New approach to meat quality

While much research effort is directed at breeding for meat quality, a new project at the Australian Sheep Industry Cooperative Research Centre(Sheep CRC) is tackling meat quality at the processing end.

The focus is on reducing dehydration of lambs pre-slaughter and the implementation of electrical technologies such as electrical stimulation to make the most of meat quality.

By exploring the effect that electrical stimulation has on tenderness, researchers see the potential to design more effective stimulation systems that would reduce the incidence of tough meat.

These systems involve the transmission of electricity through the carcase while on the moving chain, with different methods to make contact with carcases already developed.

Another aspect of the project is to assist in the implementation of electrical technologies in major NSW processing operations.

Head of the program, NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) researcher David Hopkins, said the first step was to benchmark current technologies.

"Fletcher International Exports at Dubbo is working with us to benchmark the impact of their current electrical technologies on product quality," Dr Hopkins said.

"The objective is to determine the feasibility of introducing new technologies designed to increase the effectiveness of electrical inputs."

Validation of a new system will also occur in the future, including the effect on eating quality and a meat scientist, Edwina Toohey, has been appointed with Sheep CRC funding to work on this program.

Meanwhile, other work has been conducted at a commercial abattoir in Victoria to examine the effectiveness of medium voltage electrical stimulation.

Developed by Meat and Livestock Australia, the system was designed to improve lamb tenderness and eating quality and installed post dressing instead of pre-dressing (skin on).

Dr Hopkins said other abattoirs had now expressed an interest in the installation of this new system.  The first system to be installed in a domestic abattoir in NSW was recently commissioned at the Junee abattoir in Southern NSW.

"Development of the systems has been given additional impetus by a major supermarket chains' move to adopt Sheep Meat Eating Quality (SMEQ) principles for their lamb business," he said.

"Consequently it is expected that a number of abattoirs across Australia will install stimulation systems in the next 12 months."

He said the Sheep CRC will provide technical support to these abattoirs so they can modify production to comply with SMEQ principles.

Media contact: David Hopkins, Senior research scientist, NSW DPI Cowra

Issued by: Annette Cross, NSW DPI Tamworth

A high resolution image is available from Annette Cross