eNews

Beef Quality, Safety and Integrity

Quality assurance remains the lifeblood of the beef industry. Atron works very closely with industry bodies, and the supply chain, to ensure quality assurance at the highest level. Atron places absolute priority on best practice values of product integrity, product safety, and consistency. 
 David Larkin's personal commitment to quality: As an ardent representative on local, state and national industry meat advisory boards, David is deeply involved in setting industry standards for beef in Australia.Atron's traceability program is extremely sophisticated and detailed. It allows a cut of meat to be traced from your plate back to the paddock where the animal was raised.All Atron processes are underpinned by stringent Australian industry standards and Atron’s uncompromising quality control and assurance procedures. Atron draws on key Australian and global industry authorities, market information sources, trade visits and market intelligence to ensure product integrity.

In addition, the Atron Quality Assurance (QA) Department continuously monitors and audits activities at all processing premises to ensure compliance with company and government programs. Atron’s extensive sampling and testing program enforces strict standards to ensure the processing areas have produced food that is safe for consumption. This includes daily testing on beef carcases and carton product, prior to shipping to our customers.
 
Food Quality, Safety and Integrity
Vital to all points along the red meat supply chain, healthy livestock is the basis for Australia's broad market access and high productivity. As an island continent, Australia has a natural barrier to animal and crop diseases, backed by strict quarantine regulations. A comprehensive system is in place to ensure that the safety and quality of Australian red meat is paramount.
 
Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) invests heavily in food safety by assisting the Australian red meat industry to manage food safety and quality. MLA is the leading provider of research and development solutions that assist Australia's red meat industry maintain its excellent reputation for product safety both in Australia and overseas.
 
Livestock Handling and Product Traceability
Through all stages of livestock handling, the health and welfare of the animals processed is a priority for Atron. Good husbandry and strict quarantine measures are in place to ensure the humane treatment of animals and the maintenance of disease-free stock.

The red meat industry's commitment to food safety continues beyond the farm gate, with a unique set of industry quality assurance programs covering livestock transport, feedlots and sale yards. These include the National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme (NFAS) and the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS). NFAS is an initiative designed to ensure product quality and integrity in beef feedlots. It covers a wide range of environmental, animal welfare, veterinary practices, and feed ingredients and residues standards. The NLIS is a traceability system that documents the movement of cattle, sheep and goats and provides assurance of product integrity, safety and market eligibility.
 
Safe and Hygienic Product
SAFEMEAT is the food safety partnership between the red meat industry and the Australian Government. The primary function of SAFEMEAT is overseeing and promoting sound management systems in the red meat industry to ensure the delivery of safe and hygienic products.
 
The Microbiological Food Safety Research and Development Program is a key program within SAFEMEAT that provides a sound scientific basis for food safety and microbiological risk management.

Find out more about the SAFEMEAT program 
 
The Australian red meat industry strives for quality and consistency in its product. AUS-MEAT sets the standards for industry to follow. The MLA developed a grading system, Meat Standards Australia (MSA), to ensure excellent eating quality at the consumer level locally within Australia. MSA considers a range of production and processing factors, including age, breed, nutrition, handling, transport and processing treatments, as well as conventional carcase parameters such as marbling, meat colour, fat distribution and pH.

Eating Quality Assured (EQA) is MLA's international eating quality program. The EQA trade mark is underpinned by MSA Standards, and EQA certification will be used to underpin individual Australian beef brands.

Stringent Quality and Grading Standards
AUS-MEAT is the national organisation responsible for quality standards and accurate descriptions of red meat. AUS-MEAT develops, maintains and reviews accreditation standards on behalf of the Australian red meat industry. These are designed to protect the industry's reputation and integrity in relation to sales, distribution and exports.
 
Find out more about AUS-MEAT
 
Meat Standards Australia (MSA) is a grading system for beef that labels the product with a guaranteed grade and best cooking method to maintain consistency in eating quality. When MSA beef is cooked as described, the eating quality is guaranteed at the indicated grade.
 
A wide range of cattle management practices, processing systems, cuts, ageing periods and cooking methods have been researched to determine the impact each has on eating quality.
 
Find out more about MSA and eating quality
 
Compliance, Inspection and Testing
At the processing level, Australia's excellent food safety and quality record is a result of Australian Government regulation and industry quality assurance based on food science. This is achieved through regulation and residue testing by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS), who oversee the meat hygiene, safety regulations and certification at all plants.
 
Food Safety and HACCP
Food Safety is a top priority, and our comprehensive Quality Assurance program is in force throughout the entire process - from receiving livestock to processing and distribution.

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a process used for the identification, evaluation and control of food safety hazards. The Atron HACCP program is underpinned by a series of comprehensive sanitation standard operating procedures, in combination with good hygienic practices and education of food handlers. This is pivotal to ensure that the highest standards of food safety are maintained.

In addition, Australian export-registered meat processing plants must have an approved Halaal program operating for production of Halaal products.
To find out more information click here: http://www.atron.com.au/pages/quality-safety.php