The invited consultants experts included Dr. Park Jong Woon, Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation, Seoul Branch Office Expert; and Dr. Youngkyoon Oh, KOICA Project Manager, Vietnam - Korea Livestock Training Research Institute.
From VNUA, the participants consisted of lecturers of the Faculty of Animal Science, including Dr. Bui Huy Doanh, MSc. Vu Thi Ngan; and all members of the research group “Preservation and processing of products of animal origin”, as well as other lecturers and researchers from the Faculty of Food Science and Technology.
At the beginning of the consultation session, Dr. Bui Huy Doanh briefly introduced KOICA project and opportunities for cooperation in building a centre for assessing the quality of livestock products.Huy Doanh briefly introduce KOICA project and opportunities for cooperation in building a centre for assessing the quality of livestock products.
Dr. Bui Huy Doanh introduces Koica project with OD5.4 component
Dr. Park Jong Woon gave an introduction to the Korean "Livestock products grading system". In Korea, the livestock product grading system is managed by the Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation (KAPE). KAPE is the government agency responsible for the assessment and certification of animal products, including meat, eggs and dairy products. The classification system of livestock products in Korea is based on a combination of visual assessment and scientific measurement of various quality indicators. The grading process considers factors such as meat colour, fat content, veining and texture.
For beef, the Korean grading system is divided into four grades: 1++, 1+, 1 and 2. The highest grade, 1++, is for beef with marble, tenderness, and special flavour. Grade 2 beef is lower quality, less marble, and more tender.
For pork, the grading system in Korea is divided into three grades: 1++, 1+ and 1. The highest grade, 1++, is reserved for pork with marble, colour and special firmness. Grade 1 pork is inferior quality, with less marble and firmness.
Eggs in Korea are classified based on their weight, color and shape. Grade A of eggs is the highest quality, uniform in shape, colour, and size.
The livestock product grading system in Korea is very important to ensure stable quality and safety for consumers. Highest-grade products are often sold at a premium in the market.
Dr. Park Jong Woon shares about “Livestock products grading system” in Korea
Following that, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy introduced the situation of training and research on quality assessment of livestock products in Vietnam and VNUA. The quality of livestock products in Vietnam is managed by state agencies, organizations and businesses related to the production and consumption of livestock products. Besides, there are still many difficulties and challenges related to legal documents, livestock production, slaughtering, and sale, etc.; the capacity of the staff to do the quality assessment, equipment; and consumer awareness.
However, Vietnam is making efforts to promote the management and assessment of livestock product quality by strengthening the product quality management system, stepping up the inspection and supervision of product quality, improving the capacity for management agencies and consumers to be able to evaluate and use safe and good quality products.
Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy introduces the training and research on quality assessment of livestock products at VNUA
Finally, there were discussion and expert advice sections. Many questions were raised such as “Is the livestock product grading system applicable to meat that will be processed? Is the grading system useful for consumers in choosing products and does it affect the cost of livestock products? How to grade chicken and duck meat? How is the traceability of livestock products for small and medium-sized chicken and pig farms? Which equipment should be used in the laboratory?, etc.”. With the above questions, the experts discussed enthusiastically with the team members, solving the problems. Currently, in Korea, there is no grading system applicable to livestock products for processing. For the quality of beef from Korea, the US, Australia, and Canada, marble is an indispensable criterion. The difficulty in Vietnam is that there has not been a certain criterion to evaluate the quality of meat. The expert also consulted on the equipment used to assess the quality of meat in the laboratory, opening opportunities for cooperation, training and analysis for team members.
Experts give advice
At the end of the meeting, the representative of the research group, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy expressed her deepest gratitude to the consultants. The results of the meeting helped to bring research ideas to the attendees and there would be deeper cooperation in training and scientific research between Korean experts and VNUA in the field of evaluating the quality of livestock products.
The consultants take a photo with the participants
Research Group Preservation and Processing of products of animal origin