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National Meat Industry Training Advisory Council Limited

Grass seed contamination assessment model

As part of an MLA funded project MINTRAC has worked with the Victorian DPI and an industry steering group to develop a standardized measure of grass seed contamination that can be used by QA personnel or meat inspectors to describe the extent of grass seed contamination in a lot.

When utilizing the model, grass seed is not recorded unless the lot has to be dealt with differently by:

  • carcases being put onto the retain rail and or
  • extra trimmers being deployed or
  • the chain being slowed to accommodate increased trimming.

    • If one or more of the above measures have to be employed to deal with the grass seed contamination then the carcases will be graded as having heavy, medium, light grass seed contamination.

    A carcase is scored as “heavy grass seed” if there are any grass seeds in the loin or back leg. This reflects the issues that even a small number of grass seeds in this region can have for high value cuts. If there are grass seeds in the forequarter then the carcase is graded as having “medium grass seed” contamination.

    However, if the grass seed is confined to the belly area the grass seed is said to be “light”. It is important to remember that no carcases are scored unless they have to be processed in some way differently. If there are no grass seeds then the carcase is graded as nil grass seed contamination.

    At the end of the lot the QA officer or inspector estimates the % in each of the four categories eg 40% heavy, 20% medium and 20% light.
    MINTRAC has run training for a range of industry personnel and the model is currently being trialed at 12 plants around Australia. If you want more information on the grass seed scoring model please contact Clive Richardson on 0409438390.