RMC Keynote & Concurrent Session Lineup

See also Reciprocation Sessions and Oral/Poster Abstact Sessions

The following session take place during the morning hours each day of the conference.

Monday, June 23

We are the Champions
Trent Loos

Trent Loos co-founded the Faces of Agriculture in 2003. Faces is a nonprofit organization created to convince consumers that the abundant supply of safe, healthy food eaten in this country is produced by real people on farms, not created in "factories.” Loos’s mission is “Connecting rural and urban America by sharing the positive story of production agriculture.” He travels throughout the country to share his passion for an industry he loves and to encourage producers to be proud of what they do by standing up and telling people what they do. Loos began airing his radio station Loos Tales in 2001 and today over 3 million listeners on nearly 100 radio stations tune in everyday to hear his show. He also produces Rural Route, Loos Trails and Tales, Dakota Trails and Tales and Colorado Trails and Tales. Loos’s newest endeavor is a joint venture with Feedstuffs magazine called Feedstuffs Foodlink. Foodlink is a video repository of information about issues related to food production.

Concurrent Sessions I & II

Performance & Growth Technologies: Balancing Beef Quality & Yield

The major performance and growth technologies used by the beef industry include implants and beta-agonists. This session will address the effects of these growth technologies on beef yield parameters and beef quality factors, and how the technologies can be implemented to bring a balance between quality and yield. Specifically, growth promotant implants, Ractopamine Hydrocloride, and Zilpaterol Hydrochloride effects will be discussed. The speakers will address key issues such as: variations in yield grade and carcass factors, fabrication/subprimal cutability, Warner-Bratzler shear force, Slice Shear Force and consumer sensory panels.

Growth Promotant Implants and their Effects on Red Meat Yield and Quality
John Hutcheson, Director of Production Technologies, Intervet Inc., Amarillo, Texas

Balancing Beef Quality and Red Meat Yield with Ractopamine
William Platter, Manager of Beef Technical Consultants, Elanco Animal Health, Greenfield, Indiana

Zilpaterol Hydrochloride Effects on Red Meat Yield and Quality
Chance Brooks, Assistant Professor, Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas

Pork Quality

Quality in pork is a hot topic right now. This session will explore the biological bases for variations in pork fat and lean quality. The session includes perspectives from industry and academia with a blend of views from processed and fresh meat applications.

Factors that Affect Fat Quality in Pork
Dennis Seman, Associate Principal Scientist, Oscar Mayer Foods, A Division of Kraft, Madison, Wisconsin

Perspectives on Pork Quality
Jerry Cannon, Research and Development, Hormel Foods, Austin, Minnesota 

Factors Controlling Fatty Acid Composition and Meat Quality in Pork and Other Meats
Jeffrey Wood, Head of Division of Farm Animal Science and Professor of Food Animal Science, Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, United Kingdom

 

Tuesday, June 24

Creating a Food Safety Culture - Not a Food Safety Program
Frank Yiannas, Safety and Health Director, Walt Disney World

Achieving food safety success in our changing environment requires going beyond traditional training, testing, and inspectional approaches to managing risks. It requires a better understanding of organizational culture and the human dimensions of food safety. To improve the food safety performance of a retail establishment, an organization with thousands of employees, or a local community, you must change the way people do things.

As Walt Disney World's Safety & Health Director, Frank Yiannas oversees all food safety, occupational safety, and regulatory training programs, as well as other public health functions, for one of the world's strongest and well-recognized global brands. His scope of responsibilities includes food safety oversight of major theme parks and resorts around the world, two cruise ships, two water parks, and hundreds of the world’s busiest food locations. Thousands of food and beverage employees, hundreds of food suppliers, and a number of critical regulatory compliance issues also come under his purview. Since joining Disney in 1989, Frank has expanded Disney’s program beyond testing and inspections by creating leading-edge risk management strategies. Under his tenure, Disney has been recognized as a pioneer in food safety training, implementing HACCP at the food service level, developing hand-held computer technology to conduct food safety audits, and utilizing progressive microbial testing approaches. In fact, in 2001, Walt Disney World received the prestigious Black Pearl Award for corporate excellence in food safety by the International Association for Food Protection.

