INNOVATION highlights from the Australian Meat Processor Corporation’s R&D showcase held in Brisbane yesterday impressed self-confessed science geek and well known TV host Adam Spencer who was Master of Ceremonies for the event.

Science geek and Showcase MC, Adam Spencer

“The thing that most interested me was how much technology that people were talking about and they barely mentioned that it was going to be used in meat processing,” he said.

“It was just applying cutting-edge technology to business solutions,” Mr Spencer said.

“And I think that’s what’s really interesting for this industry. There’s people who’d never think of working in meat processing, not realising that you’re working in AI deployment, you’re working in app design and you’re working in robotics as much as you’re working in cattle or lamb.”

Asked to nominate his favourite form of technology on show at the event, he enthused over a drone displayed by SGA:

“The only frustration I had was that the drone guys couldn’t fire it up for me,” he said. “It was this giant 2m by 2m drone used for industrial cleaning inside big factory spaces that you just can’t get a human up to, to do the cleaning.”

A megadrone with the attitude – and altitude – to tackle high-level cleaning. Pictured (L to R): SGA’s Nick Dobie and Shaun Stewart with Kilcoy Global Foods’ Mark Green and Craig Vayro.

AMPC’s David Carew showed his background as a working chef when he nominated variable-shaped and sized knife handles imported by Highgate.

“They are shaped for the new workforce, the new demographic of small-framed workers – especially women – from Asia,” he said, adding that handle reshaping combines new understandings in ergonomics, particularly the importance of the ring and little fingers in hand function.

He also highlighted the Weber Cooling chillers distributed by Multivac. Pilot trials are underway to test the functionality of the cooling system that uses a sealed vacuum chamber to evaporate moisture from offals and primals. Uniform cooling prevents bacterial growth and cuts chilling times from hours to minutes.

Ester Gomez of Weber and Niels Juel of Multivac with the pilot-sized vacuum chill chamber.

Meat-scribing technology using an automated high-powered circular saw was mentioned by several conference delegates. Intelligent Robotics GM Jonathan Cook said Kilcoy Global Foods had been operating the saw for the past two years, with a second unit recently installed at Australian Meat Group’s Cootamundra plant.

An audit of the Kilcoy unit saw the majority of benefit coming from yield improvement, averaging about $5/head, with the balance reflecting direct labour costs – all amounting to an average benefit of $5.40/head or $2.6m/year.

Intelligent Robotics Jonathon Cook shares the results from the stage.

The AMPC check-in counter staff enthused about a robotic deboning system newly arrived from Japan. Technology and Business Development manager Dr Fraser Border said the Mayekawa Australia display of lamb deboning system Lambdas was the first possibly in the world – “certainly in Australia”. The company also showcased Trimdas, an automated system that has been undergoing trials for eight years using Australian striploin.

Shinji Hane with the robotic deboning system

Another noteworthy innovation for the event host Adam Spencer was the tannin-derived wastewater treatment Tanfloc. The Brazilian invention uses biodegradable bark from a species of Australian acacia to replace metallic compounds as either a coagulant or a flocculent, depending on the pH of the water.

Pictured right: Lucas Moreno with a working display of Tanfloc

• Stand by for some more fine examples of tech innovation from the AMPC Innovation Showcase – including video – next week