High quality beef
High quality beef - Beef CRC - Beef Genetic Technologies
 Professor Dave PethickProgram Manager, High quality beef for global consumers (08) 9360 2246 or D.Pethick@murdoch.edu.au |
 Beef CRC scientists are developing new genetic tests for tenderness, marbling and retail beef yield.By understanding the way genes behave, the Australian beef industry will better understand the composition of the cattle carcass. This means producers will meet market specifications more often thus increasing the consumer satisfaction of beef in Australia and international markets. The Beef CRC believes this program will add $58.5 million to the value of the Australian and New Zealand beef industries. |
| The Beef CRC has developed a new tool that reliably and confidently predicts carcase carcass weight, carcass fatness and marbling based on growth path and genetic inputs. The program is called 'BeefSpecs' and is available through the Meat and Livestock Australia's website. |
 Download BeefSpecs calculator |
| The Beef CRC is also looking at improving Meat Standards Australia (MSA). The only system which guarantees the eating quality of red meat, MSA has contributed more than $244 million to the value of the Australian beef industry since its inception in 1999. It is underpinned by research carried out in CRCI and II. |
 Two million carcasses are graded using MSA each year. The MSA scheme uses a total quality management approach where the quality of the meat is predicted using a host of production, processing and value adding parameters. These can include the breed of the animal, whether it has had an Hormonal Growth Promotant (HGP) implant, its’ growth path, how the animal is treated in lairage to minimise stress, chiller conditions, hanging, ageing and how the meat is cooked. Work is now underway to allow for the inclusion of DNA markers for tenderness into MSA. This work is being co-funded by Catapult Genetics and the MLA Donor Company. |
