
Innovative Partnership for Meat Quality Enhancement
In New Zealand, the Alliance Group, a 100% farmer-owned red meat co-operative, has embarked on a groundbreaking partnership with MEQ to enhance the quality of beef and lamb. This collaboration utilises artificial intelligence technology, aiming to revolutionise the way meat quality is assessed across the Alliance’s plant network.
AI-Driven Quality Analysis
This initiative’s core is deploying MEQ’s lamb and beef probes. These tools, powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence, are designed to measure intramuscular fat (IMF) levels in lamb accurately and marbling percentages in beef. This technology offers a real-time perspective on the eating quality of meat, with IMF and ageing identified as key factors influencing the sensory experience of quality meat.
Industry-Accredited Technology
These probes have gained industry accreditation from AUS-MEAT. They employ a combination of spectral analysis and AI to determine IMF in a carcass at the onset of processing, effectively capturing a ‘fingerprint’ within a loin muscle.
This approach provides the co-operative with objective, measurable data, enhancing the visibility of meat quality for farmers. Such insights are crucial for informed decision-making regarding breeding programs and feed, ultimately leading to more sustainable livestock management.
Trial and Implementation
Alliance has been trialling this technology at its Smithfield (Timaru) and Pukeuri (Oamaru) plants for the past nine months. Willie Wiese, the chief executive of Alliance, emphasised the importance of quality farming and processes in fulfilling their promise of delivering top-quality red meat globally.
He highlighted the technology’s potential in providing detailed quality information to farmers, linking higher IMF and marbling readings to better returns for both farmers and the co-operative. In pasture-based livestock production systems, a strong correlation exists between IMF and polyunsaturated fats, including Omega fatty acids, indicating that high IMF levels represent healthy fats beneficial for nutrition.
Benefits Across the Supply Chain
The implementation of MEQ technology is set to offer comprehensive benefits. It will enable Alliance to provide IMF feedback to farmers, enhancing the entire supply chain and improving the end product for consumers. This technology will also assist in scaling up premium programs, a growing segment of Alliance’s business, and aid in differentiating their product offerings to meet consumer demands.
Efficiency and Sustainability
A notable advantage of MEQ’s probe technology is its ability to measure IMF or marbling without the need for carcasses to be chilled. This feature allows for more efficient cut design planning, optimising carcass value, and allocation into branded ranges. Consequently, it saves chiller space and reduces energy consumption.
A Step Towards Optimisation
Remo Carbone, CEO of MEQ, expressed his company’s pride in providing Alliance with real-time, data-backed insights.
He emphasised the unique nature of their AI-powered technology, which seamlessly integrates into existing processing infrastructures, significantly enhancing optimisation from herd management to carcass breakdown. The information gathered by the probes is set to have transformative implications at each stage of the process.
This partnership between Alliance Group and MEQ represents a significant step forward in the use of technology to enhance meat quality, offering benefits to farmers, the cooperative, and ultimately, the consumers.