The project, funded through the MLA Donor Company (MDC), focused on developing a safe, high-quality goat salami that could meet Australia’s strict regulatory standards Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), in…

The project, funded through the MLA Donor Company (MDC), focused on developing a safe, high-quality goat salami that could meet Australia’s strict regulatory standards

Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), in collaboration with artisan producer The Gourmet Goat Lady, has completed a proof-of-concept project to create a premium salami made entirely from Australian farmed goat meat. The breakthrough aims to tap into Australia’s growing appetite for deli meats and smallgoods while offering a high-value, pork-free alternative for diverse consumer groups.

The project, funded through the MLA Donor Company (MDC), focused on developing a safe, high-quality goat salami that could meet Australia’s strict regulatory standards. Approval from the NSW Food Authority confirmed that goat salami can be manufactured using 100 per cent goat meat without any fat supplementation while still ensuring food safety, quality, and compliance with uncooked comminuted fermented meat (UCFM) product guidelines.

Michael Lee, MLA’s Group Manager for Science and Innovation, said the achievement opens the door for new value-added opportunities in the goatmeat sector.

“This project demonstrates the potential for goatmeat to move further up the value chain through a safe, high-quality smallgoods product,” Lee said. “Given that goatmeat is widely consumed around the world with few religious or cultural barriers, the potential market for goatmeat smallgoods is significant.”

Throughout the project, rigorous food safety testing validated the trial recipe, which closely mirrors traditional salami processing methods, making adoption within existing smallgoods operations straightforward. Notably, farmed goat meat naturally provides enough fat to achieve an 80:20 meat-to-fat ratio, offering a leaner product compared to traditional pork salami, which commonly uses a 70:30 ratio.

Additional measures such as freezing raw inputs and enhanced microbial testing were also evaluated and deemed practical and cost-effective, further supporting the commercial viability of goat salami production.

For Jo Stewart, founder of The Gourmet Goat Lady, the collaboration’s success was underscored by a major industry accolade. The company’s goat salami won a gold medal in the “Champion Smallgoods” category at the 2025 Melbourne Royal Australian Food Awards, competing against 182 entries.