262.

S U R V E Y OF COURSE C O N T E N T IN ADVANCED H E A T S

V . R . C A H I L L

Nine years ago the Reciprocal Meat Conference was a lusty infant.

Thus evolved the survey of basic meat !Chose early discussions prompted the members to inquire what others were teaching and how they were doing it. courses and the following year a suggested syllabus for guidance--particular- ly of new instructors--and for the development of beginning courses. quiries for this information still are being received.

In-

hbre recently, questions have been raised as to what more advanced work is being offered at our institutions. around a so-called technical course because many are attempting to initiate one e

The interest seemed to center

Assignment to this task was accompanied by two fortunate circum- The information gathered is valuable and the Executive Committee stances.

listed the topic as "A Survey of Course ConOent. . . ," fo r a syllabus--complications would have arisen.

If they had called

We asked for a listing of advanced courses in addition to the cutting and/or slaughter course. vealed wide variety among the few advanced courses offered and they seemed to fall in four categories as follows:

Perusal of the survey replies soon re-

1) Classification and grading

2) Home Economics, Institutional Management, Veterinary and survey type

3) Seminars

4) Technology and/or science courses

For several reasons (such as the coaches ban against revealing how grading courses are taught!), the latter category (technical course) is the one for which information has been extracted from the Survey and is pre- sented herewith.

263.

TALLY OF WFtVEY OF ADVANCED MEAT COURSES SUBMITTED TO INSTITUTIOMS ---TEEmDURINGMARCH1960

Queries mailed to - - - - - - - - - - 34 institutions Returns received - - - - - - - - - - - 27 institutions Advanced conrses offered in - - - - - 19 institutions No advanced courses offered in - - - 8 institutions Multiple advanced courses offered in - 6 institutions

*Five of these institutions offer "Special hroblems" work.

A re'sume of the advanced courses reported with a little information concern- ing each is presented a6 follows: grading and judging are not included)

(Courses which appeared to be primarily

Title

Advanced Meats Meat Technology Meat Handling and Processing Principles of Meat Evaluation Meat Practicums Technological Principles of Meat Processing

Meat Packing Plant Operations Institutional Meats Packinghouse Operations Laboratory Methods in Animal Nutrition and Meats

Meat Technology

*Meat Technology *Advanced Meat Technology Meats I -- 341 Meats I -- 348 Meat Problems *Advanced Meats Weat Technology *Meat Investigations *Meat Research Methods Meat Production & Distribution Meat Investigations

Meat Technology & Judging *Advanced Meat

*Advanced Meat Studies Advanced Meats Advanced Meats Meat Selection & Use (Meat Processing )

Advanced Meat Technology & Research Techniques

Investigations in Meats Meat Technology

3

2 2

3 or 5

2 2-6

2 4

4 2

3 3 3 3 3

3 5 3 3 2 2 3

3

3 2

3 2-4

3

1 3 3 1

2

1

1 2

1 1 2 1 1.5

3 3 1 2

1

:lass hrs I per week Lec. Lab.

3 0 6 2 2

3

6 2

2 2 2 6 0.5

6 4

4

1 2 after- noons per week 1 4 1 3 2 3 2 2

2 3 Problems 2 2

Times Df f ered each year

3 1 3

1

1 Alt . years 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1

1

1

2 1 1 1

ut. 3 1

Average mrollment Jnder G r a d grad 12

2 L-2 4-7 LO-12 5-6

4- 5 1- 2 3-5 3

10 Vew course

6 0 160 25 7

32 12 3

15 2 5

10 3 2 10

2

5

6 9

2

4 6 8

5

7 4 5

4 3 2

264.

In answer t0 the queetion "Would you recomaend accepting 8 larger enmll- ment per ~ec t ion?~ ' , the stars (*) indicate a ''Yes'' answer; others were "No"

Question N on the survey asked for prerequisites t o the advanced In presenting this Ipaterial, two stipulations need to be made. e o w ~ e s .

?*st# there are mgoy hidden prerequfslfes such 6s -- a ) those made neces- urry for upper class rank in order to enroll In a high number course, and b) those courses which are prerequisite t o a course l i s t e d specifically as a prerequisite t o the meat course. The second stipulation isthat due to the wide variation b advanced meat cou~se8, it is vi r tua l ly impossible t o develop an authentic s e t of prerequisites applicable to a number of situa- tions. However, by considerable coneenfration of data a reasonably clear picture of the situation is obtained.

O f the 19 ins t i tu t ions offering an aihraaced cOurs@J 11 specifical- %y require a beginning meat course end i n 3 instances an advanced meat course was required, too. Other requirements are tabulsteU below:

Bacteriology Biochemistry Chemistry

organic chemistry Physical chemistry Physics athematics zoology

4 i as t i tu t ioas 6 insti'tutione 2 ins t i tu t ions (U qtr. credi ts a t one

inst i tut ion) one inst i tut ion)

1 Inst i tut ion 1 inst$tution 1 ine.litution

Course Content. (Part V of the queeflonnalre)

The following l i s t of course topics represents a t a l l y of 9 course outlines plus X3 course descriptioae. Major tupics are listed in approximate order of frequency mention&. mentioned only once or twlce are grouped vibbin p5trentheses.

