September 28, 2009

AgForce is urging consumers to buy Meat Standards Australia (MSA) meat through the world's largest eating-quality trials - based on 550,000 consumer taste tests, which underpin the MSA system.

Many factors such as breeding, seasonal conditions, feed type, processing method influenced the beef-eating experience, so the Australian beef industry developed the MSA system, AgForce Cattle president Grant Maudsley said.

MSA was using a sophisticated mathematical model based on these factors to describe how to eat a specific cut of beef with a given cooking method, Maudsley said.

Nearly one million cattle are graded each year under this certification system and that number is growing annually.

The way consumers can be really sure of the eating experience they will get from a cut of beef is simply to buy MSA beef or a brand underpinned by MSA.

In contrast, the AUS-MEAT beef language or labelling system is for the beef trade and is not a grading scheme.

AUS-MEAT is more about trade certification than consumer eating quality. It describes what is in a box of beef - for instance, meat of a certain cut and dentition

A bill being put forward in the New South Wales Parliament appears to be trying to force these trade descriptors on to retail beef, which AgForce believes will likely confuse consumers and add costs.

AgForce supported Primary Industries Minister Tim Mulherin in the view that current national ministerial discussions must be informed by industry and consider the implications of increased regulation for consumers, industry and government, Maudsley said.

This type of legislation would increase costs across the board without giving the consumer a better meat-eating experience and is therefore unnecessary and counter-productive, Maudsley said.