1 AMS - Beefcarcassrevisions

From: Garmyn, Andrea <andrea.garmyn@ttu.edu> Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2014 1:03 PM To: AMS - Beefcarcassrevisions Subject: Revisions to Beef Grading Standards Attachments: USDA comment for grade change.docx

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To whom it may concern: In response to the press release seeking revisions to beef grading standards, please find the attached
comments. Other faculty within the Meat Science and Muscle Biology program at Texas Tech have read and reviewed these comments, but this is not necessarily an official comment from Texas Tech nor does it necessarily reflect their opinions. Thank you for your consideration.

Regards, Andrea

Andrea Garmyn, Ph.D. Research Assistant Professor Texas Tech University Department of Animal and Food Sciences MS 42141 Meat Lab 102 Lubbock, TX 79409

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Fax: +1 806-742-4003 Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy, Outlook prevented auto matic downlo ad o f this picture from the Internet.1. Historic changes to the Standards for Grades of Carcass Beef were made to improve

consistency and uniformity within particular quality grades and typically reflect results from (then) current research. According to the two most recent National Beef Qualit y Audits (NBQA; Garcia et al., 2008; McKeith et al., 2012), approximately 97% of cattle presented for slaughter over the past 10 years would have been classified as less than 30 mo of age according to dentition. Although several indigenous and exogenous f actors can affect the rate of physiological maturity, the latest NBQA (Moore et al., 2012) indicated about 7% of cattle graded showed advanced overall maturity (B

– E maturity) , leaving some disparity between chronological and physiological age of beef . P revious research by Lawrence et al. (2001) has shown dental classification is not a good indicator of tenderness. Recently , Acheson et al. (2014) demonstrated LM tenderness, assessed both by shear force and trained panellists, was not impacted by overall carcass maturity
, provided cattle were grain

- finished and less than 30 mo of age. These results suggest and we recommend reconsideration of the 1997 change dis allowing Select grade in B maturity. In addition we recommend lowering the marbling required fo r Choice within B maturity, but maintain that marbling should increase progressively with evidences of advancing maturity.
2. Due to general lack of differences among quality grades , particularly Prime and Top Choice, in recent National Beef Tenderness Surv eys (Brooks et al., 2000; Voges et al., 2007; Guelker et al., 2013) and independent research (O’Quinn et al., 2012), we also recommend lowering the minimum marbling requirement for Prime.
3. Lastly, due to the growing market share of specialized beef produc tion systems, special consideration should be given to beef generated from grass

- fed systems. Although carcasses may meet the same requirements as grain

- fed beef, eating experience s can often differ within similar quality grades, which may leave

consumers impressed, confused, or disappointed depending on their expectations. Many grass

- fed cattle do not achieve USDA Choice or better status, and generally have a lower range of marbling scores. Therefore, as a means of distinguishing

grass

- fed beef from gr ain

- finished beef and subsequently ranking or categorizing

grass

- fed beef, an alternative grading model should be considered. This may need to focus more on meat color, pH, and ossification, with less emphasis on marbling, but could also incorporate some type of tenderness certification.