Scotland develops meat quality technology

The Scottish red meat industry on Friday (Nov 13) took a step closer to developing world-leading technology to determine the eating quality of meat.

Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), the red meat industry development body, confirmed the Scottish government's commitment to match-fund a three-year project to develop the groundbreaking technology.

Scotland would be first to have a novel process allowing the measurement of meat-eating quality factors. QMS chairman Donald Biggar said this would be a huge boost for the Scottish red meat industry.

The development of new technology will mean it will be possible to make a rapid assessment of the complex range of factors which determine how good a piece of beef tastes.

The data on the quality of individual carcases in meat plants could then be fed back from the processor to the producer so that he/she can pinpoint the sort of farm-level decisions that are delivering consistently high quality meat.

Following the tendering process, the project is expected to get under way early in 2010. The initial focus will be on beef, with the aim to extend the technology to lamb and pork.

Scotland's meat plants process around 8,500 prime beef carcases every week producing 2,900 tonnes of meat.