Can Meat Inspections be Done Remotely?
Project Title
Remote Ante- and Postmortem Meat Inspections Using Augmented-Reality Live-Stream Video Software
Researchers
Argenis Rodas-González [email protected]
Claudia Narvaez-Bravo, Gabriel Dallago and Marcos Cordeiro (University of Manitoba), Noel Ritson-Bennett (CFIA), Navjot Virdi (Manitoba Agriculture)
| Status | Project Code |
|---|---|
| In progress. Results expected in June, 2027 | FOS.05.24 |
Background
Small beef processing plants would benefit if they didn’t need to have an inspector physically on-site at all times to inspect cattle before slaughter, as well as carcasses and organs after slaughter. This is particularly important with rural labour shortages (or pandemic restrictions).
Objectives
- Evaluate remote postmortem meat inspection at different provincial slaughterhouses using two-way live-stream video communication with augmented reality software as an alternative to current on-site inspection
- Train the remote inspector and the camera-equipped technician to establish effective two-way remote video
- Develop procedures for assessing and record keeping of the sanitary facility conditions, manipulating the carcass and by-products
- Conduct a comparative study between on-site meat inspectors versus the remote inspectors by recording findings, classification, and evaluate agreement percentage between both inspectors
What they will do
The goal is to develop a headset that can be worn by packing plant staff. The headset will broadcast images to an off-site inspector, who will tell the in-plant individual wearing the headset what to look at (e.g., live animals pre-slaughter and organs/carcass post-slaughter) so that the camera is directed towards what the inspector needs to see, and the animal, carcass or organs can be passed, held for further inspection or condemned.
For this project, an on-site inspector will train the research team (standing in for plant staff) what to look for and how to present the animal, carcass and organs to the camera. These training sessions for ante- and post-mortem inspections will happen at the Manitoba Agriculture Animal Health Lab on the university campus. Inspection procedures will be developed for things to examine in or on the facility, animal and organs will be developed. The system will then be piloted at private packing plants. The “remote” camera inspection will happen first, followed by the on-site inspection – with no communication between them – to avoid biasing the remote inspector. Agreement / disagreement between the “remote” and on-site inspector will be evaluated and the instruction sheets refined. The on-site vs. virtual comparisons will be repeated in commercial plants in both Manitoba and Alberta until 400 cattle and carcasses have been assessed. The on-site inspector’s judgement will prevail, but results will be compared after the fact to assess agreement.
Implications
Developing and validating ways to remotely inspect live animals, carcasses and organs would help small, remote abattoirs continue to operate when onsite inspectors are unable to attend in-person.