A central west agricultural company are leading the way in capturing real time data on the red meats they are exporting overseas thanks to a new data tracker system.
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Australian Organic Meats is currently trialling Escavox, which captures the time, temperature and location of its exported meat products.
The aim of using the data tracker is to provide Australian Organic Meats with real time information on the meat with the hope of extending its shelf life overseas.
The Australian Organic Meats group is a partnership between the O'Leary and Tully farming families, who produce and supply high quality organic meat to places including South Korea, Hong Kong, the Middle East and the USA.
Co-director Simone Tully said in a way Australia has languished when it came to traceability and the industry has been reliant on primitive technologies.
But what drew the business to the new data tracker was its previous successful trials that show real-time information.
"We can see what the temperature is... so we're linking the temperature performance to the shelf life performance of the product," Mrs Tully said.
"Our industry is leaving a lot of shelf life still available because we're fearful of not knowing exactly how it's been treated, (so) we probably let the product expire before it really has."
She said the data will improve the supply chain efficiency around a product's shelf life and notify them if there has been any interruption to the cold chain.
"Which is so critical. The meat industry is a valuable item so you can't afford to have a lack of care happening anywhere in the world," Mrs Tully said.
Australian Organic Meats have been trialling Escavox for about four weeks and it will continue until December 2020.
Mrs Tully said so far the information they've received has been fantastic.
"We're pretty excited about it because we can see exactly where it is," she said.
"It is value adding and it is going to build confidence for our customers in interfacing with consumers around the world."
Mrs Tully believes the research that comes from these trials will be a game-changer for the Australian retail industry.
"But there is a huge upside for Australia in general, because the majority, over 50 per cent, of our products really go to the export market around the world," she said.
"I think it is going to be great for our industry and I'm really happy to be one of the early adopters (of the new system).
"It's not easy to be an early adopter because you don't know the outcomes... but you have to have a go at these things, you've got to look at the landscape and see what may solve some problems in the supply chain and I think this one looks really promising and practical."
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Taylor Jurd
Hi, my name is Taylor Jurd. I am a journalist with Australian Community Media, I write for the Western Magazine and Wellington Times.
Hi, my name is Taylor Jurd. I am a journalist with Australian Community Media, I write for the Western Magazine and Wellington Times.
