The traceability of meat is improved by applying a unique carcass-identification serial number to selected areas of a meat carcass before it is separated into primal cuts. The serial number may be visible or invisible and is applied in a manually readable and an encoded, machine-readable form. An indelible ink which is specified for food applications is applied using a printing head carried and moved by a mechanical robotic arm (8) under the control of a computer while the meatcarcasses (C) move along a carrier system (1) from a loading position to an unloading position. A proximity sensor allows positioning of the head close to the carcass.
