As we come into spring, restaurants around the State are preparing to put lamb back on the menu and are showing keen interest in Q-Lamb which is now backed by the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) logo.
   Johnson Meats in the only wholesale butcher in WA selling MSA backed Q-Lamb for foodservice in WA and is encouraging new customers to join the program.
   Johnson Meats sales manager Bob Linto said the company had started heavily promoting Q-Lamb under-pinned by MSA and he believes the future is extremely bright for WA lamb producers who enter the program.
   “With beef, MSA has worked very well because it is a very good criterion for quality,” Mr Linto said.
   “The MSA tag is something the hospitality industry is very aware of so MSA lamb should follow down the same path as MSA beef as first choice for quality.”
   Many in the foodservice industry are not aware MSA lamb is available but this is about to change because Johnson Meats has been given permission to promote Q-lamb’s MSA product.
   “We have been dealing with Peter Trefort for three years, but we haven’t been able to beat the drum on Q-lamb until more recently because it was well and truly tied up; originally with Foodland and then Metcash has the rights of the Q-lamb brand,” My Linto said.
   “In recent times they have relinquished that right to the hospitality industry and are now quite happy for us to say we can provide Q-lamb.”
   Johnson Meats has been run on the same standards as MSA for nearly 18 years, always using top end, grain-fed quality beef.
   “So when MSA came along it was great because it really gave us a handle and something to go out to our customers with,” Mr Linto said.
   “We have always told our customers our product is top quality, but all the specifications put in place by MLA, right from the producer to the plate, has re-inforced the quality that we have always handled.
   “MSA has been a really good tool for us and MSA lamb will just follow on behind it.
   “The MSA label allows our customers to be very confident of the product.”
   Mr Linto said because Q-lamb was based on the Sheep Meat Eating Quality (SMEQ) system, which was in place before MSA sheepmeat was introduced, the company has been able to provide customers with consistent quality lamb.
   He said the MSA label would now provide a further quarantee for food service that was backed by a national program.
   MSA lamb is not yet advertised on menus in WA but is something industry is working towards.
   “At this stage MSA is a way foodservice can guarantee quality; we are hoping with (Hillside’s Product Developing) Rob Shepherd’s help and producers themselves consumers will identify quality with MSA lamb,” Mr Linto said.

Following Meat Standards Australia (MSA) sheepmeat's quiet introduction one year ago, about 70,000 lambs have been graded through the new grading system with 83 per cent of carcases making the grade.

Six processors are currently involved in the program across NSW, Victoria, WA and Queensland, with an additional four to six processors to join the program over the next 12 months.

Hillside Meats is the only registered abattoir in WA to produce certified MSA lamb after completing its registration,"soft start" MSA trials and final audit in April this year.

Last month at Hillside 1365 MSA lambs were processed, with 1241 processed in May and 637 in April.

Rob Shepherd from Hillside Abattoirs said the program initially started by testing "Dorper Lamb" stock but they were now using the MSA system on Q-Lamb lambs as well. He said the process of registering Hillside's Narrogin abattoir was very straightforward after being MSA registered for beef in the past.

"Q-lamb was always built around the Sheep Meat Eating Quality (SMEQ) program which MSA Sheepmeat is based on, and for the past 18 months we have been gearing up to becoming MSA lamb processors," Mr Shepherd said.

"The decision to become MSA registered was simple as it fits into what we are already doing and is a way of formalising this by guaranteeing lamb eating quality."

Mr Shepherd said at this stage around 50 per cent of "Dorper Lamb" processed, was MSA registered, but producers were now making the decision to become MSA registered and take part in the program.

He said MSA lamb was a product seen as at the premium end of the market at this stage, with both butchers and supermarkets reluctant to jump on board the program until a critical mass is reached.

"In Queensland, where there are more registered suppliers we are starting to see MSA lamb becoming the standard," Mr Shepherd said.

About 70,000 lambs have been graded through the new MSA grading system.

Although not available in supermarkets at this stage, some independent wholesalers and retailers are now offering MSA Q-Lamb.

"MSA lamb is something Hillside will keep building with the aim of getting as much Q-lamb as possible registered," Mr Shepherd said.

MSA are working with a couple of other WA abattoirs at the moment and are hopeful they will come on line in the near future.

The MSA sheepmeat program is based on a supply chain approach, with all sectors required to contribute to improving the overall eating quality of lamb and sheepmeat.

All participants in the program are licensed to use the trademark, and certify products via an approved quality management system in accordance with the MSA Standards Manual.

Under the program, producers supplying lambs over the hooks are given basic feedback on carcase weight and fat measurements of their stock.

MSA sheepmeat has been introduced without the big fanfare and industry discussion that erupted from the beef equivalent about 10 years ago so processors have ownership of the program.

MLA will be looking to boost MSA sheepmeat over its second year to get a critical mass of animals through the system.