Red meat industry first – sensor technology to determine meat quality

AMPC is investing in a project looking at sensor technology that screens cattle on arrival at red meat processing plants to measure meat quality. 

Developed by RMIT University, the deep tissue sensing technology will be a global first for the red meat industry. The technology uses a fast, non-invasive, portable Raman spectroscopic device to measure biomarkers of meat quality and causes of dark cutting including glycogen content, pH, colour, and cortisol levels within the muscle tissues of live animals. 

Dark cutting is the term used for red meat that does not brighten when it is cut and exposed to air. It is linked with stress and the mobilisation of muscle glycogen (energy store) in live animals. 

AMPC Program Manager Markets and Integrity Ann McDonald said glycogen content, pH, colour, and cortisol levels are important indicators of the quality and value of beef and lamb.

“By detecting and determining these biomarkers of meat quality within living animals, processors will be able to assess the likelihood of dark cutting quickly and accurately,” she said. 

“Screening on arrival at red meat processing plants, or prior to leaving the farm or the feedlot will also allow dark cutting susceptible animals to be diverted so they can better recover their levels of glycogen before processing occurs.” 

RMIT University Professor Ewan Blanch, working with Professors Peter Torley and Harsharn Gill and Dr Steph Fowler, said dark cutting is a significant cost to the Australian red meat industry, it is estimated to occur in 10 per cent of all processed beef carcasses at a cost of 36 million dollars per annum to the industry. 

“Early detection of dark cutting could assist the industry in recovering a large portion of these losses, which we estimate at 18 million dollars per annum,” he said. 

Trials of the Raman spectroscopic device were conducted in Cowra NSW and showed that the device could be used on the loin and leg regions of cattle. 

For more information about the sensor technology, contact AMPC Program Manager Markets and Integrity Ann McDonald at a.mcdonald@ampc.com.au