A team of researchers from Purdue University in Indiana and the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil has developed a method to determine the type of feed — grass versus grain — cattle ate throughout their lifespan. Some consumers are willing to pay more for meat from cattle that were raised on pasture, which researchers say is better for animal welfare and the environment. “Consumers are willing to pay a premium for grass-fed beef,” said Daniel Silva Antonelo, a meat sciences researcher at Sao Paulo and a leader on the project. However, until now, no method has existed to independently validate the grass-fed claim. The researchers’ new method of distinguishing between grass-fed and grain-fed cows could provide the meat industry with a grass-fed certification option to build consumer confidence and product value. The researchers used a lipid panel paired with mass spectrometry to determine whether cows were fed grass or grain. Christina Ferreira, a lipidomics scientist at Purdue’s metabolite profiling facility, explained the process. The scientists start by examining the muscle fat in meat, she said. They work with a few milligrams of meat and extract lipids, or fats, from the sample. The researchers then use a tool called a mass spectrometer to analyze the molecules. Ferreira said that lipids, or fats, in the meat from grass-fed animals have a clearly “different molecular composition” than lipids from grain-fed animals. Grass-fed animals gain weight more slowly than grain-fed animals. Because of their different diet and growth timeline, grass-fed cattle develop fats differently. Their lipids vary in saturation and other characteristics compared to lipids in meat from grain-fed animals. In early testing, the researchers found that they can quickly and accurately tell the difference between beef from grass-fed versus grain-fed cattle. These early tests, however, used expensive equipment in a lab that would not be economically feasible for the meat industry to replicate. The researchers say that for their findings to be useful in the real world, they will need to develop a more affordable model. For example, airports sometimes swab luggage and then examine the molecules using mass spectrometry to detect explosives. Similarly, the researchers say meat plants may be able to swab meat samples and then use a mass spectrometer to analyze the molecules so a carcass with certain lipid characteristics could be certified as grass-fed. The researchers are partnering with JBS, a meat processing company, to test this method. They will also seek other partners. The scientists have applied for a provisional patent. “I think it’s promising just because we already use this technology (mass spectrometry) for other purposes,” said Ferreira. Although she is hopeful about the project, Ferreira said more research is needed to differentiate between breeds of cattle, grains, different pastures and animals that were fed a mixed regimen. Antonelo, Ferreira’s co-researcher, has received funding to scale up the pilot project in the next nine months. After that, he plans to apply for a two-year extension to continue the research. Sao Paulo professor Julio Cesar de Carvalho Balieiro is also contributing to the research.

A team of researchers from Purdue University in Indiana and the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil has developed a method to determine the type of feed — grass versus grain — cattle ate throughout their lifespan.

Some consumers are willing to pay more for meat from cattle that were raised on pasture, which researchers say is better for animal welfare and the environment.

“Consumers are willing to pay a premium for grass-fed beef,” said Daniel Silva Antonelo, a meat sciences researcher at Sao Paulo and a leader on the project.

However, until now, no method has existed to independently validate the grass-fed claim. The researchers’ new method of distinguishing between grass-fed and grain-fed cows could provide the meat industry with a grass-fed certification option to build consumer confidence and product value.

The researchers used a lipid panel paired with mass spectrometry to determine whether cows were fed grass or grain.

Christina Ferreira, a lipidomics scientist at Purdue’s metabolite profiling facility, explained the process.

The scientists start by examining the muscle fat in meat, she said. They work with a few milligrams of meat and extract lipids, or fats, from the sample. The researchers then use a tool called a mass spectrometer to analyze the molecules.

Ferreira said that lipids, or fats, in the meat from grass-fed animals have a clearly “different molecular composition” than lipids from grain-fed animals.

Grass-fed animals gain weight more slowly than grain-fed animals. Because of their different diet and growth timeline, grass-fed cattle develop fats differently. Their lipids vary in saturation and other characteristics compared to lipids in meat from grain-fed animals.

In early testing, the researchers found that they can quickly and accurately tell the difference between beef from grass-fed versus grain-fed cattle.

These early tests, however, used expensive equipment in a lab that would not be economically feasible for the meat industry to replicate.

The researchers say that for their findings to be useful in the real world, they will need to develop a more affordable model.

For example, airports sometimes swab luggage and then examine the molecules using mass spectrometry to detect explosives.

Similarly, the researchers say meat plants may be able to swab meat samples and then use a mass spectrometer to analyze the molecules so a carcass with certain lipid characteristics could be certified as grass-fed.

The researchers are partnering with JBS, a meat processing company, to test this method. They will also seek other partners.

The scientists have applied for a provisional patent.

“I think it’s promising just because we already use this technology (mass spectrometry) for other purposes,” said Ferreira.

Although she is hopeful about the project, Ferreira said more research is needed to differentiate between breeds of cattle, grains, different pastures and animals that were fed a mixed regimen.

Antonelo, Ferreira’s co-researcher, has received funding to scale up the pilot project in the next nine months. After that, he plans to apply for a two-year extension to continue the research.

Sao Paulo professor Julio Cesar de Carvalho Balieiro is also contributing to the research.