College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

The last laugh

Innovation by chemistry's Jacob Petrich makes the nation's beef supply safer.
Standing ankle-deep in cow manure wouldn’t be a funny matter for most people.

But for Jacob Petrich, professor of chemistry at Iowa State University, and his colleagues with the National Animal Disease Center, it seems natural to laugh about it all.

After all, a device invented by Petrich, Mark Rasmussen, and Thomas Casey was called a joke by almost everyone.

That is, until it worked. Now the trio is having the last laugh.

"People thought our idea was crazy," Petrich said. "They said it wouldn’t work, that it would give a lot of false positives. But now it’s a real product, and it makes money for Iowa State."

The device, VerifEYE™ Carcass Inspection System (CIS) is used to detect feces on fresh meat, the primary cause of meat contamination. The instrument uses specific wavelengths or colors of light to illuminate the carcass.

The device focuses on grass that has been digested by the animal. If fecal matter has gotten on the carcass during the slaughtering stage, the device will detect it by returning a red flourescent light.

"What’s so nice about the technology is that it’s very simple," Petrich said.

A Florida-based technology company, eMerge Interactive, Inc., has developed and marketed CIS to meatpacking plants across the country. One of the first places it has been installed is the Excel Corporation plant in Schulyer, Neb. Excel is a leading meat processor, and the company is planning to use the technology in other plants.

Petrich says CIS provides meatpacking plants the ability to flag even the most minute surface contaminations. Large, seven-foot scanners and a handheld version are both being used in meat-packing plants across the country, helping inspectors reduce such diseases as E. coli and Salmonella.

And it looks like the technology can be used elsewhere. Petrich, Rasmussen, and Casey hope to expand the technology to the pork and chicken industries.

The technology may someday ensure that children or restaurant workers have washed their hands. Petrich says hospitals, fast food restaurants, and daycare centers have expressed interest in a version of CIS.

The CIS technology has not only been effective but it is also an award-winner. Petrich, Rasmussen, and Casey have received an R&D 100 Award and have been honored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including a recent recognition by Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman. They also received an Iowa da Vinci award in 2001 from the Iowa Department of Economic Development.