Alliance Group has invested over $2m to install a new beef x-ray technology at two of its plants in New Zealand to improve packaging and labeling of meat products.
The New Zealand red meat processor and exporter has deployed the new x-ray technology at its Pukeuri and Mataura plants at Oamaru and Southland respectively.
As part of the installation of the beef x-ray technology, Alliance will also be adding automatic weighing and labeling machinery at the two plants.
The new technology is expected to help in deliver highly-accurate chemical lean (fat to meat ratio) measurements for manufacturing beef.
Alliance Group processing manager Kerry Stevens said: “There has been increasing demand for highly accurate and rapidly-obtained chemical lean values and this new technology enables us to meet the chemical lean specifications for manufacturing beef with greater precision.
“That means the customer gets an accurately measured product and meat value is optimised, realising the best returns for our farmer shareholders.
Stevens added that that another advantage provided by the technology is that it will aid in targeting various product grades with maximum accuracy besides matching to any specific requirements from customers.
Alliance said that it is looking to deploy the same technology at its other beef processing plant in Levin in the future.
In October, Alliance Group announces its plans to establish a new deer processing plant at Lornerville which is expected to be operational in July 2017.
Earlier in the year, the red meat processor made a new robotic primal online in the boning rooms at its Pukeuri and the Timaru located Smithfield plants.
