound became known as Prague Salt. Always entrepreneurial, Griffith began importing Prague Salt and advertising its "new" product.
In 1927, Griffith introduced liquid seasonings and pioneered the pumping phase of meat processing. As the twenties drew to a close, Griffith's rapid growth of seasonings, sausage binders and cures required another move to a larger facility, just north of the old Chicago Stock Yards.
During the depression, Griffith continued to advertise product innovations in meat processing and kept its sales team busy demonstrating its products and their benefits to customers. Griffith spearheaded significant equipment innovations including Big Boy Pumps, the Prague Pickle Scale, the Ham Press, and Prague Powder, an evolution of Prague Salt that was an infusion of salt nitrite.
To assist the war effort in the 1940s, Griffith's research kitchen formulated and processed cold pack beef and gravy for Army rations, a product that was later made available to the general public. The company's increased experimental, testing and manufacturing services led to the expansion of its product development facilities.
Toward the end of the 1940s, Griffith introduced additional results of the collaboration between its testing kitchen and laboratories. G-4 antioxidant was made available to lard renderers to reduce rancidity and to keep spice flavors from oxidizing and going flat. Griffith also introduced a line of dry soluble seasonings that retained the aroma of the original spice and enhanced its flavor because of constant uniformity.
The company developed the legendary Mince Master equipment line in the 1950s, simplifying and improving the production of deli products. It was touted as the "greatest mechanical advance of the century in sausage making."
In 1958, a new federal law required pre-testing of all chemicals used in foods. Griffith pioneered the testing and research necessary to obtain FDA approval. This research led to the expansion of applications using ethylene oxide. ETO, first patented by Griffith in 1940 to treat "C" rations, is a treatment under the Vacugas process used to control bacteria, yeast and mold in many foods, including starches and soy proteins. Griffith researchers quickly recognized ETO's potential for sterilizing, not only food items, but also disposable plastic hospital supplies, such as syringes and intravenous supplies.
Griffith made another significant technical advance in the 1960s with the creation of soy protein concentrates in powder form. With a 70 percent protein content, the concentrates offered customers the lowest cost protein supplement. Griffith subsequently developed a granulated version called Patti Pro, which gave meat patties structure and increased their nutrition benefits. In 1964, Griffith received government approval for a natural smoke flavor.
Griffith Laboratories increased its research budgets in the 1990s, concentrating on fat mimetics, fat absorption, nutrition and texture. This research led to two new patented technologies and the introduction of Nut coating technology and NutraCrisp which led to many developments in improving textual characteristics in fried and baked coatings. Griffith also used its increased research budgets to introduce Culinary Technovations, a portfolio of on-trend culinary learning and food innovation.
By 2000, Griffith Laboratories had been awarded over 170 patents. Now in the 21st Century, Griffith continues to provide a wide array of technically preferred products to the international food industry.