SOME RECENT ADVANCES AND FUTURE PRIORITIES IN RESEARCH FOR THE MEAT INDUSTRY

The meal industry is undergoing a period of very mixed fortunes with b eef in particular losing market share; however, longer term forecasts are good for all meat species with demand growth coming mainly from de veloping countries. This review deals in particular with the main prob lems that are responsible for the decline of beef as a consumer produc t in developed markets. These are the meat safety crisis and the unrel iability of meat eating quality, especially tenderness. The review sug gests that recent research has defined and clarified these problems bu t they have not been elucidated to the extent that is needed for produ ct assurance. Hence, meat safety and consistent quality are two of the core issues to be addressed in future research. The third core issue is product development which is very active in the most competitive se ctors of the food industry and is weak in the red meat sector. (C) 199 8 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.