American Meat Science Association’s annual event, the Reciprocal Meat Conference, took place in Kansas City, Mo. on June 24th – 27th. The 71st Reciprocal Meat Conference is a place for students to get involved and network with each other and professionals in the industry, and this year was no different! From judging processed meat, to smoking turkey breasts with Kansas City barbecue pit masters and presenting the research everyone has worked so hard on for the past year, we have so much to be proud of with our students.
The 3rd Annual Processed Meat Judging Contest was held at this year’s RMC, kicking off the conference on Friday, June 22nd. The Processed Meat Judging contest featured undergraduate and graduate divisions that included 99 participants this year. Each contestant had to place classes of a variety of processed meat products such as sliced bacon and ham, identify processed meat defects, and identify processed retail cuts. This year’s contest was sponsored by Food Safety Net Services and JBS USA, along with product donations by Hormel Foods, Kraft Heinz Company, Tyson Foods Inc., and UltraSource LLC.