Researchers from the Product Quality Program of the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA), attached to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Government of Catalonia, met with representatives of the Association of Beef Cattle Producers (ASOPROVAC) of Catalonia, on 21 December.

After a brief introduction on the lines of work and projects on beef cattle quality developed so far by the IRTA research group, both parts discussed the possibility of launching a series of new collaborations to enhance the competitiveness of beef cattle producers.

Alternatives to castration for the production of whole males to obtain meat with a higher content of fat, improvements in nutritional and sensory quality of beef and bovine carcass classification systems were highlighted as the most recurrent topics of the meeting. "If this system is well defined in the pig sector, we feel there is still a wide margin for improvement in our area. In this sense, IRTA’s collaboration would be very interesting for our sector." said Mr. Josep Ramon Argilés, ASOPROVAC manager.

The meeting concluded with the possibility of carrying out collaborations related to the consumer study on meat quality choices in foreign markets.

The meeting was attended by Ms. Rosa Cubel, Dr. Joan Tibau, Dr. Maria Angels Oliver, Dr. Marta Gil, Dr. Maria Perez and Dr. Mauro Vitale, from IRTA, while Mr. Josep Ramon Argilés and Mr. Antoni Miquel represented ASOPROVAC.