Opportunity for

• Software and hardware solution providers or developers looking for financial support to demonstrate and evolve offerings in 'steak to primal' traceability and demonstrate it in a meat processing environment
• Existing traceability providers who would like support to extend their offer to deliver a 'steak to primal' solution
• New providers interested in addressing the 'last mile' and integrating with existing traceability providers or providing that directly as part of a traceability solution

Opportunity description

Industry challenge: Australia has a reputation for having a world leading livestock traceability system and vendors receive price premiums as a result. However, at specific points in supply chain, opportunity exists to enhance traceability.

Retail meat cuts are not eggs in a carton - The majority, if not all, of the traceability solutions presented to Australian Meat Processor Corporation (AMPC) recently make an assumption that the Australian sourced retail cut, purchased by an international consumer, leaves Australia in its shelf presented - purchase pack form. This is not the case in the majority of examples of Australian cuts being purchased internationally. A 'steak to primal' traceability component needs to accommodate this when designing a solution.

Typically, primals (e.g. 5+ kg in weight) leave Australian meat establishments and exported in vacuum bags. Once in an international location a third party further slices and repacks the primal into retail-ready portions (as depicted below). It is at this point that some traceability systems do not provide a level of reliable or cost-effective continuous plate to paddock traceability, that AMPC would like to see more solutions providers develop solutions for.

Current opportunity: 'Steak to Primal' Traceability possible solutions - AMPC is interested in hearing about cost-effective software and hardware solutions that robustly and indisputably link primals to steaks, including where the processing from primals to steaks may not occur within an Australian processing facility. That is solutions that have the ability to link a retail cut back to a primal once in the hands of a consumer, or at the point of purchase (with an assumption that the primal can be traced back to an Australian processing establishment and ideally a carcase).

Software solutions may be a value add to existing software trusted ledger systems whereby a 'primal ledger code is agreed within the ledger system to be cut into 10 retail-ready ledger codes'. Hardware solutions could include printing the primal ledger QR code on the fat layer or meat component of the primal before it is put inside the vacuum bag in Australia. These are just two of many possible different approaches willing to be considered by AMPC.

AMPC would like providers to also consider how consumers at international retail could interact with the proposed traceability system, at the point of purchase. Also, consider how international restaurants and their patrons could leverage this last piece of the traceability puzzle when they are thinking of possible solutions.

See the ‘Theme on a page’ below for guidance around the proposed stages of development for this innovation. Further information, including expectations around technology pilot validation AMPC would support, is available in this pre-populated research proposal which potential providers are invited to complete after consulting with AMPC.