Alliance has been trialling Fluorescence Spectroscopy technology to identify premium-quality marbled beef and lamb with high intramuscular fat. File photo / NZME
Alliance has been trialling Fluorescence Spectroscopy technology to identify premium-quality marbled beef and lamb with high intramuscular fat. File photo / NZME
Alliance Group, New Zealand’s only 100 per cent farmer-owned red meat co-operative, has invested in cutting-edge technology designed to measure the level of intramuscular fat in its beef and lamb, to capture greater value from its premium products.
In what is believed to be a first for a New Zealand red meat company, Alliance has been trialling Fluorescence Spectroscopy technology at its plants at Smithfield (Timaru) and Pukeuri (Oamaru) in a bid to consistently identify premium quality marbled beef and lamb with high intramuscular fat (IMF).
Fluorescence Spectroscopy technology uses light to accurately measure IMF in a carcass at the commencement of processing, to capture a “fingerprint” of the IMF within a loin muscle.
The two largest contributors to the sensory experience when eating quality meat are IMF and ageing, with higher levels of IMF believed to be the greatest contributor.
“One of the challenges we have as a food company is to create the highest quality taste experience 100 per cent of the time,” the chief executive of Alliance Group Willie Wiese said.
“We have been working on this project for the last 12 months. This technology is exciting because we can immediately identify all premium quality carcasses early on without disrupting production and optimise the opportunity for higher returns in our global markets.”
Wiese said this would enable Alliance to build up and scale its premium programmes, which was a growing part of its business.
“Another key benefit of our shareholder farmer proposition is our ability to use the data to provide a detailed breakdown of a farmer’s mob performance over the entire season, allowing the farmer to drive behind the farm gate improvements to their stock and land.”
Shane Kingston, general manager sales and marketing at Alliance, said taste and texture were the number one drivers of a consumer’s eating experience.
Through the deployment of evidence-based markers, Alliance Group can further differentiate its product offering to target consumers.
Fluorescence Spectroscopy technology uses light to accurately measure IMF in a carcass. Photo / Supplied / Alliance
“IMF has a strong correlation with poly-unsaturated fat including Omega fatty acids,” Kingston said.
“High IMF levels represent the healthy fats which are good for nutrition but also the health of the animal. It is therefore a key attribute that needs to be measured by livestock unit whilst other contributors can be periodically measured.”
The technology could help drive accuracy and efficiency across Alliance’s premium lamb and beef brands, which ensured consumers’ taste experience was consistently high, he said.
Kingston said Alliance hoped to use the technology for its award-winning premium lamb and beef brands, Lumina Lamb, Handpicked Lamb, Handpicked Beef, and Silere.
Alliance Group partnered with High Health Alliance (its joint venture with Headwaters) in conjunction with the Ministry for Primary Industries to successfully deliver the technology.
