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Effects of Trimming External Fat from Beef Carcasses on the Accuracy of Determining USDA Yield Grade¹

Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas A&M University, College Station 77843

Abstract

Seventy-three sides of beef were trimmed, before shrouding, of varying amounts of external fat at different locations and their mate sides were not trimmed. Each side was evaluated for adjusted fat thickness over the rib eye in terms of preliminary yield grade (PYG) by eight persons experienced in making such evaluations. The mean total PYG error in evaluating the trimmed sides was .26; among evaluators, the error ranged from .22 to .31 PYG. The group mean PYG repeatability was lower for untrimmed than trimmed sides (.13 vs .20, respectively), but three evaluators had essentially the same PYG repeatability on trimmed and untrimmed sides. Evaluators almost always overestimated the effect of trimming on sides trimmed of fat only over the rib eye or on sides trimmed only on the primal cuts, while for sides trimmed of flank and(or) cod or udder fat, the effect of trimming usually was underestimated. If fat trimming were legitimated, USDA meat graders likely would need special instruction to properly evaluate the PYG of carcasses in which such trimming had substantially changed the relative amounts of fat present on the different parts.

¹ Technical article 17976 from the Texas Agr. Exp. Sta. This study was partially supported by King Ranch, Inc., Kingsville, TX; Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Amarillo; Beef Production Systems, Texas Agr. Exp. Sta. and Livestock, Meat, Grain and Seed Div., AMS, USDA, Washington, DC. Appreciation is extended to Iowa Beef Processors, Inc., Dakota City, NE for the use of its facilities, personnel and product in this experiment.

² Dept. of Anim. Sci., Meats and Muscle Biol. Section

³ Meat Standardization and Review Branch, Livestock, Meat, Grain and Seed Division, AMS, USDA, Washington, DC 20250.

⁴ Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, SEA, AR, USDA, Clay Center, NE 68933.

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