Review: The variability of the eating quality of beef can be reduced by predicting consumer satisfaction

Asian-Australas J Anim Sci

Lherm

et al. 2018

The European Union (EU) is the world’s third largest producer of beef. This contributes to the economy, rural development, social life, culture and gastronomy of Europe. The diversity of breeds, animal types (cows, bulls, steers, heifers) and farming systems (intensive, extensive on permanent or temporary pastures, mixed, breeders, feeders, etc) is a strength, and a weakness as the industry is often fragmented and poorly connected. There are also societal concerns regarding animal welfare and environmental issues, despite some positive environmental impacts of farming systems. The EU is amongst the most efficient for beef production as demonstrated by a relative low production of greenhouse gases. Due to regional differences in terms of climate, pasture availability, livestock practices and farms characteristics, productivity and incomes of beef producers vary widely across regions, being among the lowest of the agricultural systems. The beef industry is facing unprecedented challenges related to animal welfare, environmental impact, origin, authenticity, nutritional benefits and eating quality of beef. These may affect the whole industry, especially its farmers. It is therefore essential to bring the beef industry together to spread best practice and better exploit research to maintain and develop an economically viable and sustainable beef industry. Meeting consumers’ expectations may be achieved by a better prediction of beef palatability using a modelling approach, such as in Australia. There is a need for accurate information and dissemination on the benefits and issues of beef for human health and for environmental impact. A better objective description of goods and services derived from livestock farming is also required. Putting into practice “agroecology” and organic farming principles are other potential avenues for the future. Different future scenarios can be written depending on the major driving forces, notably meat consumption, climate change, environmental policies and future organization of the supply chain.

Section: Evolution Of Consumer Expectationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current situation and future prospects for beef production in Europe — A review

Hocquette

Asian-Australas J Anim Sci

Lherm

et al. 2018

“…The MSA model has been tested successfully in different countries (reviewed by Bonny et al, (2018) [35]) including France [36][37][38], South Korea [39], Northern Ireland [40][41][42][43], the USA [44,45], Japan [46], Ireland [47], South Africa [48], New Zealand [49], and Poland [50,51]. The general conclusion is that the MSA methodology is relevant in all these countries, indicating that the MSA model is likely to be generally applicable.…”

Section: Modelling Approaches Combining Different Quality Indicators mentioning

confidence: 99%

Various Statistical Approaches to Assess and Predict Carcass and Meat Quality Traits

Hocquette

Chriki

et al. 2020

Foods

The beef industry is organized around different stakeholders, each with their own expectations, sometimes antagonistic. This article first outlines these differing perspectives. Then, various optimization models that might integrate all these expectations are described. The final goal is to define practices that could increase value for animal production, carcasses and meat whilst simultaneously meeting the main expectations of the beef industry. Different models previously developed worldwide are proposed here. Two new computational methodologies that allow the simultaneous selection of the best regression models and the most interesting covariates to predict carcass and/or meat quality are developed. Then, a method of variable clustering is explained that is accurate in evaluating the interrelationships between different parameters of interest. Finally, some principles for the management of quality trade-offs are presented and the Meat Standards Australia model is discussed. The “Pareto front” is an interesting approach to deal jointly with the different sets of expectations and to propose a method that could optimize all expectations together.

“…Further developing the current star system, that is, to move towards a system comparable to the MSA model would make it possible to identify the best combinations, that is, between the animal, muscle, duration of maturation, and cooking method. Such an approach has been successfully studied in Europe (Bonny et al 2018).…”

Section: Willingness To Pay For Better Beefmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meat consumption – what French consumers feel about the quality of beef?

Italian Journal of Animal Science

Lee

Jacob

et al. 2019

The first aim of this study conducted in France was to examine consumer habits concerning beef consumption, as well as any reasons, which may explain the relative decline in interest in beef consumption. Two surveys were conducted based on a sample of 625 beef consumers to analyse the frequency of their meat consumption and its evolution. The survey also aimed to explore consumers' understanding of the new labelling system, which was introduced in France in 2015 to indicate the eating quality potential of cuts with stars. Half of the respondents have reduced their beef consumption. Whereas inconsistency in eating quality is one reason among others which contribute to explain this decline, results showed that 70% of the respondents have not seen yet the new labels on beef. Nevertheless, this system represents a major progress for the French beef sector and should be developed further. Indeed, French consumers would be interested in a meat grading system based on tenderness as the one in Australia. Such a system could reduce the decline in beef consumption and even reverse this negative trend. HIGHLIGHTS The decline in meat consumption may be explained by the high price of beef, and concerns about health, environment, eating quality and animal welfare. A large proportion of the respondents (72%) is not aware of the new labelling system for beef in supermarket self-service aisles. Further developing this new system to a grading scheme similar to the 'Meat Standards Australia' would be judicious.