Melbourne churches are among the groups of people who are taste testing Australian lamb and beef.
The churches, along with sporting clubs, community and special interest groups, have all signed up for Tastepoint Fundraising, which runs the pointy end of the Meat Standards Australia grading system.
The MSA 'tenderness guaranteed' program grades red meat on eating quality, based on consumer feedback.
Tastepoint provides samples of cooked beef and lamb to the groups for assessment by members.
Tastepoint director John Chalmers, whose background is with the Australian Bureau of Statistics, set up the business with wife Janine seven years ago.
"I have another market research company and Meat & Livestock Australia scientists approached us," Mr Chalmers said.
"It was obvious our offices on St Kilda Road were not the right place to run roasts and grills, with lots of fumes, smoke and smells, so we thought we would have to move it off-site and make it mobile."
Tastepoint donates $1000 if a group gets more than 60 testers.
Ashburton Baptist Church, Melbourne, was the latest group to sign up, putting the $1000 donation towards its Meat for Missions event.
After their Sunday service, more than 60 churchgoers tasted seven different samples of lamb, rating it for tenderness, juiciness and flavour.
Ashburton Associate Pastor Reverend Tony Cupit said the money would go to Serve Trust in India, which runs a school and hospital and hospice care.
"We used to support the 'rock crushers school', which was in a quarry, but automation took over and the people had to move," Reverend Cupit said.
"The kids were earning a dollar a day crushing rocks in the quarry, to help feed the family.
"We diverted our efforts to the School of Joy - it's gone from being a little school with a handful of kids to flourishing with 180 students."
A number of students had since gone onto high school and tertiary education.
Reverend Cupit said the church had been supporting the program for about 20 years.
Mr Chalmers said the coronavirus pandemic meant tasting panels had to be suspended, so Tastepoint was looking for more groups to take part.
"The idea is to get a cross-section of the average consumer, so there is no bias," he said.
"We go to where the testers are, so a wide cross-section of the community will come along."
Andrew Miller
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
