Solutions for sustainable lamb production and breeding for more taste and less waste to increase food security in the UK and beyond

该项目将同时测量新的羔羊胴体和肉质（MQ）性状，使用活体动物和肉块的非侵入性最先进技术，包括计算机断层扫描（CT）和近红外光谱，并在育种计划中使用这些数据，以及在屠宰场常规测量的胴体性状，但目前无法对单个羔羊进行测量。新的CT- / NIR-和MQ特征之间的关系将被研究。将开发一种常规方法来有效地测量大量杂交羔羊的这些性状，从而使用准确的杂交估计育种值来同时选择更高口味/更健康的肉/更少的浪费。将研究将这些新性状纳入绵羊育种计划的最佳方法。英国羊肉占红肉消费市场份额的12-16%。提高国产羔羊的食用质量和生产效率将对该行业的未来产生重大影响。

This project will measure new lamb carcass and meat quality (MQ) traits simultaneously, using non-inva-sive state-of-the-art technologies in live animals and in meat cuts, including computed tomography (CT) and Near Infrared spectroscopy, and use the data in a breeding programme, alongside carcass traits measured routinely in the abattoir, but not currently accessible on an individual lamb basis. Relation-ships between new CT- / NIR- and MQ traits will be investigated. A routine way to measure these traits efficiently on a large number of crossbred lambs will be developed, enabling contemporaneous selec-tion for higher taste/healthier meat/ lower waste using accurate crossbred estimated breeding values. The optimal way to incorporate these new traits into sheep breeding programmes will be investigated. British lamb has a 12-16% market share of red meat consumption. Improving eating quality and production efficiency of home-grown lamb will have a significant impact on the future of the industry.