The main traits affecting the eating quality of meat – juiciness, tenderness and flavour – have similar levels of heritability to traits like docility and fertility and thus can be readily affected via breeding.

The index was tested on consumers at Teagasc’s BEEF 2016 event recently, with promising results. The vast majority of consumers agreed that higher-index steak samples outshone the low-index samples. ICBF has described the results as “very promising.”

Widespread genetic evaluations for the trait should be available by autumn 2017. This would mean that each and every animal would be assigned with an index value for beef eating quality.