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
