Grading machines in Irish beef factories need an upgrade, delegates at the International Congress of Meat Science and Technology heard last week.

The current grading machines are still based on old-style analogue technology, which farmers will be familiar with as being used in Irish televisions before the switch to digital technology.

That has been superceded by digital and more recently high definition (HD) technology.

Dr Paul Allen, formerly of Teagasc, said that the existing machines in Irish factories need to be upgraded with new technology.

The E+V system used in Irish factories has been grading Irish cattle since 2004 following a prolonged trial in which two other systems were trialled.

The E+V system now needs an upgrade to higher resolution cameras and LED lighting, although Allen added that he thought it unlikely this would be much more accurate than at present.

However, there is a new E+V prototype machine with a time-of-flight (TOF) camera that would give better 3D information about the carcase and probably deliver more accurate results.

Allen also highlighted an option for grading cattle from Frontmantec (formerly SFK) that uses 40 cameras to take images from both sides and can be merged to give a 3D model.

This, he said, was potentially more accurate for measuring yield, cut weights and sizes.

One of the recurring themes during the week was the potential for a move to a meat quality-based payment system for beef across the globe.

Payment bonuses based on characteristics like marbling are already in place in North America and Mexico.

Argentinian researchers detailed how they were able to successfully add value to their current grading system, which is very similar to the EUROP and fat class system in place here.

They focused on additional traits which influence eating quality such as meat and fat colour, ribeye area, pH and marbling. They also outlined how their protocols did not interfere with routine processing of carcases.

Similar moves are afoot in Australia, where prediction equations to estimate meat fat percentage are being developed. Closer to home, research with French and Polish consumers is looking into the application of an Australian meat quality-grading model here in Europe and the initial results are promising.

As expected, there was plenty of excitement around new technologies in the meat sector.

Research from Mexico focused on a potential move away from manual estimation of carcase fat percentage (marbling) towards a more automated system.

A Brazilian non-contact, laser-based system that predicted carcase weight in the live animal with 92% accuracy was also showcased.