Shelf life of ready-to-eat meat needs sensory markers, not just safety values
A study of sterilised, vacuum-packed braised chicken shows why ready-to-eat meat products should not assess shelf life solely through conventional microbiological and chemical parameters. The team examined the product over six months at 25 ± 1 °C, using seven comparable production batches. It combined a trained sensory panel, electronic tongue, electronic nose and gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry.
LAMP makes Salmonella screening faster—but not independent of sampling design
The FDA’s October update of its LAMP protocol for Salmonella detection places a rapid molecular method in a very specific setting: retail-meat surveillance. The assay amplifies a sequence in the invasion gene invA at a constant temperature; according to the protocol, the system has been adopted by the US NARMS programme as its uniform Salmonella screening method for retail meat.
More lamb on offer, firm prices: market signals need to be read together
Australia’s cattle and sheep market this week shows how a price-only reading can mislead. Meat & Livestock Australia reports that national cattle yardings fell 7% to 54,403 head, despite the return to a full selling week after public holidays. Rain forecasts encouraged some producers to retain stock. All cattle indicators rose, with weekly movements ranging from 0.4% to 11%.
France makes traceability and trading discipline one task at livestock markets
On 12 October, France extended an interprofessional agreement on rights and duties at live-animal markets. The measure covers producers, producer organisations, traders, slaughterhouses and other market users. It goes beyond venue discipline: it regulates trading times and locations, fees, payment deadlines, animal handling, and the production and dissemination of quotations or reference prices.
Beef quality becomes marketable when animal handling, genetics and value marketing connect
Cattle Connect 2026, scheduled for 22 and 23 October at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, brings together topics that are often handled separately: low-stress stock handling, feedlot performance, genetics, heifer selection, soil, virtual fencing and value-based marketing. According to Meat & Livestock Australia, the event is hosted by Cattle Australia and brings together stakeholders from across the Australian beef supply chain.
“The boss just has a feel for it.” At first, a sentence like that sounds like a compliment. Like experience, confidence, someone who knows their craft. For a business, however, it also raises a rather uncomfortable question: What happens when the boss is not there?
