A trailblazing project has launched to find out if cutting-edge technology can pinpoint a sheep’s breed, age, and grazing location—just from a sample of meat.
The National Sheep Association's (NSA) pioneering new initiative will explore whether sheep meat can be accurately traced back to its breed, age, and grazing location using advanced technology.
The project aims to prove that meat traceability – including flavour characteristics – is both technically feasible and commercially viable, opening new possibilities for consumer choice and confidence in UK lamb and mutton.
“Not all meat tastes the same and the main factors affecting the flavour are the age of the animal, its breed and its environment,” said Nicola Noble, NSA project manager.
“There are many varieties of apples available, yet sheep meat is very rarely advertised as anything more than lamb.
"We should be embracing diversity within the UK sheep sector and allow the public to appreciate the different flavours, tastes and textures that come from that diversity.”
Currently, a lack of cost-effective technology has prevented widespread verification of meat origin and quality.
The first phase of the NSA project will trial blockchain ‘distributed ledger’ technology in a short, straightforward supply chain, aiming to build a trusted traceability framework from farm to fork.
Using mass spectrometry, meat samples will be analysed to identify phospholipid patterns unique to each animal.
These chemical 'fingerprints' are expected to reflect species, breed, feed, age, grazing location, and ultimately flavour profile.
“This is the first phase to test blockchain in a short, simple supply chain,” Mrs Noble explained.
“The outcome should progress to a larger piece of work to develop a simple-to-use meat traceability system, giving confidence to consumers and those within the supply chain that claims made of meat are genuinely as they are described.”
NSA chief executive Phil Stocker highlighted the promise of the new technology in supporting accurate food labelling.
He noted its particular relevance for verifying origin claims, where “current analytical methods are too complex and expensive for official labs to use for enforcement.”
"By combining digital end-to-end traceability with confirmatory chemical analysis," he said, "we can give consumers real confidence in where their meat comes from – and help premium native breeds access new markets.”
NSA is currently seeking farmer participants for this feasibility stage, with a focus on three native breeds in specific regions: Swaledales in the Yorkshire Dales, Herdwicks in Cumbria, and Scottish Blackfaces in Scotland.
Farmers supplying lamb, hogget and mutton samples will receive payment to cover postage and participation.
Those interested can contact Anna Wilson, NSA technical communications officer, at anna@nationalsheep.org.uk.
