The Animal and Food Sciences research program is committed to pursuing excellence and enhancing the quality of life through innovative research in sustainable livestock production and management systems; food safety, security and quality; and processing and value added products. Accomplishments/impacts made possible by funding from the Legislative Appropriations Request include:

Consumer Evaluations of Extra Lean Beef Steaks. In order to determine if extra lean beef would be acceptable to consumers, researchers studied the evaluations of approximately 2,700 consumers in Baltimore/Washington DC, Chicago, Los Angeles and Lubbock. They evaluated beef top loin steaks for juiciness, tenderness, flavor and overall satisfaction. Researchers found that the overall acceptability ratings of the leaner beef was similar to the fatter control beef, which indicated that consumers can have steaks of acceptable quality while reducing fat content by up to 30%.

Improving Beef Safety for Consumers. Researchers determined the locations of contamination on beef carcasses during harvest so that intervention and dressing improvements could be made to prevent E. coli 0157:H7 and Salmonella from reaching the consumer in ground beef, steaks and roasts. Approximately 75% of U.S. beef packers have utilized the results to improve food safety.

Meeting Consumer Demand for Lean Tender Beef. Researchers correlated the objective measures of Warner Bratzler Shear force and Slice Shear force to consumer evaluations. The goal was to determine the levels that were needed to meet the consumer demand for lean tender beef. Their results provided a way for beef packers to sort carcasses based on tenderness, which will ultimately provide consumers consistently tender steaks.

Evaluating Transportation Stress in Swine. Researchers evaluated the effect of a 30-hour transport on the physiology and breeding performance of breeding-age gilts and found that it did not detrimentally affect the breeding gilts’ welfare. This is important because long distance transport of animals is currently a contentious issue and the research provides valuable information towards resolving the issue.

Improving Animal Well Being. Researchers examined the stress response to two different methods of tail docking of swine to determine a practical, on-farm means of reducing distress caused by the practice. An alternative and practical means of tail docking was found, improving animal well being during production.

Fighting E. coli O157:H7 In Spinach. From 1998 to 2004, the number of produce-related outbreaks in the United States nearly doubled. A newly developed lactobacillus-based intervention was created by researchers to reduce the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 on spinach, and today industry interaction and testing is underway.

Boosting Accuracy of Food Composition Data Research conducted through the International Center for Food Industry Excellence has provided updated data for the USDA’s nutrient database for raw and cooked poultry and pork products. The new information improves the accuracy of USDA food composition data, which is used by consumers, food processors, scientists, nutritionists and medical professionals worldwide. It’s also the basis for numerous USDA reports and summaries, including the National Food Nutrient Analysis Program.