Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Flexible Automation & Intelligent Manufacturing; FAIM 2014

Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Flexible Automation & Intelligent Manufacturing, held May 20-23, 2014 in San Antonio, Texas, and organized by the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Lean Systems, University of Texas at San Antonio; Includes bibliographical references; The UK beef industry holds around 12% value of total agriculture in UK. However, it is currently suffering because of some series of events in the past like outbreak of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy), Foot and Mouth disease and reforms in CAP (Common Agriculture Policy). These events led to the ban on exports of British Beef, loss of headage subsidies of beef farmers and significant fall in demand of beef within the UK. The revenue of beef industry could be highly compensated by minimizing the waste in beef supply chain. According to a report by Food Chain Centre (UK), around 20% of costs incurred within the beef supply chain adds no value. It is a major concern for beef sector considering they are already in crisis as mentioned above. This article focuses on identification of root cause of waste in beef supply chain at abattoir and processor end. Thereafter, certain good management and operation practices are recommended to cope with the waste in beef supply chain. These good practices will boost the sinking fortunes of beef industry and create value for customers. These practices will further help in reducing the environmental pollution caused by the meat waste