Meat Grading
The factors used in grade assessment are directly related to the tenderness, juiciness, consumer acceptability, shelf life and yield of a carcass.
| CHARACTERISTIC | INFLUENCE ON QUALITY |
|---|---|
| Maturity (age) | The age of an animal affects the tenderness. |
| Sex | Pronounced masculinity in animals affects meat colour and palatability. |
| Conformation (muscling) | Meat yield is influenced by the degree of muscling. |
| Fat (colour, texture and cover) | Fat colour and texture influence consumer acceptability where as fat cover affects yield. |
| Meat (colour, texture and marbling | Meat marbling affects eating quality for juiciness and tenderness. Colour and texture influence consumer acceptability. |
| THE QUALITY GRADES | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade | Maturity (Age) | Muscling | Rib Eye Muscle | Marbling * | Fat Colour and Texture | Fat Measure |
| CANADA PRIME | Youthful | Good to excellent with some deficiencies | Firm, bright red | Slightly abundant | Firm, white or amber | 2 mm or more |
| CANADA A, AA, AAA | Youthful | Good to excellent with some deficiencies | Firm, bright red | A- trace AA - slight AAA - small |
Firm, white or amber | 2 mm or more |
| B1 | Youthful | Good to excellent with some deficiencies | Firm, bright red | Devoid | Firm, white or amber | Less than 2 mm |
| B2 | Youthful | Deficient to excellent | Bright red | No requirement | Yellow | No requirement |
| B3 | Youthful | Deficient to good | Bright red | No requirement | White or amber | No requirement |
| B4 | Youthful | Deficient to excellent | Dark red | No requirement | No requirement | No requirement |
| D1 | Mature | Excellent | No requirement | No requirement | Firm, white or amber | Less than 15 mm |
| D2 | Mature | Medium to excellent | No requirement | No requirement | White to yellow | Less than 15 mm |
| D3 | Mature | Deficient | No requirement | No requirement | No requirement | Less than 15 mm |
| D4 | Mature | Deficient to excellent | No requirement | No requirement | No requirement | 15 mm or more |
| E | Youthful or mature | Pronounced masculinity | ||||
*MARBLING: The assessment of marbling is based on the average amount, size and distribution of fat particles or deposits in the rib eye. Canadian beef carcass grading utilizes only four of the nine recognized levels of marbling from the USDA marbling standards. Listed in order of increased marbling content the nine levels are: Traces, Slight, Small, Modest, Moderate, Slightly Abundant, Moderately Abundant, Abundant and Very Abundant
.