EXCELMEAT · an international research network for the genetic improvement of pigmeat quality and the development of biosensing technologies as rapid and cost-effective tools for meat quality evaluation
FP7 — People (Marie Curie Actions)
- Duration
- 2011-02-08 → 2015-02-07
- EU contribution
- €84,600
- Participants
- 5
- Scheme
- MC-IRSES
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
EXCELMEAT:an international research network for the genetic improvement of pigmeat quality and the development of biosensing technologies as rapid and cost-effective tools for meat quality evaluation
The EXCELMEAT project (http://www.bdporc.irta.es/excelmeat/Index.html) is a collaboration of eight research groups from Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, Ukraine, United states andd China geared toward increasing worldwide cooperation in the area of pig meat quality. The project aims also at stimulating academia–industry interaction and developing multidisciplinary collaborative research in the area of genetics of pork quality and novel effective technologies for meat quality trait detection Since the beginning of the EXCELMEAT project, many fruitful researcher exchanges and collaborative studies have been carried out. Through these exchanges a number of candidate genes related to muscle development and fat metabolism, which are the two main attributes to the quality of pork, have been studied. This has resulted in the development of new meat quality markers. Novel technologies for the rapid and cost-effective analyses of meat quality traits have also been developed. These new technologies, after appropriate industry evaluations, can potentially be implemented in abattoirs, meat cutting plants and can be adapted for application on live animals. Moreover new genomic data (at DNA and RNA level) on fat traits (backfat and intramuscular fat content and fatty acid composition) in pigs have been obtained by the different partners involved in the project and these results can be moved to and applied in selection schemes in pigs to improve nutritional of fresh meat and technological quality of dry-cured ham. Project activities have been communicated in the form of two international workshops entitled “The omics of pork quality and biosensing technology” held in Lleida (Spain) and “Genomics, welfare and new technologies for pork quality” held in Bologna (Italy). The workshops included 30 research presentations and were attended by over 60 delegates from academia, research organisations, industry and other stakeholders. The collaborative effort of EXCELMEAT ultimately aims to boost the improvement of animal breeding and selection procedures with regard to pork quality. The final goal is to contribute towards more competitive pork production in the EU while maintaining animal welfare and positively contributing to human health.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
EXCELMEAT puts forward the collaboration between 8 research groups (from Belgium, China, Italy, Spain, UK, Ukraine and USA) with international projection in the field of pig genetics. EXCELMEAT aims at creating an International Pig Genetics and Meat Quality Network to (i) increase worldwide cooperation in the area of pigmeat quality; (ii) provide long-term training schemes for scientists; (iii) stimulate academia-industry interaction; (iv) develop multidisciplinary collaborative projects on the genetics of pork quality; (v) develop new biomarkers and technologies (biosensors) for rapid evaluation of pigmeat quality traits. Pork quality is a complex term defined by a plethora of traits related to pig carcass and performance, sensory and texture attributes, fatty acid content and composition and muscle fibre types. Sensory traits, of especial relevance for consumers, depend mostly on meat composition traits (mainly muscle fibre types and fat distribution and composition). EXCELMEAT includes a collaborative working plan based on the exchange of research staff aiming at optimising and improving pigmeat tenderness via marker selection for the relevant sensory, nutritional and technological traits. To maximise the training and research outcome of each stage, researcher exchanges are based on partners’ complementarity on skills, technology and biological resources. In parallel to developing new genetic markers for pork quality, we will explore the use of novel and low cost technologies (biosensors) for rapid evaluation of pork quality traits on-line or at retailers, which could potentially be adapted for evaluation of genetic selection on live animals. As part of this network we plan to organise two workshops (on biosensor development and on the genetic aspects of pork quality) and one general conference, which will include academy, industry and stakeholder delegates to promote interaction and facilitate transfer of scientific results and new technologies to the end-users.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- INSTITUT DE RECERCA I TECNOLOGIA AGROALIMENTARIES · CALDES DE MONTBUI BARCELONACoordinatorSpain
- ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNA · BolognaItaly
- KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN · LeuvenBelgium
- UNIVERSIDAD DE LLEIDA · LleidaSpain
- UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND, BRISTOL · BRISTOLUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union