Concurrent Sessions III & IV

Muscle Biology/Molecular Biology

Our understanding of food animal muscle growth and development is frequently augmented by research in other species, including human medicine. This session will bring together a set of researchers in human and equine muscle physiology to discuss methods and findings that can help shape future meat animal research.

Potential Methods to Manipulate Cellular Control of Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy
Maria Urso, Research Physiologist, CPT Military Performance Division, U.S. Army Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, Massachusetts

Other speakers to be determined

Food Safety

This session will focus on regulatory and industry food safety issues. Speakers will explore the benefits, lethality, sanitation, best practices and interventions, of blade tenderization and brine injection in non-intact beef muscle.

Lessons Learned from the 2007 FSIS Checklist on Industry Controls for E. coli O157:H7 in Raw Beef
Daniel Engeljohn, Deputy Assistant Administrator-Office of Policy, Program and Employee Development, USDA, FSIS, Washington, DC

E. coli O157:H7 Risk Mitigation for Blade Tenderized and Enhanced Non-Intact Beef Muscle
Kyle Pfeiffer, Research and Development, Standard Meat Company, Saginaw, Texas

Non-intact Whole Muscle Food Safety: The Problem and Research Needs

John Sofos, Distinguished Professor, Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado

Wednesday, June 25

The Politics and Science of Animal Welfare
W. Ron DeHaven, Executive Vice President, American Veterinary Medical Association

The current climate for establishing and enforcing welfare guidelines for production and housing in the animal agriculture sector presents the industry with new challenges. Sound science must precede the implementation of any regulation. This session will cover how regulations are established for animal production and housing and assessment of pain and distress. Also included will be an explanation of how human perception of this issue may influence political policy.

As executive vice president of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), Dr. W. Ron DeHaven serves the more than 75,000 members of the AVMA as they work to meet the challenges of improving both human and animal health in the 21st century. Dr. DeHaven has more than two decades of experience with the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and gained national prominence in 2003 and 2004 when chronic wasting disease and bovine spongiform encephalopathy were making headlines.

Concurrent Sessions V and VI

Consumer Issues: Diet and Health

Come examine the importance of dietary protein and the impact of protein intake in conjunction with weight loss or resistance training, in conjunction to body composition. Gain insight into the USDA’s National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, regarding: poultry, beef, pork, lamb, veal and game products, as well as sausage and luncheon meats. Those attending this session will also be introduced to an overview of “Diet and Cancer” including a review of leading health organizations current dietary recommendations for cancer prevention with an emphasis on red meat consumption recommendations.

Uses of Dietary Protein to Help Combat Obesity and Sarcopenia
Wayne Campbell, Professor, Department of Foods and Nutrition, Purdue University, Layfayette, Indiana

Nutrient Composition of Meats
Kerri Harris, Associate Professor, President and CEO International HACCP Alliance, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas

Red Meat and Cancer: Defining the Risk
Shalene McNeill, Executive Director of Nutrition Research, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Pleasanton, Texas  

Processing and Ingredients: Sodium Reduction 

This session will discuss the impact of legislated reductions in salt intakes or the salt content of foods which has enormous consequences for food production, international trade and, most importantly, the overall health of consumers. Explore the latest medical and scientific evidence surrounding the salt and health debate including the results of research on salt and cardiovascular events in Finland. Come examine the different technologies that might be used to replace the flavoring and functional effects of salt.

Flavor Challenges of Sodium Reduction in Processed Meat Products
Mark Schilling, Assistant Professor, Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi

Processing Challenges of Sodium Reduction
Christina DeWitt, Associate Professor, Department of Animal Science, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 

Will Salt Reduction Benefit Consumers?
Morton Satin, Director of Technical and Regulatory Affairs, Salt Institute, Alexandria, Virginia