Roger Mandigo, well known for creating the technology that made McDonald’s McRib possible, passed away on Jan. 24. Although he received the most public recognition for his work in restructured pork, which led to the development of the McRib, his body of work led to many breakthroughs that influenced the meat industry.
In the 1970s, the National Pork Producers Council asked Mandigo to create a product with pork trimmings, one that could be sold by a fast-food chain (The U.S. Pork Checkoff wasn’t established until 1986). Mandigo developed a technology similar to the sausage-making process. The meat scientist used salt to extract proteins from the muscle, and those proteins then helped hold the smaller pieces of meat together, according to a Farm Journal story in 2022.
Mandigo grew up in Pomona, Calif., and later received his bachelor’s degree at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona in 1961, his master’s degree at New Mexico State University in 1963 and his Ph.D. degree at Oklahoma State University in 1967. He joined the University of Nebraska faculty as professor of meat science in 1966 and served the university for 45 years.
He was passionate about teaching and taught Meat Industry Study Tour, Meat Processing, Meat Technology and Meat Investigations in addition to advising graduate students. He served as the major professor to 55 master’s and 21 Ph.D. graduates. He taught at meat industry processing schools and short-courses for a variety of organizations across North America, South America, Europe and Asia.
Not only was he influential in meat manufacturing, processing, and product development research, but he was a prolific author, publishing hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific articles, books, magazines and abstracts along with receiving over 170 research grants in the course of his 45-year career.
He served as president of the American Meat Science Association in 1991-1992. He also received the R.C. Pollock Award, the highest award of the American Meat Science Association, and was named to the second-ever class of the Meat Industry Hall of Fame and the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement.
The family has asked that memorials be directed to First United Methodist Church – Waverly or the Roger Mandigo Meat Science Graduate Student Excellence Fund at the University of Nebraska Foundation.
Mandigo is survived by his wife of 54 years, Wanda; sons Kevin (Shalla) and Brian (Zayani) Mandigo, and daughter Tiffany (John) Medley-Eggert; sister Margaret Mandigo; and grandchildren Lunden Mandigo, Layla Mandigo, Greta Mandigo, Adelaide Medley, Brayden Medley, and Courtlynn Medley-Eggert. He is preceded in death by his parents.
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