FDBusiness.com

Meat Technology Ireland, a new Enterprise Ireland, industry-led initiative that will build a strategic research and innovation base in beef and sheepmeat processing in Ireland, has been launched. The Centre will be a ‘one-stop shop’ for meat processing research and technology, serving as a hub to co-ordinate all beef and sheepmeat processing research needs.

Meat Technology Ireland is an €8.1 million five-year research and innovation programme, developed by industry and co-funded by Enterprise Ireland and a consortium of nine beef and sheepmeat processing companies. The MTI is hosted by Teagasc at its Ashtown Food Research Facility in Dublin with Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), Dublin City University (DCU), University College Cork (UCC) and the Irish Cattle Breeders Federation (ICBF) involved as research providers. The companies behind the initiative are ABP Ireland, Ashbourne Meat Processors, Dawn Meats Group, Dunbia (Ireland), Hilton Foods Ireland, Irish Country Meats, Kepak Group, Liffey Meats, and Slaney Foods International.

Julie Sinnamon, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, comments: “Enterprise Ireland’s strategy is to support Irish businesses to build scale and expand their reach into international markets and we are delighted to back the establishment of Meat Technology Ireland which will directly support innovation in the agri-food sector and ultimately contribute to export growth. The need for greater levels of innovation among Irish companies as part of their response to Brexit is crucial and the launch of Meat Technology Ireland is well timed, pooling the innovative talents of all the stakeholders involved to compete internationally offering best in class and further leveraging our strong international reputation in the provision of quality meat products.”

Prof Gerry Boyle, Director of Teagasc, says: “Teagasc is delighted to be working with Enterprise Ireland, industry partners and other academic research organisations, to harness the collective information and research expertise available to the Irish meat industry, and to seek out new knowledge, to create innovative solutions for the commercial sector to exploit, for the betterment of all involved in the livestock sectors in Ireland. Meat Technology Ireland, hosted at Teagasc Ashtown, will serve as a hub to co-ordinate all beef and sheep meat processing research needs.”

IBEC’s Meat Industry Ireland Chairman, Phillip Carroll says: “The output of Meat Technology Ireland (MTI) will be an important enabler for further developing Irish beef and sheepmeat exports, meeting marketplace requirements and growing value. The involvement of nine major beef and sheepmeat processing companies in this industry-led collaborative innovation initiative is a clear demonstration of the Industry’s commitment to delivering on the growth potential of our sector and its strategic role in economic regional development.”

Meat Technology Ireland emerged from a five-year research vision from IBEC’s Meat Industry Ireland industry group which was presented to Enterprise Ireland. John Malone was appointed as Chairman of Meat Technology Ireland last October and Dr. John Colreavy was appointed as Director.