Beef meat grades

The USDA gradings have become a trusted symbol that reassures consumers they are purchasing safe, high-quality American beef. Quality grades are reflective of the eating quality of beef.

USDA Graders evaluate the distribution on marbling in the ribeye. The age or maturity of the animal is also factored into the quality grade. There are eight total quality grades: Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter and Canner.

Prime beef is produced from young, well-fed beef cattle. It has abundant marbling and is generally sold in restaurants and hotels. It is the highest in quality and intramuscular fat, limited supply. Currently, about 2.9% of carcasses grade as Prime.

The majority of the steaks sold in the retail cooler at the local supermarket are going to fall into Prime, Choice or Select.

Choice is still high-quality beef, but with less marbling than prime. Consumers are going to receive a delicious and juicy eating experience. It is widely available in foodservice industry and retail markets.

Select: fairly tender, but with less marbling; more uniform and leaner than higher grades. Utility, Cutter and Canner: These grades of beef are seldom, if ever, sold at retail. Instead, they are used to make ground beef and processed products such as canned soup or frozen meals.
Beef meat grades

Quality beef desired by consumers

Beef is graded on the basis of those characteristics that provide the best indication of its relative desirability to the consumer. Consumers desire the following qualities in beef:
Palatability. Palatability is influenced by the tenderness, juiciness and flavor of the fat and lean.

Attractiveness. The color of the lean, the degree of fatness and the marbling are leading factors in determining buyer appeal.

Moderate amount of fat. Fat finish and marbling were considered indicative to better eating quality. These factors affect the juiciness.

Tenderness. Consumers want fine grained, tender beef in contrast to coarse-grained, less tender meat. Pasture-fed beef is generally les tender and less desirable to consumers than beef from concentrate-finished cattle.

Pasture finishing cattle typically takes longer period of time and therefore results in greater age of the animal harvest which leads to decreased tenderness.

Small cuts

Repeatability. Housewife wants a cut of beef just like the one that she purchased last time, which calls for repeatability.

Ease of preparation.

Consumers who preferred Choice beef did so because of its advantages in palatability while those who preferred Select beef did so because of its advantages in leanness.

Higher quality beef products are desired in the hotel-restaurant and retail markets. Fast-food industry firms on the other hand, purchase lower quality beef products.
Quality beef desired by consumers