Beef 2015

Volunteers to rate MSA samples at Beef 2015

Meat & Livestock Australia, 14/04/2015

beef-2015

 

WANT to follow in the footsteps of more than 94,000 consumers across nine countries and rate MSA beef samples to help refine the MSA model?

If you’re interested, consider registering for one of two Sensory Testing sessions in the MLA Innovation Marquee.

The sessions will collect data from 120 participants, as they sample their way through two sets of 42 beef roasts.

Rod Polkinghorne prepares samples used in one of thousands of MSA taste panel tests around Australia

Rod Polkinghorne prepares samples used in one of thousands of MSA taste panel tests around Australia

Under the watchful eye of Rod Polkinghorne, who helped establish the MSA program in 1991, taste-testers will rate the eating quality attributes of seven roast samples and say how much they would pay for each. This helps determine the overall satisfaction and value of each cut.

“Although the roasts have all been cooked exactly the same way, they include different cuts and are from animals which have different scores for traits such as marbling and ossification,” Rod said.

“After we have collected consumer feedback, each cut will be matched to the animal’s history to see how different management practices influence the consumer’s eating experience.”

He said the consumer testing reflects the uniqueness of MSA as a beef grading system.

“It is a consumer focused system. While other systems around the world grade the whole carcase, Australia focuses on each cut. This recognises that consumers don’t see the carcase, they base their experience on the piece of meat on their plate.”

“These tasting sessions are your chance to see first-hand what happens to develop the MSA standards and participate in real research which will be added to the MSA model.”

Registrations are essential as places are limited but even if you miss out on a seat at the testing table, Rod said it will be worth coming along to watch.

“We’ll be serving 420 plates of roast beef in 30 minutes so it will be a highly orchestrated process,” he said.

Rod and members of the MSA operations team will be on hand to answer questions about MSA testing and grading.

The sensory testing sessions will be run under carefully designed conditions, to ensure accurate consumer feedback is collected for each cut. Consumer ratings will be analysed by independent statisticians and an eating quality score out of 100 will be allocated to each cut. This score lines up with the MSA quality grades that can be used at point of sale to consumers, for example beef which receives 77 or above is an MSA 5 Star cut.

 

MSA Sensory Testing Sessions:

When: 3pm, Monday 4 May and 11am, Tuesday 5 May
Where: MLA Innovation Marquee at Beef Australia, Rockhampton
Places are limited. Each session takes one hour.

Click here to register for first session – 3pm Monday 4 May.

Click here to register for second session – 11am Tuesday 5 May.

 

Want to know more about MSA?

Don’t miss these sessions at Beef Australia:

MLA Producer Forum (1-5pm, Wednesday 6 May, James Lawrence Pavilion)

  • Using the MSA Index in northern production systems. Presented by Jessira Perovic, Project Manager for Eating Quality Data Analytics, MLA.
  • Producer case study: MSA in Action – the Oombabeer story. Presented by Debbie McBryde, Oombabeer, Moura.

MLA Innovation Marquee (1pm, Monday 4 May)

  • Unlocking opportunities with MSA. Presented by Terry Farrell, MSA Operations Manager.

View the full MLA program www.mla.com.au/beef2015

Source: Meat & Livestock Australia

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