AAMP is pleased to announce that a University Class competition will once again be held in conjunction with the American Cured Meat Championships (ACMC), July 15-17, 2021, in Oklahoma City. 

The competition is open to students who have an Allied membership with AAMP through their respective schools or universities. The type of product(s) that students produce varies during subsequent years at the ACMC and follow the same rules and entry guidelines for the designated product class in the competition as the processor members. 

“The University Class provides a venue to students who have an interest in processed meats to compete at the intercollegiate level,” said Diana Dietz, AAMP communications manager and ACMC coordinator. “In no way is the class meant to compete with the processor member, but merely provide students an opportunity to enter into a friendly competition between schools.” 

Besides being able to interact with processor members during the convention, the main goal is for students to learn more about meat processing and the applied science involved in creating various cured meats.

For 2021, two product classes, the Cured Specialty Meat Products class and Ham-Semi-Boneless class, will be made available for competition for the students to compete. All schools wishing to enter product in these classes will comply with the guidelines set forth in the ACMC competition rules concerning the designated class. 

“Product entered into the University Class will be not be comingled or mixed in any way with products from processor member entries,” added Dietz. “University Class entries will also have a location in a judging area away from similar product types, and the scorecards, although identical in content, will be marked separately.” 

For full eligibility, rules and registration, please visit the ACMC tab under AAMP’s website at www.aamp.com/event-calendar/acmc. Students must pre-register for the competition by June 30, 2021. The cost of entry is $20 per product. Please contact AAMP for more details. 

The University Class gives meat science students a chance to interact with meat processors and learn more about the meat processing industry.