Superb and Marketable Meat from Efficient and Robust Animals
(SUMMER)
With the aim to increase the production and market share of organic meat (pork, poultry and young beef), an integrated research and development effort will take place along the food chain (primary production, product development and marketing).
The hypothesis is that this product segment is presently underdeveloped due to incompatibility between production costs/consumer prices and the experienced quality of the products, and that this incompatibility primarily should be overcome by adding quality in a broad sense to the organic meat products. Among the immaterial qualities are that the animals are healthy as well as robust, are free-ranged, and is more integrated in the land use (relying to a large extent on on-farm resources) than actually present.
In the project these qualities are investigated, while at the same time focusing on appearance, new cuts, taste and technological quality of the final product, including consumer perceptions and preferences. Specifically we will investigate:
- how much foraging can contribute to the nutritional needs for pigs and poultry and its interaction with genotype, age at slaughter and product quality,
- how the quality of the sward and genotype affect product quality in young intact bulls,
- how the free range impact upon animal robustness, how marketing strategies can be formed complying with consumer perceptions,
- and how such production strategies support a profitable high-value production along with environmental benefits.
This is expected to stimulate to more diversified meat products, a higher total organic meat production and consequently a higher organic share of total meat consumption.
2011: Progress and activities:
Superb and Marketable Meat from Efficient and Robust Animals
With the aim to increase the production and market share of organic meat (pork, poultry and young beef), an integrated research and development effort will take place along the food chain (primary production, product development and marketing). The hypothesis is that this product segment is presently
underdeveloped due to incompatibility between production costs/consumer prices and the experienced quality of the products, and that this incompatibility primarily should be overcome by adding quality in a broad sense to the organic meat products. Among the immaterial qualities are that the animals are healthy as well as robust, are free-ranged, and more integrated in the land use (relying to a large extent on on-farm resources) than actually present. In the project these qualities are investigated, while at the same time focusing on appearance, new cuts, taste and technological quality of the final product, including consumer perceptions and preferences. Specifically we will investigate how much foraging can contribute to the nutritional needs for pigs and poultry and its interaction with genotype, age at slaughter and product quality, how the quality of the sward and genotype affect product quality in young intact bulls, how the free range impact upon animal
robustness, how marketing strategies can be formed complying with consumer perceptions, and how such production strategies support a profitable high-value production along with environmental benefits. Preliminary results indicate that growing-finishing pigs foraging Jerusalem Artichokes may consume considerable amounts of Artichokes tubers and results in very good effects on daily gain or lean meat percentage. Experiences from visiting French producers of high-quality chicken meat shows that important parameters in relation to high quality are 1) slow-growing genotypes with a higher slaughter age compared to the one we know in Denmark, 2) access to a large outdoor area with vegetation, 3) relative small
flocks, 4) different feeding strategies without fishmeal and with high proportion of different cereals and legumes, 5) in certain cases milk feeding in the finishing production period and finally 6) a history connecting the product to a local area.
Feeding trials have been conducted with DH bull calves. The calves were fed a mixture of grass and clover grass or a mixture of herbs the last two month before slaughtering to gain differences in the fatty acid composition and taste compared to calves fed the traditional ration. The results are currently analysed and the meat are ready for evaluation. In relation to marked strategies, the preliminary analyses of focus-group interviews with consumers and interviews with chefs and meat buyers show that availability, animal welfare and information are important quality cues together with the sensory quality (taste, tenderness and juiciness). There seem to be differences between pork, beef and chicken meat in relation to quality cues. This has to be taken into consideration when developing production- and marketing strategies of meat from the three livestock
species.
Project leader
John E. Hermansen
Aarhus University
Blichers Allé 20, Postboks 50
DK-8830 Tjele
Tel: (+45) 87 15 80 17
E-mail:John.Hermansen@djf.au.dk
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