Lamb and mutton in the economy Down Under
The Australian sheep meat industry in recent years has made an increasingly important contribution to the Australian economy. This has been driven by 25-year high lamb production relatively high prices for mutton and lamb.

Rabbit meat production in Australia
In the 1860s, a tinned-meat preserving works at Colac in the state of Victoria became interested in canning wild rabbit meat for export to Britain. It was the start of a flourishing trade of rabbit meat at the fish markets in the state’s capital city, Melbourne.

Using carbon monoxide in meat packaging
A controversy over the use of carbon monoxide (CO) in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) for meat has been brewing in the US for some time. Scientific research backs the pro-CO camp, showing that CO treated products look better, taste better, last longer and are safer.

Role of genetic markers in tracking pork meat
The introduction of DNA traceable pork meat for export to Japan is just a matter of time according to Dr John Webb of the Toronto based Canadian meat company Maple leaf Foods Inc.

Equipment innovation and ingredient interactions
Automation and market dynamics have a major effect on the interaction between equipment innovations and ingredients. A few recently introduced machines underline what the next generation of equipment can do.

China: a rising equipment star
Consolidations have reduced the number of processing equipment manufactures in the world. Famous names have disappeared but new players are waiting to emerge. Most of them come from China, but are they competitive enough?

Impingement freezing improves speed, safety and quality
Impingement freezing technology, originally developed to address specific safety, quality and economy demands within the meat processing industry, is now having a growing impact on far more segments of the food industry, including fisheries, confectionery and baking.

Biological protection against listeria
A treatment with natural bacteria eater named bacteriophages can offer a biological solution for the protection of certain foods against listeria. This is confirmed in research done by Gent University’s Department of Food Safety and Food Quality in Belgium.

Phosphates for improved water binding and texture
Phosphates belong to a group of ingredients that are often used very effectively in meat products. In many applications, a broad variety of phosphates are used to improve water binding, the consistency of the meat and the firmness of the end product.

Latin America puts focus on quality products
As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) praises Latin America’s economic progress and forecasts an average growth rate of 4.75% for 2006, the world’s meat markets are seeing countries in the region moving away from quantity to quality exports.