Meat Standards Australia – Development and Operations

Summary

Meat Standards Australia (MSA) is a beef and sheep meat eating quality program designed to take the guesswork out of buying and cooking Australian red meat. MSA involves all sectors of the supply chain from paddock to plate. A wide range of cattle and sheep management practices, processing systems, cuts, ageing periods and cooking methods have been researched to determine the impact each has on eating quality.
The MSA program is a unique MLA program because it integrates research & development (R&D) with marketing activities and involves participation along the entire Australian red meat value chain. To ensure the MSA system continues to be a world leading eating quality program, continually support, development and process improvements are required. As well as, communicating key information and outcomes to all sectors of the supply chain.  These projects have supported the cost involved in carrying out these initiatives which include covering integrity, standards development and maintenance, grading services, operational costs, promotion and extension material The primary objectives of these projects are to ensure:Value is built for Australian beef through an industry owned grading system.The reputation and integrity of the MSA program are maintained.Correct integration of MSA calculations, algorithms and methods into vender systems and /or plant based systems.Integrity of the MSA program is delivered through customer/consumer education, licensing and robust quality standards.The MSA program is utilized to drive adoption of practices which increase eating quality and decrease variabilityCorrect presentation and use of MSA trademarks, terms values and calculated results on product labels, producer feedback, product specifications and marketing material.