BeefQ Project
Please circulate this update to all relevant staff within your business.
The issue of Beef Eating Quality has been a topic of conversation on Social Media over the last few days. This has been driven in part by the current consultation being run by Red Tractor on their proposed new standards and their survey on ‘what matters to your business’.
AIMS have read through both consultations and have arranged to ‘meet’ with Red Tractor’s new Chair later this week to give our views and raise some concerns. As ever, the Red Tractor standard for beef fails to offer any standard for improved eating quality.
In Wales, Aberystwyth University along with HCC and other industry organisations have been working on a project called BeefQ - Click Here
This research project has tested and demonstrated an enhanced carcase quality grading system based on the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) model.
This system will give the industry the tools to measure and predict eating quality, thereby giving consumers a guaranteed eating experience. Consumers in the trial stage (and in trials around the world) have said they are willing to pay more for guaranteed better eating quality beef thereby getting the best value for individual beef muscles.
The BeefQ project is pre-competitive, benefiting the whole industry, and ultimately could support competitive brand differentiation of PGI Welsh Beef in the market place and contribute to the long term sustainability of Welsh Beef producers and supply chains post Brexit.
The project is now consulting with the beef industry to gauge whether an eating quality based grading system is wanted/ necessary and how it might work in the UK. To participate, please see the link to their survey: Click Here
AIMS has taken an interest in the project and have attended the update webinars over several months.
The project team has recently held two webinars.
The first was focused on what an eating quality based grading system would mean for the retail/foodservice industry and can be viewed on YouTube: Click Here
The second again looked at what an eating quality based grading system would mean for the retail/foodservice industry but with information targeted at producers. To view this webinar on YouTube: Click Here
Both are around an hour long but are well worth watching.
If you have any questions about BeefQ or, having watched the webinars have any questions on these please contact Pip Nicholas-Davies at Aberystwyth University: pkn@aber.ac.uk or 01970 622240 or Deanna Jones at HCC email: djones@hybucig.cymru or Mobile: 07779 320102.
NOTE: The BeefQ team have offered to run a webinar on the project for AIMS Members focusing on the what eating quality based grading system would mean for the retail/ foodservice industry. Please can you email tony.goodger@aims2001.co.uk if you would be interested in this. Should we have sufficient interest we will arrange this for sometime in early to mid-March.
Everyone at AIMS is here to support any members, please email if you have any questions.