The USDA Meat Plant, or USDA processing plant, is the heart of MSABD’s live animal to ready-to-eat product capability. High-quality products produced for Bucky’s Varsity Meats provide the plant’s mostly student employee workforce with hands-on educational opportunities. The plant also provides tissue for biologics research, an emphasis of the MSABD program, and room for product and equipment R&D. USDA inspected subdivisions (approximate flow-chart) of the plant include:

↘ Harvest Floors
     – Livestock: Hogs, cattle, sheep, goats, etc.
     – Poultry: Chickens, turkeys, ducks, etc.
     ↘ Animal Biologics
          – Centrifugation, Steam pasteurization, etc.
     ↘ Chilling
          – Spray-Chill: Mist assisted.
          – Ultra-Chill: -40°F temperature with high airflow.
          – Holding Cooler: Chilled staging room.
          ↘ Fabrication
               – Carcass reduction: steaks, chops, bellies, breasts, thighs, wings, trimmings, etc.
               – Cold storage/frozen storage.
               ↘ Processing
                    – Grinding, chopping, injection of cure solution, tenderizing, sausage/patty-making, etc.
                    – Spice Room: seasonings, natural cures, etc.
                    ↘ Smokehouses (4)
                         – Each with unique capabilities.
                         – Pass-through design.
                    ↘ Kitchen
                         – Cooking: grills, ovens, steam kettles, etc.
                    ↘ Ready-To-Eat
                         – Cold storage/frozen storage.
                         ↘ Packaging/Labeling
                              – Vacuum, etc.

– We have properly refrigerated production areas
– Larger coolers and freezers that function much better than the old building
– Ability to bring in any processing equipment we want through our dock area. Equipment for testing, etc.
– Unique capabilities: CO2 stunning for pigs, ultrachill, spray chill, blast freezing, large kitchen space
– 4 smokehouses with unique capabilities compared to just one small one in the old building
– Better food defense with card access locks
– Better sanitation with walls, floors, doors, etc.
– Ante rooms for transitioning from one processing area to the next (raw, RTE, harvest)
– Separate rooms for different processing areas to prevent cross contamination (raw, RTE, harvest)