Test identifies tender cattle

By PHILIPPA STEVENSON

New Zealand and Australian scientists are launching analytic tools to corral cattle according to whether they are tender or tough.

In Hamilton, AgResearch scientists, in partnership with Adelaide University, are soon to launch a DNA test identifying tenderness and toughness for the majority of the world's cattle - those based on British and European breeds.

Last week, an all-Australian group launched a test to be used on tropical beef breeds such as the brahman in Australia, the Americas and South Africa.

"The pleasure of enjoying melt-in-the-mouth beef consistently is the promise of a world-first advance," said the consortium of the Australian Government-backed bodies, the Cattle and Beef Quality Co-operative Research Centre, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and marketing operation Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA).

Jay Hetzel, scientific director of Brisbane-based Genetic Solutions, which will take the GeneSTAR test to the market, said beef customers had identified inconsistency in tenderness as a major quality deficiency.

Tenderness was more important than juiciness and flavour for consumers, he said.

In the lead-up to the test, the Australian team announced in April their finding of a gene known as calpastatin in the likes of santa gertrudis and brahman cattle.

It followed last December's announcement by AgResearch of the results of six-year project which identified the gene Calpain-1 in jersey-limousin cross. That research, in turn, followed a year-old US discovery of the gene in piedmontese-angus-cross cattle.

AgResearch Ruakura scientist Dr Chris Morris said both genes came in two forms, one for tough and one for more tender beef.

The frequency of the tender form could be raised in cattle by increasing the number of bulls carrying the tender gene in herds.

AgResearch had since collaborated with the US Department of Agriculture to produce a molecular test to identify the difference between tender-carrying and tough-toting animals among the British and European cattle breeds.

Discussions had begun with New Zealand's principle breed groups, including hereford, angus and limousin, about using the test.

"Helpfully, it is now only weeks away," Morris said. Hereford and angus breeders had already sent in samples of cattle hair which would be used in the first round of testing.

The test, which would be offered by AgResearch's molecular testing company Genomnz, could use "a DNA sample from anywhere convenient", including a hair follicle. It was a much more farmer-friendly way to do a test than involve blood sampling by veterinarians, he said.

Matamata Hereford breeder Jan Wills is a keen proponent of the test. "It's a breakthrough for the restaurant trade and exporters if we can guarantee tenderness," said the Hereford Council member.

A tenderness guarantee would have economic benefits for branded product such as hereford prime, and would bring savings in storage as meat would not have to be held as long to get the desired conditioning.

Morris said the test would be used as a tool to determine which sires would breed reliably tender progeny and, if the cost proved economic, to draft animals any time between birth and a year-old into tender and tough lots. The tough would be destined for hamburger, the tender for steaks.