Chapter 8: Meat Grading

What measurements are important on Pork Carcasses?

% Fat Free Lean and muscle score

Reasons for Carcass Grading

- Help determine value for: Producer, Packer , Retailer, Consumer - Facilitates market news reporting

Marbling Standards grades

1 (no marbling) to 10 (very fatty) -no major marbling in pork

Color Standards grades

1(soft pink) to 6(dark purplish red -3 and 4 preferred (reddish pink and dark reddish pink)

Certified Angus Beef Specifications

1. Modest or higher Marbling (Cho ) 2. Medium to fine marbling 3. <30 months of age 4. 10-16 in2 REA 5. <1,050 lb HCW 6. <1 in backfat 7. Superior muscling 8. Practically free of capillary rupture 9. No dark cutters 10. No neck hump >2 in.

Muscle scores

1. Thin (inferior) 2. Average 3. Thick (superior)

When did Meat Inspection begin?

1891

History of Grading

1891: Meat Inspection began 1906: Meat Inspection Act 1916: Standards were set for beef used in national reporting of dressed beef markets 1925: the Federal Meat Grading Act was passed by Congress 1927: Beef carcass grades developed 1951: Lamb grading standards 1952: Pork Grading Standards

When was the USDA meat grading program established?

1927

Beef Yield Grade 4

45.5 to 47.7%

Beef Yield Grade 3

47.7 to 50% - medium lean, medium fat

Beef Yield Grade 2

50 to 52.3%

Meat Grading

A procedure by which carcasses, meat or meat products are segregated based on their: • Expected Palatability • Yield Attributes • Other Economically Important Traits

Approximate ages corresponding to each maturity classification are

A — 9 to 30 months B — 30 to 42 months C — 42 to 72 months D — 72 to 96 months E — more than 96 months

Indicators of Maturity: poultry

Amount of ossification in the breast bone will be used to determine the age

History of Grading- 1927

Beef carcass grades developed

What 3 cuts in beef round?

Beef round primal (largest) Beef Inside Round Subprimal (smaller) Beef Inside Round Steak (smallest)

Pork Quality Concerns

Color • PSE: Pale, soft and exudative • Caused by stress • Unappealing, dry, poor flavor

Types of Pork Quality Grades

Color-Texture-Exudation Color Standards Marbling Standards

How strict is inspection?

Considered by many to be the most regulated segment of the food industry

Indicators of Maturity in beef

Dentition, skeletal maturity, ribs, sacral vertebrae, lean

break joint

Epiphyseal cartilage at distal end of the metacarpal.

Who is responsible for inspection?

Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the public health agency for the USDA

What equation is used to determine pork carcass grades?

Grade = 4 (last rib fat, in.) - muscle score

spool joint

If animal is old, the break joint is ossified. Front foot removed at spool joint.

Why do older animals have a courser texture?

Increased crosslinking of connective tissue with age.

History of Grading- 1951

Lamb grading standards

Beef Quality Grade - USDA Choice

Marbling: modest and moderate

Beef Quality Grade - USDA Select

Marbling: slight and small

Beef Quality Grade - USDA Prime

Marbling: slightly abundant and moderately abundant

How is lamb quality grade determined?

Maturity, Flank Streaking, and Carcass Conformation

History of Grading- 1906

Meat Inspection Act

What Act was important for meat inspection?

Meat Inspection Act of 1906

History of Grading- 1891

Meat inspection began

Impact of Muscling on yield grade

Muscling has an important influence in the percent retail yield. • The lower amount of muscle equals less yield.

Does pork have a lot of variation? Why?

No. consistency in how pork is raised, fed, similar genetics

Sacral vertebrae indicator

Ossification between sacral vertebrae will indicate maturity.

Color-Texture-Exudation grades

PSE: pale, sole, exudative RFN: Reddish pink, firm, and Non-exudative (what we want) DFD: Dark, Firm, Dry - variation cause by stress

Why do older animals have darker lean?

Particularly true with beef animals because of accumulation of myoglobin in muscle.

What does %BCTRC stand for?

Percent Boneless, Closely Trimmed, Retail Cuts

History of Grading- 1952

Pork Grading Standards

what does % Fat Free Lean predict?

Predicts amount of lean, edible product from each carcass

Beef Quality Grade

Predicts eating satisfaction of beef • Tenderness, Juiciness, Flavor

lamb quality grades

Prime, choice, good, utility

Importance of Grading

Provides a means for standardization. • Consumer knows the product will be the same each time

Types of grades

Quality, Yield

How do ribs indicate age of lamb?

