Determining meat quality of a live animal
First Claim
1. A method of providing an indication of at least one of meat quality, pH levels, and stress levels in an animal, the method comprising:
- obtaining measurements corresponding to a body temperature of the animal at periodic sampling intervals over a predetermined time period;
determining an indicator or measure of the sum total extent of all of the variation in said measurements over said time period; and
comparing said indicator or measure of the sum total extent of all of the variation to a predetermined threshold to determine the indication.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of providing an indication of pH levels in an animal can alternatively be used to provide an indication of stress in an animal. Since pH and temperature are related to ultimate meat quality, the method of the invention may also be used to provide an indication of ultimate meat quality. In the method, periodic measurements are obtained corresponding to the body temperature of the animal. An algorithm is applied to the measurements obtained. The algorithm cumulatively takes account of variations of body temperature over time. The results of the algorithm are compared to a per-determined threshold. Alternatively, the results of the algorithm may be compared with a standard to provide a quantitative indication of pH, stress or meat tenderness. A system for providing an indication of meat quality/stress levels or pH levels in an animal is also provided.
25 Citations
47 Claims
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1. A method of providing an indication of at least one of meat quality, pH levels, and stress levels in an animal, the method comprising:
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obtaining measurements corresponding to a body temperature of the animal at periodic sampling intervals over a predetermined time period;
determining an indicator or measure of the sum total extent of all of the variation in said measurements over said time period; and
comparing said indicator or measure of the sum total extent of all of the variation to a predetermined threshold to determine the indication. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of providing an indication of at least one of meat quality, pH levels, and stress levels in an animal, the method comprising:
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a) obtaining measurements corresponding to a body temperature of the animal at periodic sampling intervals;
b) applying an algorithm to the measurements obtained from a), which algorithm cumulatively takes account of variations in body temperature over time; and
c) correlating the results of the algorithm with at least one of a meat tenderness, a pH, and a stress standard. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A system for providing an indication of at least one of meat quality, pH levels, and stress levels in an animal to be slaughtered, the system comprising:
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a body mountable measurement device for obtaining measurements corresponding to the body temperature of the animal at periodic sampling intervals over a period of between 3-36 hours; and
a processor or controller configured to;
receive said measurements from said measurement device;
determine an indicator or measure of the sum total extent of all of the variation in said measurements over said period;
compare said indicator or measure of the sum total extent of all of the variation to a predetermined threshold to obtain a result; and
providing said result of said comparison as output. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A temperature sensing device comprising:
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a tag having an attachment portion to extend through a body part of an animal;
one or more animal temperature sensors disposed on/in the attachment portion for contact with the animal during use and providing an output indicative of temperature; and
an indicator mounted on the tag or incorporated therewith and communicating with the one or more animal temperature sensors, said indicator being configured to provide a local indication depending on said output from said one or more animal temperature sensors. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method of providing an indication of at least one of meat quality, pH levels, and stress levels in an animal, the method comprising:
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obtaining measurements corresponding to the body temperature of the animal at periodic sampling intervals;
determining that animal’
mean body temperature reading over the predetermined time period;
calculating the variance between each measurement and the mean determined; and
adding all variances to obtain a cumulative temperature variance score, comparing said score to a predetermined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37)
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38. A method of providing an indication of at least one of meat quality, pH levels, and stress levels in an animal, the method comprising:
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obtaining measurements corresponding to the body temperature of the animal at periodic sampling intervals;
calculating progressively a mean as each measurement corresponding to temperature is taken;
applying an algorithm to the measurements which cumulatively takes account of variations in body temperature over time; and
comparing the results of said algorithm to a predetermined threshold.
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39. A method of providing an indication of at least one of meat quality, pH levels, and stress levels in an animal, the method comprising:
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obtaining measurements corresponding to the body temperature of the animal at periodic sampling intervals;
applying an algorithm where;
tear is the instantaneous ear temperature;
tambient is the instantaneous ambient air temperature;
d is the difference between ear and ambient temperatures;
fast is the fast-response filter element;
slow is the slow response filter element;
v is the integral of the difference between the two filter elements;
C1 is the time constant of the fast filter;
°c2 is the time constant of the slow filter;
Time constants are such that c1>
C2, 0<
c1<
1,0<
C2<
1;
where initially;
n=1 d0=tear−
tambientfast0=d0 slow0=d0 V0=0
and where at each sampling interval;
dn=tear−
tambientfastn=(1−
c1)*fastn−
1+c1*dnslown=(1−
c2)*slown−
1+c2*dn
then;
Vn=Vn−
1+(fastn−
slown); and
comparing vn to a predetermined threshold.
