SHEEP

New tech to measure lamb meat quality

Researchers are looking at a hi-tech mini needle camera to help measure intramuscular carcase fat.

Mark Saunders

This article is 3 years old. Images might not display.

The research program team comprises medical engineers and livestock researchers from the University of Adelaide, working in collaboration with Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and tech start-up Miniprobes.

The $1.5 million Commonwealth Government Cooperative Research Centre Projects (CRC-P) grant will help develop a new technology to overcome the problem of measuring IMF which is a key indicator of eating quality, but can be particularly difficult to measure in lamb carcases.

Part of the research is an IMF stainless steel needle which is fitted with a tiny camera made of optical fibre. When inserted into the meat, the needle cam provides an instant, high-resolution scan of the fat structure within muscle.

"This device will provide our exporters with a technological advantage over lamb from other countries, with the potential to increase Australian sheep meat sales by $183 million per year," said Professor Rob McLaughlin from the University of Adelaide.

"The work is currently focused on lamb. However, it also has potential application for the beef industry."

Originally developed for the medical industry, the needle's design is based on 10 years of research and development from the University of Adelaide and University of Western Australia.

Lead researcher Professor McLaughlin, who is also the managing director of Miniprobes, said: "The technology was originally developed for identifying human cancer cells, but we found when tested, it was more effective in seeing individual fat cells than cancer cells."

Professor McLaughlin and his team saw a new potential use for the technology after speaking to MLA, which outlined the importance of being able to objectively measure eating quality in sheep meat.

"One of the realisations we had was that almost every medical technology we've worked on has some equivalent usage in the livestock industry," Professor McLaughlin said.

The IMF needle is based on standard medical imaging technology and operates similarly to high resolution ultrasound, but uses near infrared light instead of sound.

When the needle is inserted into the carcase the camera scans the tissue along the needle track.

Fat appears as a black and white honeycomb texture and muscle appears as a more uniform texture of muscle fibres. The fat is then identified and measured using an artificial neural network.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the farming sector, brought to you by the Kondinin team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the farming sector, brought to you by the Kondinin team.

editions

Research Report: Sheep Yards (April 2025)

This month's Research Report includes more than a dozen case studies of new sheep yard builds and renovations from around the country. There are plenty of ideas to make the handling of stock more efficient and stress-free.

editions

Research Report: Large Square Baler Testing (March 2025)

This month Kondinin Group has capacity tested four high-density, large square balers in what is believed to be a first for Australia. Balers from Krone, Kuhn, Massey Ferguson and New Holland were put through their paces, working in windrowed straw.

editions

Research Report: Rural Communications (February 2025)

With the departure of 3G technology and the emergence of 5G and satellite options, there are significant changes on the connectivity horizon. This month Kondinin Group engineers Ben White and Josh Giumelli investigate what is the best way to stay connected in regional and remote areas.

editions

Research Report: Chaser Bins (January 2025)

Chaser bins play a vital role when it comes to on-farm grain logistics. The January Research Report features a comprehensive round up of the latest chaser bins of 30 tonnes-plus capacity.