Animal Science expert Dr Dean Pringle (centre) examines a cut of pork with Copperwood Pork Consultant Ed Garcia (left) and Production Supervisor Kadean Rowe (right) while on a tour of the pork production facility on Monday.
The third staging of Copperwood Pork’s Making the Cut Seminar opens today with International Chef Charlie Mckenna and Animal Science expert from the University of Georgia, Dr Dean Pringle. The seminar, which has become a staple for players in the local pork industry, aims to give life to the industry by bringing together resources that will provide insight into the product while introducing innovative and exciting uses of the product.
Day one of the seminar will focus on the pork trade with attendees interacting with supermarket and wholesale owners, meat room managers, purchasing officers, among others.
Dr Pringle, who on Monday toured the Copperwood Pork plant in Lucea, Hanover, will focus his presentation on pork quality and safety, while also demonstrating innovative pork cuts.
“We are obviously going to talk about quality and what factors go into pork quality, which is a little bit of a challenging subject because it is impacted by so many different factors. Even in the grocery store, the handling of the product there can influence the quality,” he said.
Dr Pringle has invested significant time studying pork quality, including fresh and processed pork products. He has also investigated factors that influence the composition of pork, attempting to improve lean yield while maintaining a high level of eating satisfaction.
PORK DEBONED
McKenna has won numerous awards on the competition BBQ circuit, including first-place wins at Memphis in May in 2007 and 2016 — a competition which is widely regarded as the world championship of barbecue. McKenna’s presentation will focus on topics such as how a pig is deboned, use of each cut and different ways of preparing each cut.
Brand manager of Copperwood Pork Tina Hamilton said the areas to be covered on day one of the event is geared towards educating players in the industry, especially those participating in trade, on how their actions affect pork quality, and also how to get the most value out of the product. Dr Pringle will also highlight some products that are coming into the marketplace in different parts of the world, sharing some ideas and stimulating some thoughts on new products for the Jamaican pork industry.