Round and red: young Flat and white: old

Rib maturity indicator

Shape and color of ribs • Round and red in color, the animal is young. • White and flat, the animal is old.

History of Grading- 1916

Standards were set for beef used in national reporting of dressed beef markets

How to measure Amount of Fat in Lamb?

Subcutaneous fat

How to measure Amount of Fat in Pork?

Subcutaneous fat

Beef Quality Grades

USDA Prime, Choice, Select (from young cow) Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter and Canner (from older animals)

When are yield grade determined?

USDA Yield Grades and Quality Grades are "rolled" onto the beef carcass at the same time

Marbling definition

Visible intramuscular fat between the muscle fiber bundles.

Why do people want certifications for their meat?

assists branding (becoming increasingly popular)

Lamb maturity indicators

break joint and ribs

Why does grading matter?

certifications, more money for better meat

Why are pork carcasses not typically ribbed?

cuts through the pork loin

The older the animal...

darker the lean and courser the texture

What do yield graders look for?

differences in carcass cutability

How is %BCTRC determined?

equation using: - Hot Carcass Weight - 12th Rib Fat - Body Wall Thickness - Ribeye Area

How to see marbling in lamb?

flank streaking

Grade B and C poultry goes into what kinds of products?

further processed food - canned chicken, soup, sausage, chicken nuggets

Beef Yield Grade 1

greater than 52.3% - lots of lean, low fat

Quality Grade

how good? - juiciness, tenderness, flavor

Yield Grade

how much? - % boneless, closely trimmed, retail cuts

Non-graded: Poultry

if missing part except wing

why do we want lean lamb?

lamb fat doesn't taste good, so we want more muscle

Lamb vs. Mutton

lamb: break joint mutton: spool joint (fused/ ossified break joint)

Beef Yield Grade 5

less than 45.4% - low lean, lots of fat - requires a lot of trimming

why is maturity very important in lamb grades?

major value difference between lamb and mutten

What affects quality of beef?

maturity

Who pays for meat grading?

meat packers

Which grades are similar in value and include 90% of lamb meat?

prime and choice

Who determines yield grade?

same USDA grader who determines quality grade

History of Grading- 1925

the Federal Meat Grading Act was passed by Congress

Is grading mandatory?

voluntary

Tenderness of beef

younger: more tender older: less tender due to connective tissue changes, more crossbridges formed in muscles

Grade B: Poultry

• 1/3 of flesh exposed • Lightly or moderately shaded discolorations • <6 protruding feather (1/2 in)

How is % Fat Free Lean measured?

• 10th rib fat • Loin-eye area • Hot Carcass Weight

Grade C: Poultry

• >1/3 of flesh exposed • 8+ feathers

How to measure Amount of Fat in beef?

• Amount of the subcutaneous fat • Kidney heart and pelvic fat

Indicators of Skeletal Maturity

• Bone and cartilage • Bone ossifies as the animal gets older • Beef cartilage caps on the spinous processes of thoracic vertebrae

Defects in poultry

• Bruises • Discolorations • missing Feathers • broken bones • tears in skin • Not Fully fleshed and meaty

What are the Automated Methods of Grading pork?

• Fato-meater: Reflectance probe • Autofom • Ultra Meater: Using Ultrasound to measure fat and bone • ToBEC: Total Body Electrical Conductivity

Grade A: Poultry

• Highest quality • Seen at retail • Free of defects

Why is marbling important?

• Marbling is moderately correlated to tenderness of meat. • Contributes to juiciness and flavor of meat.

How is Beef Quality Grade determined?

• Maturity • Marbling

How to measure lean

• Measure rib-eye area in beef. • Appraisal of carcass conformation in pork and lamb.

poultry quality determining factors

• Palatability • Normal Shape • Fully Fleshed • Free of Defects

Responsibilities of the Grading Service

• Quality and yield grading of carcasses • Beef Carcass data service • Pork Belly Certification for Chicago Merc • Public Act 272 Review (Label monitoring) • Certified programs

Who runs the USDA meat grading program?

•Administered by the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)

Federal Meat Inspection Program

•Mandatory (paid for by taxpayers) •Ensures only meat from healthy animals enters food chain •Ensures facilities and equipment meet sanitation standards

U.S. inspected and passed stamp on each primal

•On outside of container if packaged •Includes official establishment number of processing plant

What does the USDA meat grading program do?

•Sets "standards" of quality and cutability •Generates federal grade standards for beef and veal

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)

•Voluntary certification services •Specific live and carcass characteristics •Provides confidence that claims made were substantiated by independent 3rd party oversight •AMS currently recognizes certification services for 60+ beef programs