Red meat processing paves the

From UV units for carcase sterilisation to hygiene monitoring powered by artificial intelligence, some of the most cutting-edge solutions in food safety are coming from the red meat processing industry.

Research at the Australian Meat Processor Corporation is paving the way for profound shifts in food safety.

As World Food Safety Day on June 7 raises awareness about the prevention and management of foodborne risks across the globe, AMPC and its partner researchers are making big strides in this area.

AMPC Program Manager Markets and Integrity Ann McDonald said red meat was packed full of nutrients that were not found in other foods but careful processing and preparation was important.

"Investment in research ensures the safety of red meat during production and confirms shelf life," Dr McDonald said.

"The application of an appropriate shelf life to red meat reduces spoilage and wastage of this important food, which is a good thing for everyone."

Dr McDonald said red meat processors placed a very high priority on food safety.

"Processors are proud of their reputation for producing safe, wholesome red meat products," she said.

"Regulators require compliance with food safety requirements. However, processors often go beyond these requirements to ensure the safety of the food they produce. For example, they invest in research to better understand potential food safety risks, enabling these to be safely managed during processing.”

Big research strides

The latest research funded by AMPC has shown AI can play a valuable role in monitoring hygiene and safety compliance in red meat processing facilities.

The work sets a firm foundation for future intelligent monitoring systems by demonstrating that AI can transform video monitoring from passive observation into operational decision support.

Dr McDonald said while processors and workers well understood how essential hygiene and safety compliance was, monitoring it continuously and consistently in such a dynamic environment and supporting workers to improve, if necessary, was challenging.

Conducted by Advance Analytics Australia, the eight-month research project that wrapped up last month showed AI-assisted monitoring could provide structured visibility of personnel movement, personal protection equipment use, sanitation behaviour and handwashing activity.

The project piloted a modular AI-powered compliance monitoring system called SafePassAI at a red meat processing site.

Advance Analytics Australia co-founder Fred Asgari said a key advantage of SafePassAI was its ability to localise and track individuals across the monitored space, ensuring each person completed all hygiene steps in sequence.

This research builds on earlier AMPC-funded work whereby a personal hygiene anteroom powered by AI was set up at one of the country's largest pre-pack processing facilities, The Casino Food Co-op's retail-ready facility in northern NSW.

Designed to enhance both employee safety and product integrity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the initiative involved monitoring the room’s entry and exit points. It worked by using cameras to assess employees for compliance in handwashing procedures, foreign object control, the use of PPE and boot sanitisation. Once complete, the employee is given access to the plant.

The project also involved a UV sanitising system to ensure the cleaning equipment itself remains sanitary.

“Managing staff hygiene is an essential part of lowering the risk of contamination in plants. Technologies like AI are really changing the way we ensure not only that the right processes exist but that staff are able to follow them,” Dr McDonald said.

In other food safety research, a UV unit installed to directly sanitise carcases in a processing plant resulted in an increased shelf life of eight to 10 days.

Further, a handheld, blue-light scanner has been trialled, adding value as an additional quality assurance verification in red meat processing when layered on existing contamination controls.

IMAGE CAPTION: A laboratory technician tests red meat for food safety compliance.