SpGCiiic, a l l i ed topics

Frequency mentioned

16 4 12 9 5 8 4 3 5 3 9

9 5 2

~ l c s

Hi 8 t ology Anatomy (Specie comgarmn, nomenclature, muscle use) Composition: Physical-chemical (physical chemistry of foods) Chemistry, Protein

azylae Fat Lard and mtioxidents carbohydxates Rigor, CW. physiology of Color curing

(Mbscle pB, Ihrk Cutting Beef) Merchandising

(Marketing cyc e8, retail ing, livestock evaluation, livestock marketing, l ive price cs t imt ion , collsumer preference)

Prici s t o r e 3 i a p l y

265 Course Content (Continued)

Frequency mentioned

ll 3

8

7 4

5

5

5 5 5

5 4 4 4 4 4

3 3 3

3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1

Topic 6 .-

Bacteriology & Microbiology

(Food spoilage, food poisoning, inspection, and ante-mortem, post-mortem, and product bacteriology)

Sausage (Production, chemistry, bacteriology, regulations,

Research Methods

(Abstracting, reporting, data collecting) Additives (Ascorbates, phosphates, sweetenings, inorganic

Carcass evaluation techniques (Cutting tests, fabrication,

Post-mortem changes Processing methods Freezing - Effects of and Techniques (ESfect of cold storage, preservation by temperature control,

Canning Irradiation Dehydration Tenderness (Tenderizers, Aging techniques, changes during aging) Product (and quality) control Organoleptic properties (Physical properties of foods, form,

appearance) Effect of heat (Cooking methads) Packaging; materials (Packaging) Packinghouse organization & characterist ics (Operations, plant v i s i ta t ion) Federal and State regulations Effect of feeding, breeding, lnanagement Chemical preservatives Quality evaluation Flavor By Products Food machinery Humane slaughter techniques Meat and meat products Future developments i n processing New product development

Food plant sanitation & cleaning

spices)

Research Techniques

food adjuncts)

l3r-g)

refrigeration principles )

Six ins t i tu t ions referred t o laboratory work i n addition t o the course (lecture) outline. combined laboratory and lecture content.

It is suspected t h a t some other inst i tut ions

266.

Course Content (Continued)

The references t o laboratory work are l i s t e d below for information and inspiration.

4 4 2 2 1 4 2 1 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Term report Boning exercises fo r anatomy study Meat cutt ing Identification Cutting test and pricing Study of merchandising practices

Retail Wholesale

Preparation of emulsions D m n s t r a t e effect of additives Demnstrate effect and use of various sanit izing agents Organoleptic tes t ing procedures Tenderness studies, methods Methods - Chemical, biological, physical, histological Microbiological techniques Damnstrate microbiological problems Deterioration Fats Proteins Pigmentat ion Packaging methods and materials Curing methods Calculate refrigeration needs Livestock appraisal Effect of ante-mrtem s t r e s s See a b a l l game!

Recommendations - courses - (Part V I of the questionnaire)

-- w h a t you think should be included"; response was as follows: In answer t o the survey section "Reconmendations for a course(s)

Reference was made several tines t o the l i ve animal-carcass re-

There seemed t o be strong sentiment for emphasis on lationship such as appraisal, cutt ing evaluation and meat quali ty as in- fluenced by feeding. chemistry, microbiology, and histology; technology received equal emphasis i n the areas of processing, quali ty control, merchandising, sausage making, by-products, packaging and preservation. A need was expressed f o r research techniques and laboratory experience (isolation procedures of ATP, glycogen, and qualitative measurements) (processing, testing, development)

One interesting approach was a plan t o teach the "Science of Meat" and "Science of' Meat Processing." t o of fe r "Advanced Meat" followed by "Meat Science."

Another suggestion of note was

267

Special Problems (Part V I 1 of the questionnaire)

Do you need Special Problem ideas? Eighteen institutions reported Enrollment ranged from 2 that they offer such opportunities to students.

to 40, with 3 to 6 being reported most frequently.

A few of the areas of study are as follows:

Carcass evaluation. Packaging Studies. Specific gravity determinations. Freeze drying. Relationship of cannon bones to muscling. Effect of additives on color and storage life of fresh meats. Effect of light on discoloration of cured meats. Effect of packaging materials on storage life of meats. Destruction of salmonella in food products. Use of enterococci as indicators of the sanitary quality of

Processing. Preservation. Library problems . Collect & analyze research data. Re search . curing. Factors influencing meat flavor. Methods of measuring leanness. Role of animal fats in diet. Aging and enzymes Effects of irradiation Enzymes in blood related to growth response & tenderness Influence of nutrition on quality of meat. Methods for defining quality of meat. Consumer preference studies.

meat and egg products.

Teaching Methods (Part V I 1 1 of the questionnaire)

The request for brief coments about teaching methods or tech- niques elicited an interesting variety of ideas. emphasis should be on histology, bacteriology and chemistry with produc- tion and processing related to these properties; another reminded us that we do not have to rely entirely on the basic sciences.

It was suggested that

There did seem to be a general feeling that the enrollment should not be large so that informal methods of presentation could be employed along with oral and written reports and laboratory eqeriences. The stu- dents should be given opportunity to probe, show their initiative, be ex- posed to research techniques, gain retail sales experience to create an awareness of consumer attitudes, and become acquainted with industry through field trips. lished text book, Science of Meat & Meat Products, was in evidence.

Considerable optimism concerning the recently pub-