A report published on Meat Info, says Quality Meat Scotland, the red meat promotion and development body, has been given the go-ahead by the Scottish government to invest part of its FMD recovery package in the training initiative.

The ‘fifth quarter’ refers to parts of the carcase that are not lean meat, such as offals and hides. QMS believes that capitalising on opportunities for such products could generate significant revenue.

Looking at the picture for the entire “fifth quarter”, improved returns from hide and skin prices of five per cent would add an extra £800,000 annually to red meat industry profitability.

And a five per cent improvement in value or income from the trade of red and white offals would add over £350,000 a year to industry returns. Also, the cost saved by not having to dispose of these products, around £3 per cattle beast, would result in savings of over £2 million a year for the industry.

QMS chairman Donald Biggar said trade in the ‘fifth quarter’ used to be a vibrant market for Scotland’s red meat businesses.

"Not only could they seek a profit from utilising all the parts of the carcase, not just the lean meat, it also saved them expensive costs for disposal," he added.

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