According to the Farmers Guardian, PhD student Kate Fowler, who is based with the biosciences department at the University of Kent, is undertaking the project, which is sponsored by JSR Genetics.

Dr Grant Walling, director of research and genetics at JSR said: “There are cultural variations in meat preferences. For example, Asian markets prefer a fattier meat to those in the West.

“The fat markers identified will allow geneticists to predict how, where and when fat is likely to be deposited, helping producers to tailor products to specific retail markets and devise detailed feeding regimes.”

View the Farmers Guardian story by clicking here.