The National Sheep Association (NSA) has launched a new project which aims to use technology as a traceability tool for sheep meat.
The project will try to establish the possibilities of identifying a sheep’s breed, age, and grazing locations from small meat samples.
The program will analyse the meat samples using a mass spectrometer, which will provide patterns that act as fingerprints.
According to the NSA, each piece of meat has a unique profile.
NSA project manager, Nicola Noble, said: “Not all meat tastes the same. The main factors affecting the flavour are the age of the animal, its breed, and its environment.
“There are many varieties of apples available, yet sheep meat is very rarely advertised as nothing more than lamb.”
Noble said that consumers should embrace the wide range of products available within the UK sheep market and appreciate the different flavours, tastes, and textures available.
Participants
Having just launched the project, the NSA are currently looking for farmers with Swaledale sheep in the Yorkshire Dales, Herdwicks in Cumbria, or Scottish Blackfaces in Scotland to take part.
The organisation said that meat samples of lamb, hogget, and mutton will be required from the participants, adding that farmers will be compensated for posting samples and participation.
Noble said: “This project will use UK native sheep breeds for the proof of concept.
“Being able to verify the origin and traceability of meat from these specialised niche breeds will create a more level playing field by enabling better prices for native sheep, which are often penalised in the mass market.”
NSA chief executive, Phil Stocker, spoke about the future benefits this project may have for consumers.
He said: “There’s potential for this technology to be used to verify food labelling, particularly in the case of origin labelling, for which current analytical methods are too complex and expensive for official labs to use for enforcement.”
According to the NSA chief executive, this level of traceability of meat in the supply chain will help the industry promote its premium breeds.
Stocker added that this will help provide consumers with the proper information on where their meat comes from needed to make an informed and confident choice.
