Review: Automation and meat quality-global challenges.

•The industry has seen major changes in the way meat is harvested and processed.•Increased use of automation significantly improved line speed for all species.•Developments required in-depth understanding of the pre/post rigor processes.•Robots for cutting and sorting meat are being introduced and changing the industry.•It is expected that more automation and computer controls will be soon introduced.

The global meat industry has seen significant changes in the methods used to harvest and process fresh meat over the past century. Increased use of automation has led to significant increases in line speed for beef, pork, sheep, poultry and fish operations. For example, currently the fastest line observed has been broilers at 13,500/h. Such developments have required in-depth understanding of the pre and post rigor processes to prevent defects. Procedures such as maturation chilling and electrical stimulation are now common in red meat and poultry processing; allowing shorter time to deboning, while harvesting high quality meat. Robots designed to cut meat are also appearing on the market, and replacing traditional manual operations. This is a challenge, because high speed equipment is not necessarily sensitive to variations in size/quality issues, and requires development of unique sensors and control systems. Also, progress in breeding and genetics is contributing to greater product uniformity and quality; helping in operating automated equipment.