10 July 2008

2 minute read

Europe

In early 2007, there was industry agreement that an official EU recognition for a new dressing specification was required to comply with legal reporting requirements and to address industry concerns regarding consistency of trim.

NFU Scotland pushed hard for such changes and a modified specification has now been created. This allows for consistent enforcement at abattoirs and helps to avoid previous concerns over brisket trim. The specification is also designed to help fit with modern processing needs at large plants.

The European Commission accepted the new specification as an official reporting specification in June 2008.

NFU Scotland is now keen to work with Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and other industry partners to investigate how best to utilise VIA and other objective carcase assessment systems.

Having an efficient VIA system in place can help to ensure consistency and also add value to the industry. However, some concerns do need to be addressed before its introduction to ensure that eating quality can be maximised.

Nigel Miller, NFU Scotland Vice-President, said:

“NFU Scotland has put a huge amount of effort into addressing carcase dressing specifications and these new standards has been a long time in coming.

“The target is now to enforce these new standards by the end of 2008 and we will be pushing hard for that to happen.

“The new specifications give major processors a trim which suits further cutting while also introducing policeable safeguards for producers. Most importantly, these recognised specifications open the door for the use of VIA.

“The VIA system is a great opportunity to offer objective quality assessment; bolting on new technology to monitor fat and tenderness could drive Scottish quality production even further forward.

“There are some lessons that need to be learned from the Irish experience of VIA; but we are now in a position to take a step forward by cherry picking the technologies that fit our industry.”

TheCattleSite News Desk