The plant has a total area of 1005 m2 (10,812 ft2), with areas for harvesting animals (cattle and hogs), deboning carcasses and animal anatomy study and processing of meat products. Groups of 14, junior level students, do their learning by doing module.
Zamorano’s Meat Plant is a university enterprise where students have the opportunity to learn meat transformation processes and be part of a meat industrial production including activities ranging from the receipt of animals (cattle, pigs, sheep) and harvesting them, deboning carcasses and learning about muscle organization and the processing of raw material for the production of different kinds of sausages and final products. The plant operates under a comprehensive system of hygiene, safety and occupational safety, including BPM programs, SOPs and HACCP.
To meet educational purposes, part of the plants production is for sale in an increasingly demanding market. The plant processes about 15,000 lb of beef and 17,000 lb pork monthly, mainly from Zamorano husbandry, promoting the vision of chain production to students. It now produces more than 30 processed products sold in the market of the two major cities of Honduras, as well as supplying the needs of meat consumption in the University’s student’s and staff’s cafeterias.
Educating students is the main objective of the Meat Plant, and it develops it in a competitive business environment. It is also in a permanent state of research and development where we develop more efficient new processes and new products with potential market positioning. The products come through projects undertaken by students graduating seniors and junior level Meat Science and Technology new product development projects and projects undertaken by students during their learning by doing rotation. Since 2004 we have developed a series of innovative products, being the most recent ones: a frankfurter with cheese and jalapeño peppers, meat and sausage sticks, and an Andalusia chorizo.
All knowledge and experience obtained by Zamorano research in meat plant, does not stay within the campus. Zamorano’s Meat Plant provides a range of services to the private sector such training courses on safety issue of meat plants, instruction in meat processing, new product development and design development of meat processing plants. Zamorano offers these services to companies in Honduras and throughout the region.
