June 16, 2010

Scotland's red-meat food chain stands to benefit from a GBP1-million (US$1.48-million) research project which uses high-tech equipment in meat processing plants, said Donald Biggar, chairman of Quality Meat Scotland (QMS).

The country is at the start of a three-year trial to see if meat quality can be identified by using a range of electronic equipment in conjunction with the Integrated Measurement of Eating Quality project.

"There will be a major benefit for consumers if they able to buy a more consistent product with no bad experiences from buying poor-quality meat. Retailers will be able to sell with more confidence. Processors will be able to target their markets better if they have a more accurate analysis of the meat they are trading.

"Grassroots farmers will be able to adopt the best management systems to produce beef of a consistently high quality.

The problem for the scientists lies in devising the series of tests on the meat as it goes down the processing line. They will use a number of machines such as video imaging and infra-red spectroscopes to pick up specific information such as pH, temperature, meat colour, carcass fat, eating and nutritional quality.

None of the technology is in itself new, but packaging it together to provide a comprehensive list of information without slowing down the throughput will prove a major challenge.

"Over the next three years during which the experimental work is taking place, there will be some 300,000 animals go through this plant," said Ian Galloway of Scotbeef. "The issue for the research team is to create something which can cope with 300,000 different carcasses."

Jointly funded by the Scottish government and the QMS, the project would also benefit the country's red-meat export trade with buyers getting far more information on the quality of the meat they are buying.