Smart Beef-Quality Tracking In Malaysia Using Blockchain Technology

Concerns and awareness on beef quality and safety are increasing among the consumers. Beef that is being served to the customers has to be of good quality and safe to eat, as well as to prevent foodborne illnesses. Hence, it is important to ensure good meat quality during the process of beef production. The existing beef supply chain systems lack transparency, as a result, a hike in food frauds has been witnessed in Malaysia. Consequently, it is hard to infer if the beef reaching the consumers is safe and wholesome. Besides that, the existing supply chains have a time-consuming and tiring procedure of product tracking, which is not desirable for consumers and other various stakeholders involved. To mitigate this issue, in this paper, we propose the use of blockchain technology for beef supply chain to maintain the transparency of ingredients and processes used in beef production. This will strengthen the trust of consumer in the company and ensure that the produced beef is contamination free and healthy. The study comprehensively highlights the feasibility blockchain technology to be implemented in the beef supply chain to make it transparent, secure and easily trackable.

103 The Economics and Role of Beef X Dairy Calves in the Beef Supply Chain

Utilizing beef genetics in dairy herds to produce terminal beef x dairy (BXD) crosses is a growing trend in the U.S. dairy industry. It has been estimated that more than two million U.S. BXD calves were born in 2020, which is a practice that is expected to continue to grow throughout the foreseeable future. While not a new concept, the widespread adoption, scale, and strategies currently being used to produce BXD calves have recently received considerable industry attention. Although the increased duration of feeding exposes BXD feeders to increased price and production risks when compared to straightbred beef cattle, these risks are met with several potential benefits. A prime example of such benefits includes a consistent supply of uniform, traceable feeder cattle that are easily age and source verified, that also serve as ideal candidates for enrollment in or development of other value-added marketing programs. Current demand, as indicated by newborn calf prices, suggests that the industry perceives BXD calves to be superior when compared to their straightbred dairy breed contemporaries, and at times, suggests that they may be overvalued. Sustaining such demand will require BXD calves to meet or exceed the performance and profitability expectations of the various production sectors of the beef industry. Results of a multi-year analysis of the economics of BXD calves as compared to cattle of straightbred beef or dairy breed composition will be presented. Furthermore, specific factors expected to influence value throughout the production supply chain will be outlined and discussed. Calfhood management practices that promote calf health, paired with genetic selection strategies focused on complementary traits that minimize cost of gain and increase cutability, such as feed efficiency, carcass yield, and muscularity, will play key roles in sustaining the value of BXD calves to all aspects of the beef supply chain.

Measuring the sustainability of beef supply chain with rapid appraisal for beef supply chain

Background and Aim: Nationally, there has always been a gap between the demand for beef and its supply, although supply growth is proportional with demand growth and even exceeds it in some regions in Indonesia. This research study aims to measure the sustainability status of the beef supply chain and applies the developed measurement system to a specific beef supply chain by identifying suitable indicators and their scale. Moreover, this research study provides some recommendations for the improvement of the sustainability status of the beef supply chain. Materials and Methods: In this research study, 11 and nine indicators were analyzed to assess the sustainability status of the beef supply chain at the farm and slaughterhouse chain levels. A rapid appraisal for beef supply chain was applied to rapidly assess the sustainability status of beef supply chains using Multidimensional Scaling (MDS). The Delphi method was utilized as an iterative process to collect data and obtain consensus of experts' judgments regarding the policies that should be implemented to improve the most sensitive indicator affecting the economic, social, and environmental dimensions. Results: Analysis of ordination with MDS shows the regional sustainability index value for multidimensional approaches of beef cattle farms and beef slaughterhouses. The sustainability index value for beef cattle farms was 56.14 (moderately sustainable), 48.02 (fairly unsustainable), and 48.77 (fairly unsustainable) in Semarang, Sragen, and Boyolali, respectively. Moreover, the sustainability index value for beef slaughterhouses was 47.05 (fairly unsustainable), 54.83 (moderately sustainable), and 54.19 (moderately sustainable) in Semarang, Sragen, and Boyolali, respectively. Policy recommendation was focused on the basis of the results of leverage analysis, which highlighted the most indicative factor affecting sustainability for each dimension. Conclusion: Measurement results revealed that the achievement of beef supply chain sustainability requires targeted efforts through the deployment of several policies as the current status of sustainability in beef farms and beef slaughterhouses was only inclined toward moderately sustainable and fairly unsustainable. Although all the surveyed regions in this study can meet the regional needs of beef meat on their own and even distribute the excess to other regions, none of the beef supply chains of the surveyed region indicated good sustainability.

Analysis of Food Safety Management Systems in the Beef Meat Processing and Distribution Chain in Uganda

Meat production is an essential component in food security and the economy in Uganda. However, food safety concerns pose a challenge to public health in Uganda and impede access to regional and global markets. Here, food safety management (FSM) practices in the Ugandan beef supply chain were evaluated. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in major slaughterhouses (n = 3), butcher shops (n = 184), and supermarkets (n = 25) in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. The three slaughterhouses had low scores in core control and assurance activities of FSM. Packaging interventions were weak in all the slaughterhouses, while only one slaughterhouse had a functional cooling facility. Supermarkets implemented better hygienic and preventative practices in comparison to butcher shops. However, both sourced from slaughterhouses that had low-to-poor hygiene practices, which weakened the efforts implemented in the supermarkets. Furthermore, most butcher shops did not offer training to meat handlers on HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point)-based practices. The low food safety performance in the supply chain was primarily attributed to poor sanitation, hygiene, and handling practices. Therefore, HACCP-based training and robust preventive, intervention, and monitoring systems are needed in the Ugandan beef supply chain to benefit public health and increase competitiveness.

Identification, analysis and improvement of red meat supply chain strategies considering the impact of COVID-19 pandemic: a hybrid SWOT-QSPM approach in an emerging economy

PurposeIn recent years, and especially during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the significant role of agriculture, specifically red meat, in household consumption has been increased. On the other hand, the lack of proper policymaking in the production and pricing of red meat and the lack of a comprehensive study on the beef supply chain has led to a reduction in the role of this protein product in the household food basket. Thus, in this research, comprehensive strategic planning considering the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been illustrated to overcome the aforementioned problems.Design/methodology/approachTo study the intended objectives, first, using qualitative methods, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) to the studied company's supply chain in Iran were identified and then using the SWOT-Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) technique, the surrounding strategies have been analysed.FindingsThe results indicate that the most important strength of the studied company is the “access to the red meat market of the retirement plan”; the most important weakness is the “lack of required and on-time funding, especially in the condition of the COVID-19 pandemic”; the highest-ranked opportunity is the “access to banking facilities” and the main threat to the company is the “COVID-19 pandemic limitations and health protocols”. In the same vein, by examining the attractiveness score of internal and external factors, it was observed that diversity and competitive strategies would have a higher priority. Finally, the QSPM illustrated that activating the full capacity of existing infrastructure has the highest priority.Originality/valueAccording to the red meat supply chain and the link amongst different market levels, identifying, analysing and improving the beef supply chain is of particular importance. One of the threats facing the international community is the emergence of events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which requires businesses to choose the right strategy to deal with the issue. Therefore, the main distinction of this study is to identify, analyse and improve the red meat supply chain of a real case due to the condition of the COVID-19 pandemic.