LINCOLN, NEB. — On Aug. 9 and 10, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s (UNL) department of animal science hosted a US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Global Processing Workshop. 

USMEF partners from meat processors in Mexico, Guatemala, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Jamaica attended the sessions led by UNL faculty and students and USMEF representatives.

“This is the second time we’ve partnered with the university and animal science to bring this event to Lincoln after previously being here in 2019,” said Travis Arp, assistant vice president of Export Services for USMEF. “Between the faculty expertise and the facilities, Nebraska has been a great partner with us for this event.”

The workshop included sessions on technical topics like industry economics, trends and packaging. The event also included a product development workshop, where groups developed a marinated ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook product targeted for the groups’ own domestic markets. Resulted products included Jamaican Jerk Beef, Bacon Wrapped Pork Kabob, Peruvian Fajitas and Adobo Pork.

“This is a great opportunity for our Meat Science program, as well as the University of Nebraska as a whole,” said Gary Sullivan, associate professor of Meat Science. “We are working with processors from the Western Hemisphere to demonstrate and develop ways to utilize and, ultimately, add value to US beef and pork.”