The Irish Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Marcy Mitchell O’ Connor TD, and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD have launched a strategic research and innovation base in beef and sheep meat processing in the country, called Meat Technology Ireland (MTI).
The initiative is an €8.1 million research and innovation programme that emerged from a five-year research vision by the Irish Business and Employers Confederation’s (IBEC) Meat Industry Ireland group. It is co-funded by Enterprise Ireland and a consortium of nine beef and sheepmeat companies, including ABP Ireland, Ashbourne Meat Processors, Dawn Meats Group, Dunbia (Ireland), etc.
Speaking at the launch, Mitchell O’ Connor noted: “Establishing Meat Technology Ireland, through Enterprise Ireland is one of the key initiatives under the Action Plan for Jobs, and will help to build a competitive advantage in the food sector, through investment in research and innovation capability.”
Creed highlighted that the initiative has the “potential to build on the success of our beef and sheep sectors”, and added: “By providing consumer focused research that can best inform processors and farmers, Meat Technology Ireland can be a driver for Ireland’s meat industry as it seeks to meet Food Wise 2025 targets, and mitigate the potential impacts of Brexit”.
In the meantime, commenting on the interest that the MTI attracted from private companies, IBEC’s Meat Industry Ireland chairman, Phillip Carroll, said: “The involvement of nine major beef and sheepmeat processing companies in this industry-led collaborative innovation initiative is a clear demonstration of the Industry’s commitment to delivering on the growth potential of our sector and its strategic role in economic regional development”.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
