March 2003 

ASTM Committee F10 on Livestock, Meat, and Poultry 

Evaluation Systems 

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.] 

Prior to the NCWM 2000 Annual Meeting the Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards 

Administration (GIPSA) branch of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

approached NIST and the NCWM to discuss the development of standards for devices 

used to measure fat content in animal carcasses. When it was determined that neither the 

NCWM nor NIST had the available resources needed to develop such a standard, the 

American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) was contacted as a potential 

standards-writing body to guide the task of developing the desired standard. 

The ASTM agreed to develop standards known as ASTM Standard F10 on Livestock, 

Meat, and Poultry Evaluation Systems for the measurement of fat and other quality 

constituents in animal carcasses. 

The devices used to evaluate the various constituents of animal carcasses play an 

important role in determining the value of the carcass for which the producer is paid. In 

most cases the devices perform functions that are considered commercial in nature. 

When the ASTM F10 standard is complete, the NCWM should consider developing 

requirements for these devices based on the final document. 

The USDA reports that 35.2 million head of beef and 93.7 million hogs--a combined 

value of $37.1 billion--were slaughtered in 2000. The USDA estimates that carcass 

evaluation systems were used to determine the value of the hogs processed in 36 pork 

plants in 15 states that process 84 percent of the nation-wide total. Until a few years ago, 

carcass evaluation for hogs dealt strictly with the weight and perhaps a subjective visual 

assessment of the fat and lean ratio. Today’s consumer demands pork products with all 

the nutrition they are accustomed to, but with less fat and fewer calories. 

In the past 10 to 15 years as pork packing companies started measuring carcass 

composition in terms of fat-to-lean ratio, producers have developed the new “ultra-lean 

hog.” Instrumentation and systems that can take linear measurements of fat and lean and 

calculate a lean percentage with an acceptable degree of accuracy have made this 

possible. Some of the systems are very sophisticated networks that can process multiple 

measurements rapidly enough to keep up with chain speeds in plants that process 1200 

hogs or more per hour. Nearly all hogs processed in this country are evaluated for lean 

content and for most, this information is transferred back to the producer through some 

economic incentive program. 
The measurement systems include the low-tech ruler used to measure the depth of fat at 

the midline split of the carcass. Higher tech optical probes use light diffraction to 

measure the depth of the fat and the depth of the lean in the loin area. Still higher tech 

hand-held ultrasonic devices use sound waves to produce measurements similar to those 

made by the optical probe. A sophisticated ultrasonic device called the Autofom uses 16 

transducers in a saddle arrangement to measure a carcass every 1/2 in (12.7 mm) as it is 

pulled through a trough containing the transducers. The latest technology for measuring 

composition in hogs is the TOBEC, “total body electrical conductivity” instrument. This 

device, consisting of a tube containing a magnetic field that actually measures the ions to 

calculate water content, can be used with a high level of accuracy to predict lean 

composition. The TOBEC is considered by many to be the most accurate of all systems 

but is not compatible to the high-speed operations found in most large packing plants. 

Other constituent variables such as pH, color, water holding capacity, and marbling are 

being considered by both the pork and the beef industry. Devices to determine some of 

these additional variables in pork are being developed and used on a trial basis. 

The beef industry is also using electronic evaluation devices on a trial basis. Recently 

representatives from the USDA and NIST Weights and Measures Division witnessed the 

use of a new vision system for determining the value of a beef carcass. The system 

utilizes a digital camera that takes a picture of the loin area of a moving carcass. The 

digital camera provides a color photo to a computer that analyzes the digital image for 

various quality constituents such as the thickness of fat, depth of loin eye, color, and 

marbling. By comparing the image to a database containing “standards” for the various 

constituents, the system can determine grade and yield information for each carcass. 

When the trial phase is complete, this system has the potential of replacing human meat 

graders who make a somewhat subjective grade and yield determination for nearly every 

beef carcass processed in the United States. 

The ASTM Committee F10 on Livestock, Meat, and Poultry Evaluation Systems is 

making progress developing a standard for the design, performance, use, and predictive 

accuracy of devices currently being used or being tested for evaluating several 

constituents that may be used to determine the value of an animal carcass at the time of 

slaughter. The four subcommittees – F 10.10 Design Specification, F10.20 Device 

Performance, F 10.30 User Require-ments, and F 10.40 Predictive Accuracy – have each 

developed a draft standard for its respective portion of the total ASTM Standard F10. 

The drafts from F10.10 and F10.30 have been posted on the ASTM website 

(http://www.astm.org/) for balloting by members of the full committee. 

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. ♦