Collecting initial microbiological samples from pork loins before division into experimental groups

Author: Cason Frisby | Major: Food Science | Semester: Spring 2025

My name is Cason Frisby and I am a Senior Food Science major in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences. I am mentored by Dr. Derico Setyabrata in the Animal Science Department. I started conducting research on my project in the Spring 2025 semester, and plan to finish data collection and writing this Fall semester. Following my graduation in May 2026, I plan to pursue a master’s degree in meat science.

My research looks at the impacts of dry aging on pork and investigates the further effects of salt block utilization in the dry aging process. Salt block usage is a common practice in many commercial and restaurant-based dry aging chambers, but little is understood about its effects, if there even are any. Furthermore, there is a lack of research regarding dry aging in pork specifically, so we also aim to help fill this research gap. Depending on the results of this research, we can either help justify or reject the claims of benefits that salt blocks provide to dry aged meat products.

I started work in the Red Meat Science and Muscle Biology lab because it is the only lab on campus which researches red meat and muscle foods derived from red meat. I’ve always been fascinated by this category of science and the food industry, so it was a natural progression to do research in this lab when I heard about my mentor and his research from one of my advisors in the Food Science Department. After joining the lab, I chose this topic because it had potential real-world implications and was a category of meat processing technology which I was unfamiliar with. I am still no expert in dry aging, but it is truly amazing how much you can learn through research in the lab and exposure to science in your own hands. Beyond the hard science of dry aging, the biological processes behind the conversion of muscle to meat, and the flavor chemistry which further transforms meat into a distinctly flavored product, I learned a lot about myself and what goes into the scientific process on a benchtop. None of us write about research or get anywhere close to publishing a paper until we have data to analyze, and accurate scientifically collected data at that. Successful science in an academic lab truly comes down to your ability to make a plan, manage time for your plan, then execute your plan. As important as it is to be able to manage these things on your own, we are never the smartest people in the room, and your mentor is there to help you out. My mentor was a wealth of knowledge and experience to me. No question is a bad question, but he answered them all even if they were. He also provided a voice of reason, training, providing myself and my lab mates with opportunities outside of the lab which further progress our education. I also had wonderful help from my lab mates and other faculty in the Food and Animal Science Departments when I needed it. People aren’t as scary as they seem, so go ask for help with your project when you need it!

I was able to complete all my sample collections in the Spring semester. One of my last tests is being completed with the help of another university, so those results will be ready in the upcoming fall semester for me to have all data to finish this project and publish a paper of our findings. However, I have presented in a Bumpers College poster night, and will present my research at the American Meat Science Association’s Reciprocal Meat Conference this June. In addition to presenting in the poster sessions, this project’s abstract was chosen with seven others across the country to be presented by myself during a general session of this conference. Research can take you a lot of places, and it will give you so many more opportunities than you could ever imagine. If you have a chance to conduct research you find interesting, take it and run with it because it will only help you.