Technology to beef up Scottish meat appeal
Scotland will lead the rest of the world in predicting the eating quality of cuts of meat, say the organisers of a new project.
Meat processors there will be offered groundbreaking technology that, for the first time, will allow them to accurately measure the different factors, such as tenderness, colour and fat levels, that contribute to the overall eating quality.
The project, run by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), the Scottish red meat industry development body, and part-funded by the Scottish Government, will initially focus on beef but the aim is to extend it to lamb and pork.
“This unique project is good news for the red meat sector and even better news for consumers, says Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead.“We know the importance shoppers attach to quality and taste and that this, in turn, provides a boost for those responsible for Scotland’s world-class produce.
Adds Donald Biggar, chairman of QMS:“Our meat processors will be the first to have the technology to make a rapid assessment of the complex range of factors that together determine how well a piece of beef tastes. The data on the quality of individual carcases in meat plants can be fed back from the processor to the producer so that he or she can pinpoint the sort of farm level decisions that are delivering consistently high quality meat.
