As the Australian red meat industry approaches the twenty-fifth anniversary of the launch of Meat Standards Australia, this week's Weekly Grill podcast episode dives deep into the evolution of the ground-breaking tenderness guarantee program with one of its pioneers, Rod Polkinghorne.

Rod provides a detailed and comprehensive background into what existed prior to MSA, the circumstances that led to the program's development and launch, and the originality of the 'consumer-driven' approach to meat science. Indeed, one of MSA's early signatures was the use of the 'empty chair', signifying that every decision at board level had to pass the 'pub test' with the average beef eating consumer before  implementation.

Nobody has contributed more to MSA's enduring success than Rod, and his partner in countless consumer taste test programs and research trials over the past 30 years, Judy Philpott.