FACILITIES AND CAPABILITIES   

The Michigan State University Meat Laboratory is part of the Animal Science complex (Anthony Hall) renovated through the Animal Industry Initiative in 1995 through 1998.  This is a USDA-inspected teaching, research, and outreach facility, which is managed by the Department of Animal Science and the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition.  Laboratory activities support the teaching, research, and outreach efforts of the faculty of these departments and others at MSU.

The Meat Laboratory contains over 67,000 total square feet, 23,000 of which provide physical support for the entire Anthony and Engineering complex.  Almost 18,000 square feet are dedicated to red meat and poultry slaughter and subsequent processing,-including curing, cooking, and equipment storage.  The abattoir is designed to efficiently slaughter all major red meat and poultry species.  It contains supporting refrigeration for chilling, cutting, and further processing.  The facility contains a sausage kitchen, which is equipped with all major processing equipment scaled down for laboratory sized meat formulations.  The kitchen is supported by appropriate refrigerated curing rooms, smokehouses capable of natural as well as liquid smoke applications, and other pertinent cooking equipment.

There are over 15,000 square feet dedicated for personnel, and over 5,000 square feet dedicated to two classrooms which have full access to carcasses/meat from the pilot facility There are three research laboratories and support facilities (7,000 square feet) dedicated to understanding and, improvement of meat chemistry, muscle growth, meat quality, and meat microbiology.  These laboratories also contain adequate coolers and freezers for researchable muscle applications, which are not under USDA inspection.