Challenges for the meat industry in the next millennium

A conference addressing challenges for the meat industry in the next millennium will be held in Dublin, Ireland, on 14 May 1998. The conference is organized by the Irish National Food Centre (Teagasc) within the concerted action on "Very Fast Chilling in Beef" funded by the Community's Agriculture and Agro-industry, including Fisheries (AIR) research programme (1990-1994).

The conference will consist of presentations from representatives of government and the research community, and will include a presentation from a representative of DG XII of the European Commission. The following topics will be addressed:

- Irish beef: The marketing challenge;
- Traceability techniques for the meat industry;
- Detection of quantitative trait loci influencing growth and carcass quality traits;
- Animal welfare and the meat industry;
- Objective methods of carcass evaluation;
- The spread of Escherichia coli from the live animal to carcass during slaughter;
- Prospective microbial control in the meat processing industry;
- Hot boning operations in the meat industry;
- Venturing into very fast chilling;
- Predicting beef quality at the early post-mortem period;
- Nutritional aspects of meat;
- Consumers' perceptions of meat quality.
For further information, please contact:

Teagasc - The National Food Centre
Ms. Mary Byrne
Dunsinea
Castleknock
Dublin 15
Ireland
Tel. +353-1-8059500; Fax +353-1-8059550
E-mail: research@ec.europa.eu