Released: September 14, 2005

K-State Graduate Students Create Children’s Beef Jerky Product

MANHATTAN, Kan. – A team of Kansas State University graduate students placed third in the “Taste of ICoMST” competition with a product they call Jumble Jerky, said Michael Dikeman, K-State professor in the department of animal sciences & industry.

The competition was held during the International Congress of Meat Science and Technology in Baltimore, Aug. 11.

“Jumble Jerky is a restructured, alphabet-shaped jerky that is intended to be tender and mild-flavored for children,” Dikeman said. “It is also intended to be educational and fun with word games on the back of each package that children can play with while they have their snack.”

The “Taste of ICoMST” competition is for meat science graduate students across the nation. As a team, students must invent a new food product and design its package label, slogans, advertising schemes and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan. This year, teams were expected to invent a shelf-stable product.

K-State’s team included: Jeannine Grobbel, Shanna Hutchison, Chris Raines and Suzanne Ryan.

On the back side of their package designs, the team created crossword puzzles, hangman games, word searches and word scrambles. Some of the words used were meat-related such as “nutrition” and “protein.” But, there were also other words such as “polite,” “thank you” and “hello,” Ryan said.

The alphabet-shape of the jerky was designed to intrigue children and get them interested in spelling out words with their food like they would with an alphabet-shaped cereal or soup, Raines said.

“I think that Jumble Jerky is a unique concept that no one in the industry has right now,” Ryan said. “I know that the kids we taste-tested it on enjoyed it.”

Team members made a sheet of beef jerky and used alphabet-shaped cookie cutters to create the letters that went into each package of Jumble Jerky.

“I think that Jumble Jerky could be a popular item among children if someone could just think of a way to mass produce it, because using cookie cutters wouldn’t be economical for manufacturers,” Raines said.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Leah Bond
lbond@ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News