International Meat Scientists Visit Teagasc Research Centres

Meat designed to meet consumer needs and the manner in which on-farm management of beef cattle can influence the appearance, sensory characteristics and composition of meat is the focus of major research programmes at Teagasc's Ashtown Food Research Centre, Dublin and its Beef Research Centre at Grange, Co. Meath.

The research programme at Grange is studying how the nutrition of beef cattle can be used as a tool to manipulate the quality of meat. Given that some 90 per cent of Irish beef is eported, this key research will assist in the future production and marketing of meat and will help farmers to produce beef with the characteristics required by discerning consumers and specific markets.

Today (Wednesday, August 16th, 2006) over 150 of the delegates attending the 52nd International Congress of Meat Science and Technology (ICoMST) in Dublin traveled to Grange in Co Meath and Ashtown in Dublin, to see in practice how this research programme is being conducted. The visitors to Grange were met by Dr Edward O'Riordan, Head of Centre, and at Ashtown by Mr Declan Troy, Head of Centre, who is also chairman of the organising committee of ICoMST.

At Grange, Dr Gerry Keane outlined beef production systems in Ireland; Dr Aidan Moloney dealt with the production of quality beef from a human perspective and Dr Padraig O'Kiely spoke on the production of beef from alternative forages.

Dr. O'Riordan said the research programme at Grange covers a number of areas, three of which are of significant importance and interest: the colour of bovine tissue, the fatty acid composition of beef and the authentication of the dietary history and geographical origin of beef.

He continued saying that the research on the colour of bovine tissue aims to understand and document influences on the colour of bovine adipose (fatty) tissue and muscle. Among the subjects being studied are the ranking of feedstuffs with respect to the yellowness of adipose tissue and the ranking of feedstuffs with respect to the redness and lightness of muscle.

The research on the fatty acid composition of beef aims to modify the fatty acid composition so that it is more compatible with medical recommendations for human health.

This research programme covers such areas as increasing the concentration of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and the omega-3 to omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid ratio in beef; increasing the concentration of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA, an unsaturated fatty acid essential for normal human nutrition) in beef and the development of fatty acid-enriched beef products. The study also eamines measures to ensure that shelf life and flavour in beef are not compromised by changes in fatty acid composition.

At Ashtown, the focus of the visit was on the research programme in the Meat Technology Department and in particular the work researchers are doing on the science base underpinning important applications in foods for health, innovations in convenient value-added meat products and food safety.

Dr Paul Allen made a presentation on the testing and implementation of a PACCP (Palatability Assured Critical Control Point) based grading system for Irish beef. The system being tested is the Meat Standard Australia model which predicts consumer palatability scores for individual cuts of beef.

Dr Anne Maria Mullen, head of the Meat Technology Department, made a presentation on both post-mortem interventions for optimising the quality of meat, while providing economically sound solutions to the industry. She also dealt with the Molecular Biology research programme which aims to identify molecular signatures (gene, proteins etc) associated with quality. Interactions between these signatures and eternal factors, like diet and processing, may strengthen the development of meat management systems, such as the MSA model.

Dr Peter Dunne spoke about the healthy beef research programme, one of the objectives of which is to increase the concentration of components considered to be of benefit to human health, in particular the use of beneficial fatty acids. The goal of this research is the development of functional beef and beef products, similar to ongoing research that has produced pork and pork products with improved fatty acid profiles.

Dr Tony Kenny reported on advances in functional meat products where ingredients with positive implications for health (nutraceuticals, phytochemicals) are being incorporated into meat products. The reduction in additives, salt and fat are key factors in these developments.