An eye for ageing

Kansas State University scientists are studying the eye lenses of cattle to create a new age verification method. Japan and other countries wary of BSE infection insist that they will only accept beef from animals younger than 21 months of age.

 

Michael Dikeman, a KSU animal scientist, speculates that the weight of a lens and/or its nitrogen content could correlate with the chronological age of cattle. Researchers have found such a correlation between eyes and age in pigs. The KSU study will collect eyes from 500 head of cattle with known ages ranging from 14 to 36 months at commercial processing plants.

 

USDA has proposed using its meat grading standards to verify age, but that method is said to have serious flaws. "If the eye lens method is more accurate in determining the age of cattle, then bother beef processors and cattle producers could benefit, because a higher percentage of cattle would be eligible for export", Dikeman says.