United States 

Department of 

Agriculture 

Agricultural 

Marketing 

Service 

STOP 0254 – Room 2607-S 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW. 

Washington, D.C. 20250-0254 

PRIME II. 

June 8, 2006

 

Date Issued 06/05/06 

Date Revised Page 1 of 3

Instrument Grading Systems for Beef Carcasses 

Performance Requirements for Instrument Marbling Evaluation (PRIME) 

II. Implementation and Verification of Operational Procedures 

BACKGROUND: 

The Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), Livestock 

and Seed (LS) Program will utilize beef carcass marbling scores made by approved 

instruments to assist in determining the official quality grade of beef carcasses. The LS 

Program will approve instrument systems that meet specific performance requirements 

for accuracy, precision, and repeatability in the prediction of the marbling scores for 

beef carcasses. The requirements are outlined in the LS Program document titled 

Performance Requirements for Instrument Marbling Evaluation (PRIME), I. 

Demonstration of Repeatability, Accuracy, and Precision (http://www.ams.usda.gov/lsg 

/stand/instrument.htm). Once an instrument has met the performance requirements, 

procedures for the implementation and verification of operation must be established on 

a plant-by-plant basis and be approved by the LS Program. 

The requirements for instrument grading systems were established after consultation 

with an Industry Working Group that was convened by the LS Program and the National 

Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA). The Industry Working Group was comprised of 

representatives of USDA, NCBA, beef processing companies, cattle producers, 

technology providers, and academia. 

PURPOSE: 

The purpose of this document is to provide the requirements that must be addressed 

through a Quality Management System for the implementation, operation and 

verification of instrument grading systems in the evaluation of beef carcass marbling 

score, certification programs, and carcass data information programs. An establishment 

must have a documented program of daily in-plant verifications and procedures that 

ensure accurate and precise determinations are made by properly calibrated and 

verified instruments that have been approved for marbling score assessment. 

Approved by _________ MEO

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, 

disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, 

reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) 

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact 

USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 

Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider and employer." 
United States 

Department of 

Agriculture 

Agricultural 

Marketing 

Service 

STOP 0254 – Room 2607-S 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW. 

Washington, D.C. 20250-0254 

PRIME II. 

June 8, 2006

 

Date Issued 06/05/06 

Date Revised Page 2 of 3

OPERATIONAL PROCESS VERIFICATION 

A verifiable, documented process must be established on a plant-by-plant basis by the 

beef processing company to ensure the instrument for marbling score determination is 

operating in the terms described within the document. The documented process must 

be approved by the LS Program. 

ASTM Standard F 2341-03 

The LS Program will utilize the ASTM Standard F 2341-03, Standard Practice for User 

Requirements for Livestock, Meat, and Poultry Evaluation Devices or Systems

(www.astm.org) for evaluating an establishment’s documentation. An establishment 

must submit a documented quality manual that meets the program requirements 

outlined in the ASTM Standard F 2341-03 and the additional criteria outlined in this 

document, as applicable. 

Additional Requirements 

The additional criteria that must be addressed in conjunction with ASTM Standard F 

2341-03 include: 

4.3 Operation: (clause 4.3 of F 2341-03) 

4.3.3 User shall develop, document and implement a procedure for submission to 

the LS Program for approval of any system change (hardware or software) prior 

to implementation. (NOTE: This is an extension of clause 4.3.3 of F 2341-03)

4.3.4 User shall provide a description of the flow of operational procedures. The 

description shall include the linking of actual carcass, hot carcass weight and 

carcass image data. The user shall establish the procedure for the presentation 

of carcass and image data to the grader(s) for review, in order for the grader(s) to 

determine grade eligibility, to accept or reject the image data, and to determine 

the final grade. The user shall also establish the procedure for grade application 

and/or identification. (NOTE: This is an additional clause)

4.3.5 Calibration—User shall ensure that the device or system is calibrated as 

recommended by the manufacturer, consistent with the manufacturer’s current 

instruction manual. The user shall develop and document a calibration routine 

and maintain records of calibration. (NOTE: This is an additional clause) 

Approved by _________ MEO
United States 

Department of 

Agriculture 

Agricultural 

Marketing 

Service 

STOP 0254 – Room 2607-S 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW. 

Washington, D.C. 20250-0254 

PRIME II. 

June 8, 2006

 

Date Issued 06/05/06 

Date Revised Page 3 of 3

4.8 Instrument System Security and Integrity: (NOTE: This is an additional clause) 

4.8.1 The user shall disclose to the LS Program a list of essential devices and 

components of the instrument system. This includes defining key hardware and 

software components to provide assurance to the LS Program that the 

instrument grading system will perform to the standard that it was approved 

under and has tamper safeguards in place to provide security and integrity of the 

system. 

4.8.2 Each essential hardware component shall be identified by a unique code. 

These components must be identified and recorded when used. 

4.8.3 The user shall under go a USDA cyber security evaluation and maintain 

documentation of this evaluation. 

The establishment's documented processes are monitored and validated on a continual 

basis by LS Program personnel. The establishment's documented processes are also 

verified through independent, third party audits conducted by the Audit, Review, and 

Compliance (ARC) Branch in accordance with ASTM Standard F 2341-03 to ensure 

consistent auditing practices and promote international recognition of audit results. 

These procedures are subject to revision at any time by the LS Program. 

Requests for approval shall be submitted to: 

Chief, Standardization Branch 

USDA, AMS, LS Phone: (202) 720-4486 

1400 Independence Avenue, S.W. FAX: (202) 720-1112 

Room 2607 South Building Email: Martin.OConnor@usda.gov 

Washington, DC 20250-0254 

Approved by _________ MEO

Approved: ______________________ 

Martin E. O’Connor, Chief 

Standardization Branch