September 2003 

ASTM F10 Committee Work Progresses 

By: Dick Suiter 

[Editor’s Note: Any mention of commercial products within this publication is for 

information only and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by NIST.] 

The initial work of ASTM Committee F10 on Livestock, Meat, and Poultry Evaluation 

Systems is progressing and nearing completion. The Committee's task is to develop 

standards for the design, performance, use, and predictive accuracy of devices currently 

being used or being tested for evaluating various constituents to determine the value of an 

animal carcass at the time of harvest (slaughter). 

Within the main F10 Committee are four subcommittees: F10.10 Design Speci-fication, 

F10.20 Device Performance Criteria, F10.30 User Requirements, and F10.40 Predictive 

Accuracy. Each sub-committee has developed a draft standard to address one area of the 

entire measurement or evaluation process used to determine the value of carcasses or 

carcass portions at the packing level. 

The statement of scope for each subcommittee follows: 

Subcommittee F10.10: This specification covers the requirements for design and 

construction of electronic devices or systems for measuring composition or quality 

constituents of live animals, livestock, and poultry carcasses, and/or individual cuts of 

meat. Examples include but are not limited to half and whole carcasses, primals, 

subprimals, and boxed meat. 

Subcommittee F10.20: This standard covers the test methods used to determine the 

accuracy of electronic devices that evaluate characteristics of livestock, meat, and 

poultry. These characteristics may or may not be used to determine a value. Companies 

with new devices are encouraged to contact ASTM to request modification of this 

standard to include its new technology. 

Subcommittee F10.30: This standard covers the operational requirements for users of 

livestock, meat, and poultry evaluation devices used on live animals, carcasses, and 

individual cuts of meat when those devices provide data used in determining value for 

livestock and carcasses. Areas covered include installation, operator training, calibration, 

inspection and maintenance of these evaluation devices, and documentation of 

procedures for verifying raw data. 

Subcommittee F10.40: This specification establishes standardized methods to collect and 

analyze data, document the results, and make predictions by any objective method for 

any characteristic used to determine value in any species using livestock, meat and 

poultry evaluation devices or systems. 
All four of the standards have been through the subcommittee ballot process and are 

currently being posted for ballot by the entire F10 membership. 

Subsequent updates of the Committee's work will present detailed information regarding 

the economic impact of the device currently being used to determine payment value for 

more than 80 percent of swine purchased in the United States. The USDA has estimated 

the value of swine produced in 2002 to be $7,486,000,000. Future updates will also 

outline the impact of the potential use of electronic devices for determining the purchase 

value of other species. 

A study of the grade and yield characteristics of 149 lamb carcasses recently completed by 

Colorado State University compared the determinations from a Lamb Vision System with 

the determinations made by experienced human graders. A preliminary review of the data 

indicates that the electronic system is capable of providing grade and yield data that is 

more accurate than data provided by human graders. Look for an in-depth review of this 

study in the near future. 

For additional information on F10 or on becoming a committee member, contact Dick 

Suiter (NIST) by e-mail at rsuiter@nist.gov or by phone at (301) 975-4406.