
Meat Processing
Release Date: October 2020
Professional Accreditation: IEMA (as part of MSc)
Lead Organisation: IBERS, Aberystwyth University
Learn about new and established technologies for meat processing and product development.
Meat and meat products make an important contribution to the nutrient intake in our diet. With the competitive market trends in the meat sector and growing export demand for Welsh lamb and beef, as well as a growing white meat sector; the Welsh meat industry is continuously looking for innovative and efficient approaches to ensure sustainable growth. This module will also include a visit to Food Centre Wales, Horeb (or similar) for hands-on experience in meat butchery and meat product development.
Content
The course will consist of a series of lectures and guided learning focused on:
List of Units
Introduction to meat processing | Meat types and categories, carcass composition, muscle biology, structure and muscle characteristics, industrial meat processing |
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Primary processing for red meat | Slaughtering operation, post-mortem biochemical changes and their significance on subsequent red meat quality, carcass grading and measurement of meat quality |
Primary processing for poultry | Poultry primary processing, post-mortem biochemical changes and their significance on subsequent white meat quality, carcass grading and measurement of meat quality |
Microbiological safety, quality and shelf life extension of fresh meat | Meat microbiology and spoilage, meat preservation principles |
Innovative technology in meat processing | New tenderisation methods, automation and robotics |
Healthy meat | Meat as potential functional food, probiotic products, reformulation techniques |
Meat product development | Ingredients used, types of meat products |
Demonstration | A live or virtual practical demonstration session (the choice is yours) hosted by Food Centre Wales in Llandusyl taking you through stages from primal cut to product processing. The live event will be held on Thursday 14th November |
Meat sustainability | Role of meat science in a challenging global environment |
Tutors
Tutors Name |
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Dr Micael Andrade |
Testimonials

Waste is a big issue in the meat industry particularly for smaller processors and butchers as they have smaller profit margins and it’s important for them to maximise their returns. So, I wanted to learn more about the meat supply chain and help to identify if, and where, waste reduction cost savings could be made. The Meat Processing and Sustainable Supply Systems modules have been really useful in helping me to explore new products and ways to help make the meat industry become more of a circular economy.

This course is great for people who are in the industry and have a science background but also for people like me who are social scientist and need to gain a broad understanding of meat technology. This will help me in my work managing farmers markets as well as supporting the Cameroon government in developing their local meat industry.