"P
urdue professors do a very good job of helping students learn how to address complex issues,” explained Ross Jabaay, who entered the world of meat science over 50 years ago. Whether in the military, laboratory or board room, Jabaay says he was able to use the tools he acquired at Purdue to find the answer to any questions he faced.
Jabaay graduated with an animal sciences degree in 1968, during the Vietnam War. Expecting to be drafted, he joined the Air Force Veterinary Corps. “We did some animal care, but our primary mission was food inspection and sanitation of base retail and food service facilities. All the food received at each military base was inspected before it could be unloaded,” recalled Jabaay. “This was a great introduction to the food processing industry for me.”
Four years later, Jabaay was discharged and returned to Purdue for graduate school. “There, my major professor Max Judge ignited my passion for the meat industry.”
Jabaay’s career included working with many industry leaders, including Hormel, Farmland, Fresh Mark and Tyson.
“Purdue has a great reputation, and I am sure that helped open doors for me during my career,” noted Jabaay.
“I worked collaboratively with ingredient suppliers, equipment suppliers and design engineers on new and modified processing lines to improve the quality of products.”
He also served on the North American Meat Institute Scientific Advisory Committee for nearly 40 years.
“During this time, the meat industry faced several significant issues, including questions about the safety of sodium nitrite in the 1970s and Listeria monocytogenes as major food pathogens in the 1990s.”
Jabaay credits Purdue for preparing him to handle these threats.
“When I studied food microbiology at Purdue, we never talked about Listeria monocytogenes, but I had the tools I needed so I could learn about the organism and contribute to the efforts to assure the safety of our products.”
Jabaay, who is enjoying retirement spending time restoring a 1958 John Deere 620, says the greatest benefit from his Purdue education was undoubtedly meeting his wife, Judy. They celebrated 50 years of marriage in June.
Alumnus adapts restaurant to protect the health of his business and patrons
Before electricity and modern refrigeration, icehouses were built to keep ice and snow frozen, and it was sold and shipped year-round. As refrigerators grew in popularity, icehouses shifted their business model. They became the predecessor to convenience stores, selling perishable groceries and cold drinks. 7-Eleven traces its origin to one such icehouse.
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Agritourism offers safe summer fun during COVID-19
By day, Marshall Martin is a professor of agricultural economics, the senior associate director of agricultural research and graduate education and assistant dean in the College of Agriculture. In the evenings, he’s known to many customers as just the “blueberry man.”
While much at Martin Acres LLC, the West Lafayette farm he manages with his wife, Berdine, remains the same this year, they are taking precautions due to COVID-19. Martin is basing these necessary safety adjustments on guidelines for U-pick operations published by Purdue Extension.
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Teacher of Purdue’s first meat science course reflects on lifetime of research
After 75 years, Max Judge still recalls a simple question that set the course for decades of progress in meat science.
Growing up on a farm in Henry County, Judge showed pigs through 4-H. “In 1945, I had the opportunity to host the county pig tour,” Judge recalled. “Lo and behold, leading the tour was Hobe Jones.” Jones taught animal sciences at Purdue for 38 years. “I was excited to tell Hobe that my brother had worked with pigs at Purdue under Cliff Breeden. My brother had told me that Cliff kept his pigs from getting too fat by feeding them by hand instead of on a feeder.”
Read Full Story >>>
Alumnus adapts restaurant to protect the health of his business and patrons
Before electricity and modern refrigeration, icehouses were built to keep ice and snow frozen, and it was sold and shipped year-round. As refrigerators grew in popularity, icehouses shifted their business model. They became the predecessor to convenience stores, selling perishable groceries and cold drinks. 7-Eleven traces its origin to one such icehouse.
Read Full Story >>>
Agritourism offers safe summer fun during COVID-19
By day, Marshall Martin is a professor of agricultural economics, the senior associate director of agricultural research and graduate education and assistant dean in the College of Agriculture. In the evenings, he’s known to many customers as just the “blueberry man.”
While much at Martin Acres LLC, the West Lafayette farm he manages with his wife, Berdine, remains the same this year, they are taking precautions due to COVID-19. Martin is basing these necessary safety adjustments on guidelines for U-pick operations published by Purdue Extension.
Read Full Story >>>
Teacher of Purdue’s first meat science course reflects on lifetime of research
After 75 years, Max Judge still recalls a simple question that set the course for decades of progress in meat science.
Growing up on a farm in Henry County, Judge showed pigs through 4-H. “In 1945, I had the opportunity to host the county pig tour,” Judge recalled. “Lo and behold, leading the tour was Hobe Jones.” Jones taught animal sciences at Purdue for 38 years. “I was excited to tell Hobe that my brother had worked with pigs at Purdue under Cliff Breeden. My brother had told me that Cliff kept his pigs from getting too fat by feeding them by hand instead of on a feeder.”
Read Full Story >>>