Driving Directions

USMARC Vicinity Map

Mission:
The primary objectives of the Meat Safety and Quality Research Unit are to reduce the risk of foodborne illness associated with the consumption of red meat, to respond to the research needs of the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the USDA, to increase efficiency of lean meat production, and to improve eating quality of meat. Food safety research addresses the microbial status of the meat from slaughter to table using both molecular and standard microbiological techniques. Molecular techniques are used to track contamination to its source in order to discover additional hurdles that will decrease the transfer of pathogens to the carcass. Special emphasis is placed on improving intervention strategies to decrease pathogen contamination of red meat without adversely affecting meat quality. Meat quality research is directed toward the identification of areas of the genome that regulate carcass composition and meat quality, the development of methodologies to classify carcasses based on tenderness and lean meat yield, the effect of breed on carcass composition and meat quality, and the development of intervention technologies to optimize meat tenderness.