Research Program – Meat Safety & Quality

Below is a list of only some of the current research activities conducted in the Center for Meat Safety & Quality. If you have any further questions, or have an interest in a specific research topic please contact us at cas_ansci@mail.colostate.edu or (970) 491- 1164.

Research areas include: Detection and occurrence of foodborne pathogens on carcasses, variety meats, wholesale or retail meat products, processed meat products, and in foods collected from consumer homes; Contribution of chemical additives to meat product quality, palatability, shelf-life and safety; Prevalence of pathogenic bacteria in feedlot, and other agricultural and processing-plant environments as well as on animals, animal products, and in consumer homes; Potential for antimicrobial resistance development in bacteria associated with farm animals; Microbial food safety issues associated with non-intact meat products; Food safety assistance for small meat and poultry processors through development and implementation of industry best practices; Effects of genetics and nutrition on meat product quality, palatability and shelf-life, as well as production management on beef, pork and lamb quality and palatability; Comparison of United States and European Union meat inspection and plant sanitation systems and regulations; Development of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems for assurance of meat safety by packers and processors; Identification of procedures and interventions to prevent contamination of beef products with prions of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE); Evaluation of chemical decontamination treatments for meat products against E. coli O157:H7, non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, and antibiotic resistant and susceptible; Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Newport; Evaluation of the effectiveness of FreshCase® technology to extend the shelf-life of whole muscle pork, ground pork sausage, muscle beef and ground beef; Use of a high throughput screening approach to identify novel chemical compounds that control foodborne pathogens and evaluation of these compounds to reduce pathogens in foods; Comprehensive consumer panel palatability rankings and establishing baseline tenderness of American lamb meat; Development of USDA performance standards; Nutrient database improvement research – analysis of collected rib and plate cuts, beef loin and round cuts, as well as quantifying the “aging response” for muscles of the beef round; Comparison of beef carcass grade standards and application among the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Uruguay; Direct and indirect contacts among livestock operations in Colorado, Kansas, and New Mexico as potential transmitters of Foot and Mouth Disease; Relationships of USDA camera-based quality grades to beef palatability attributes; Colorado beef quality assurance program.