MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Robert Rogers, Mississippi State University professor, recently served as an editor and author of "Meat Science and Applications," a professional reference guide for government, industry and academia.

Rogers, who teaches in MSU's animal and dairy science and food science and technology departments, edited the book with three other meat scientists. The book was written to help span the information gap between meat science and meat production. Professionals entering the field with degrees in areas such as chemistry, food science or engineering can use the book as a reference to help apply the principles they learned in school to actual meat processing practices.

Written in textbook style, the book covers topics such as meat processing science and safety, slaughtering, carcass evaluation, animal handling, worker safety and waste management. Many topics covered in detail include meat composition, color and flavor, meat safety, smoking, canning and fermentation technologies, and modern computing methods for meat quality.

The text, released in late 2001, draws from the talents of many experts, including more than a dozen from outside the United States, thus providing an international view to many topics.

"The major reason for the publication of this book was to have an up-to-date red meat reference prepared by a wide variety of experts from the various fields of meat science and meat processing. Experts from around the world served as authors of the 27 chapters of the book, with 16 foreign authors and 30 from the United States," Rogers said.

As well as helping to edit the book, Rogers was the sole author of a chapter on fat-free emulsion sausage. This chapter includes aspects of meat technology used to manufacture products such as fat-free hot dogs and bologna. The technology to produce fat-free meat products was developed in Rogers' laboratory. Other local professionals who contributed to the book include Douglas Marshall, Patti C. Coggins, and Farid A. Bal'a, from MSU's food science and technology department; Mike Martin, senior food technologist at Bryan Foods, Inc.; and Douglas Ellis, manager of research and development at Bryan Foods, Inc.

Writer: John Hawkins
Contact: Robert Rogers, (662) 325-2802 College of Agriculture and Life Sciences