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40. A system for providing an indication of at least one of meat quality, pH levels, and stress levels in an animal to be slaughtered, the system comprising:
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a body mountable measurement device for obtaining measurements corresponding to the body temperature of the animal at periodic sampling intervals over a period of between 336 hours; and
a processor having an input means for receiving the measurements from the measurement device, the processor operable to;
determine the animal'"'"'s mean body temperature from the measurements;
calculate the variance between each measurement and the mean; and
add all variances to obtain a cumulative variance score;
wherein the processor has an output means for providing the cumulative variance score.
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41. A system for providing an indication of at least one of meat quality, pH levels, and stress levels in an animal to be slaughtered, the system comprising:
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a body mountable measurement device for obtaining measurements corresponding to the body temperature of the animal at periodic sampling intervals over a period of between 336 hours; and
a processor having an input means for receiving the measurements from the measurement device, the processor operable to implement an algorithm where;
tear is the instantaneous ear temperature;
tambient is the instantaneous ambient air temperature;
d is the difference between ear and ambient temperatures;
fast is the fast-response filter element;
slow is the slow response filter element;
v is the integral of the difference between the two filter elements;
c1 is the time constant of the fast filter;
c2 is the time constant of the slow filter;
Time constants are such that c1>
c2, 0<
c1<
1,0<
c2<
1;
where initially;
n=1 d0=tear−
tambientfast0=d0 slow0=d0 v0=0
and where at each sampling interval;
dn=tear−
tambientfastn=(1−
c1)*fastn−
1+c1*dnslown=(1−
c2*slown−
1+c2*dn
then;
Vn=Vn−
1+fastn−
slown)
wherein the processor has an output means for providing the result vn.
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42. A system for providing an indication of at least one of meat quality, pH levels, and stress levels in an animal to be slaughtered, the system comprising:
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a body mountable measurement device for obtaining measurements corresponding to the body temperature of the animal at periodic sampling intervals over a period of between 336 hours; and
a processor having an input means for receiving the measurements from the measurement device, the processor operable to implement an algorithm to the measurements, which algorithm cumulatively takes account of variations in body temperature over a time window, wherein the processor has an output means for providing the result of the algorithm;
wherein the system is embodied in an all-in-one indicator device. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44)
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45. A system for providing an indication of at least one of meat quality, pH levels, and stress levels in an animal to be slaughtered, the system comprising:
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a body mountable measurement device for obtaining measurements corresponding to the body temperature of the animal at periodic sampling intervals over a period of between 336 hours; and
a processor having an input means for receiving the measurements from the measurement device, the processor operable to implement an algorithm to the measurements, which algorithm cumulatively takes account of variations in body temperature over a time window, wherein the processor has an output adapted to output a numeric value result of the algorithm from a comparison with a meat tenderness scale.
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46. A system for providing an indication of at least one of meat quality, pH levels, and stress levels in an animal to be slaughtered, the system comprising:
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a body mountable measurement device for obtaining measurements corresponding to the body temperature of the animal at periodic sampling intervals over a period of between 336 hours; and
a processor having an input means for receiving the measurements from the measurement device, the processor operable to implement an algorithm to the measurements, which algorithm cumulatively takes account of variations in body temperature over a time window, and operable to compare the output of the algorithm to a predetermined threshold wherein the processor has an output means for providing the result of the algorithm;
an indicator to indicate where the output of the algorithm has exceeded the predetermined threshold and provide an indication that the system is functioning.
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47. A temperature sensing device including:
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a tag having an attachment portion to extend through a body part of an animal, the tag incorporating an indicator means;
one or more animal temperature sensors disposed on/in the attachment portion for contact with the animal during use;
an ambient temperature sensor provided on the tag;
comparison means is provided to compare the ambient temperature with the animal temperature;
an indicator is disposed on the tag, the indicator being responsive to the comparison means.
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Specification