LMY & EQ PDS – NSW Sites Carcase Measurement

Summary

This project is providing data to the MLA project B.SCC.0144 - Proof of Concept of Lean Meat Yield and Eating Quality Producer Demonstration Sites.  The overarching purpose of this, and other projects providing data to B.SCC.0144, is to deliver "proof of concept" for lean meat, eating quality and human health attributes within major lamb and sheep meat supply chains by facilitating, empowering and developing a common focus and normal trading mechanisms on these future key industry profit drivers right along the supply chain.
Twenty Producer Demonstration Sites were established to demonstrate the impact of new research breeding values (RBVs) for lean meat yield (LMY) and eating quality, particularly intramuscular fat (IMF) and shear force (SF5), will have on lamb production along the supply chain.  Three of these sites are in New South Wales.
Within this project Meat Science UNE has:Coordinated the slaughter and data collection for the New South Wales sites for  617 lambs from 5 trials processed at 4 different abattoirs.Collected loin samples (n = 260) for determination of shear force (SF5) and intramuscular fat (IMF).Shipped samples for determination of SF5 to NSW DPI Cowra.Analysed samples from demonstration sites in NSW, South Australia and Tasmania for IMF.Submitted all data to the LM&EQ PDS national coordinator for analysis and presentation of results in the project report for B.SCC.0144.
The data collected regarding the shear force of the samples suggest that the processing conditions in some abattoirs are suboptimal regarding control of the rate of pH and temperature decline.