Kāds bija risinājums/problēma?

The Childlamb project was a response to a gap in the meat market in Portugal, where there was no product that valorised the tenderness of meat from an extensive grazing system in organic production. The aim of the project was to produce small portions of frozen lamb products using lesser-valued cuts.

This project focussed on the development of two commercial products adapted to infants and children diets in the early stages of solid diets. The first product was a low-fat lamb meat processed to a fine texture, intended to be incorporated into soup for infants. The second product consisted of minced meat steaks.

The main aim of the project was to help increase consumption of national lamb meat, reducing imports and valorising less noble cuts.

The project was implemented with a strong consortium made up of 5 organisations that ensured the entire value chain from production (with farmers and farmers’ asociācijas) to industry, including research and advisory services organisations.

The partnership was important to address complex challenges such as the gap in the meat market in Portugal, and it was also essential for solving such problems: expertise and resources, collaborative innovation, end-to-end solutions and risk sharing. It also helped the project to developed products align with market demands that are commercially viable. Collaborative projects enable knowledge exchange and capacity building among partners.

Kā jūs atrisinājāt problēmu?

With a multi-actor approach, including organisations that ensured the entire value chain from production (with farmers and farmers’ asociācijas) to industry, including research and advisory services organisations.

The Childlamb project wanted to help increase the consumption of lamb meat by investing in the valorisation of less noble cuts. Šim nolūkam, it considered various aspects such as genetics, slaughter weight and feeding, assessing their impact on both the meat yield characteristics of 2nd category cuts and the acceptability of lamb flavour and the flavour of products designed for early childhood. The healthy production of the animals has been taken into account to guarantee the high quality of the meat, which can be consumed by children and adults alike, through the production of products that are widely accepted on the market. The introduction of new products to the market made with meat from parts that are less suitable for direct consumption increases the profitability of the carcasses of this animal species, giving greater value to the entire sector.

The main aim of this project was to produce two lamb meat products from parts with lower commercial value, with a focus on feeding infants and children. The composition and meat yield of the parts with the lowest commercial value were assessed in order to guarantee the production of products with adequate protein/fat values to obtain soups and Hamburg steaks with flavour intensity and grain size in line with consumer demands.

Kas ir novatorisks jūsu praktiskajā gadījumā?

Product

Kādi ir veiksmes faktori problēmas risināšanā?

The partnership and the commitment of all partners during the project. We also include the end consumer in publicity campaigns and acceptability trials. Consumer acceptance study carried out as part of the project identified great potential for large-scale development of products based on lamb from lower-value cuts. Opting for these products could increase the value of these cuts, but also help make Portugal less dependent on imports. Knowing that it is possible to create products with these parts, it would therefore be an added value to invest in their production on a large scale.

The creation of new products based on lamb from less noble cuts will allow new products to be introduced to the market, better utilisation of carcasses and, tāpēc, the creation of more value for this sector.

Gūtās mācības

GO ChildLamb ended in December 2022, after an adventure that began in 2016 with the first versions of the National Rural Network Initiative Sheets. It has been a long road that this technical team has travelled over more than 5 gadiem, with the aim of developing two new meat products made from lamb and adapted to infants and children nutrition.

Lamb meat is recognised as being particularly suitable for these age groups, but the strong seasonality of supply has gradually led to it being incorporated less into the regular diet. The offer of frozen lamb products, specially prepared and adapted for these age groups, will create added value for the production sector, both by producing lambs with a higher carcass weight and by differentiating the value of meat cuts with different organoleptic characteristics.

The scientific work carried out by INIAV, combined with the extensive know-how regarding meat production and commercialisation of ELIPEC and producers, and CONSULAI’s experience in managing and disseminating results, enabled the project to achieve the objectives proposed in the application.

Important to highlight Collaboration Benefits: Effective partnerships across various sectors, including research, farming, and marketing, are crucial for comprehensive solutions and successful project outcomes.

The impact of this project has been very positive. The GO ChildLamb project met all of its objectives and exceeded initial expectations in terms of the results, both in terms of final quality and in terms of their form and presentation. The project also exceeded all expectations in terms of disseminating the results.

Kāda loma ir konsultantam vai konsultatīvajam dienestam ar praktisko lietu?

Advisory services were important both in the application phase and in identifying market needs, as well as in setting up the whole consortium and partnership.

Papildus, we played an important role in the selection of animals and batches in the early stages, accompanying farmers in line with the needs of research and industry.

CONSULAI was also responsible for managing the entire project and for disseminating the project and its results.

Vai jūsu pieeja var tikt pārnesta un/vai pielāgota citiem jauninājumu izaicinājumiem un reģioniem?

Jā

Paredzamā nododamība mērogā no 1 Ļoti svarīga būs arī Štīrijas Lauksaimniecības kameras loma pēc projekta beigām, lai rezultātus izplatītu pēc iespējas plašāk 5

(kur 1 ir viegli un 5 ļoti grūti)

3

Par dalīšanos pieredzē par labo praksi, lūdzu sazinieties

Carolina Ramos

cramos@consulai.com

Saite uz ārējo informāciju

https://www.childlamb.com/