Beef quality starts with a feed specification, not a single forage ratio
A new study from Henan Agricultural University puts the ration at the centre of beef-quality specification. The team compared three alfalfa-hay proportions—11.57%, 20.83% and 30.09%—in 60 Simmental-cross cattle. It assessed performance, carcass traits, meat quality, rumen fermentation and microbiota. The lowest alfalfa proportion was associated with a higher final weight and lower shear force in the longissimus thoracis.
Mature sheep needs cut-specific processing, not a blanket tenderness promise
The reffiSchaf project has published practical recommendations for creating value from whole cuts of mature sheep in foodservice. Its starting point is technological and sensory: meat from older animals often has a firmer texture because of more highly cross-linked collagen fibres. Rather than reducing this raw material to low-value uses, the project proposes selecting the pre-treatment method according to the cut and its culinary purpose.
Beef-and-wine pairing becomes a cooking-method question, not a health claim
An in-vitro digestion study from Ludong University and Northwest A&F University examines a classic table pairing: beef and red wine. Beef cooked by steaming, boiling and grilling was compared with and without red wine using the INFOGEST 2.0 model and molecular-docking simulations. In the experimental system, wine reduced gastric carbonyl formation and preserved free sulfhydryl groups; the strongest digestibility effect was observed with grilled beef.
EU pig data makes weight class the early indicator for cut availability
The European Commission’s updated pigmeat dashboard shows why a carcass average is not enough to interpret the market. The edition last updated on 1 October brings together quotations, slaughter, herd surveys, production and trade. For twelve Member States with comparable data, the domestic-pig population fell 0.9% year on year in May–June 2026. The decline was much sharper for pigs from 20 to under 50 kg, down 11.6%, and for fattening pigs from 50 to under 80 kg, down 11.8%; the 80-to-under-110-kg segment increased 7.1%.
Disease compensation confirms that movement restrictions are a meat-chain cost factor
The European Commission has agreed to mobilise €73 million from the agricultural reserve to compensate Italian farms affected by avian influenza and African swine fever. Of that amount, €61 million is for poultry and egg producers affected between September 2022 and March 2025; €12.5 million is for pig producers affected by measures linked to ASF outbreaks between November 2024 and April 2025. Payments must reach beneficiaries by the end of May 2027.
