Featured Speaker

Dr. Rodrigo Tarté is Associate Professor of Meat Science in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University. He joined the Iowa State faculty in 2015 after nineteen years in key research & development posts in major meat and food processing companies, primarily Kraft Foods/Oscar Mayer and John Morrell Food Group (division of Smithfield Foods). He received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in Food Science and Technology, and a Ph.D. in Food Science & Technology and Meat Science, from Iowa State University. His primary areas of expertise and research are meat further processing, meat product formulation, non-meat ingredient technology and food safety. At Iowa State he teaches courses on Processed and Value-added Meat Technology and Advanced Meat Processing, and serves as Director of the Online Graduate Certificate in Meat Science program. He has contributed numerous research articles, and several book chapters and trade articles in his discipline. He has served as Chair of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Muscle Foods Division, on the Board of Directors of the American Meat Science Association, and as President of Phi Tau Sigma, The Honor Society of Food Science and Technology.