Dear Sir, QMS have recently released the much anticipated Study into Red Meat Eating Quality. This has been on the organisation's work programme for quite some time so it is good to finally see it released. And it is a hellova read with a few really good insights in it. The 80 pager full study is even more insightful. But it raises a lot of issues which will all need industry discussion and leadership.

The full report comes to one conclusion which needs further investigation, this is that the most important factor in terms consumer perception of meat eating quality is tenderness. From this, it is intimated that what we need to be producing as an industry is an under 16 month heifer or steer with a carcass weight of less than 360kg with a fat class of 4 or less fed on ad lib cereals for 60% of it's life. Is this really what the consumer wants? Intensively reared, bland and floppy beef?

And the conclusion for tenderness? Two research reports from the turn of the century using American data. The consumer that QMS has been targeting the last few years probably wasn't born when the data was collected and those that were part of the study certainly weren't even in this country!

Additionally this doesn't chime with the new QMS five year strategy which is full of ambition and fighting talk. It talks about pushing the quality end of the market both domestically and abroad, in particular high end independent retail outlets and butchers. Sorry QMS; not with bland and floppy beef you wont.

Long have all forms of consumer bemoaned a lack of consistency in our industry's produce, but in this search for the holy grail of consumer appeasement, let us not head down the road of consistently bland.

Food employs at least four of the five senses. Food should excite, it should be memorable. Yes food is fuel, but it can be so much more than that. Proper implementation of a Meat Eating Quality system has the potential to deliver for all in the industry and society.

QMS have said this is a starter for 10, and it is a great start; I now hope that our levy body seriously engages with all in the industry to establish where we go from here to seriously challenge the world leaders.

Jock Gibson Farmer and butcher Edinvale, Forres