Quality evaluation of beef carcasses produced under tropical conditions of México1

Abstract

Twenty-three thousand four hundred eighty-four beef carcasses were classified according to the Mexican norm NMX-FF-078-SCFI-2002 at the No. 51 Federal Inspected Type abattoir located in the State of Tabasco, Mexico, owned by the Beef Cattle Union of Tabasco State. Tabasco State has a Tropical humid (Am) and subhumid (Aw) climate with rains in summer. The study took place between November 2009 and February 2010. The objective of this study was to evaluate independently the influence of each of the grading criteria used for classification on the final quality grade and determine areas for improvement to enhance the quality of Mexican beef carcasses. The beef carcass norm implementation followed a mechanistic approach of the 5 basic evaluation criteria applied in the sequential order: 1) maturity (age), 2) conformation (muscularity), 3) color of the meat, 4) fat color, and 5) distribution of the subcutaneous fat. The quality grades possible were Supreme, Select, Standard, Commercial, Out of Grade, and Veal. The proportion of carcasses classified as Select, Standard, Commercial, Out of Grade, and Veal were 13.4, 45.8, 27.4, 10.6, and 2.7%, respectively. No carcasses had a final quality grade of Supreme. Based on maturity, 79.2% of the carcasses met the specifications for Supreme; however, when the next criterion, conformation, was evaluated only 0.5% of the carcasses met the specifications for Supreme. When carcasses with a criterion grade of Supreme are not included in the analysis, the γ and κ statistics indicated that maturity and conformation have the greatest association and agreement, respectively, with final quality grade. When carcasses with a criterion grade of Supreme are included in the analysis, the κ statistic for the assessment of agreement between final quality grade and criterion indicated a descending order of conformation, subcutaneous fat distribution, maturity, meat color, and fat color. Thus, based on the degree of association and agreement, conformation was identified as the criterion with the greatest influence on final quality grade and the primary reason for the absence of Supreme grading among the carcasses studied. It is concluded that the application of the Mexican beef carcass classification norm NMX-FF-078-SCFI-2002 into a sample population of beef cattle coming out of a tropical beef production environment highlights a system capable of sending animals to slaughter at an early age with adequate meat and fat color and subcutaneous fat distribution although requiring improvement in conformation.

Tropical Beef: Is There an Axiomatic Basis to Define the Concept?

“…In a study of grading criteria of 23,484 beef carcasses in a commercial abattoir in a tropical region of Mexico, a beef carcass classification norm was implemented using five evaluation criteria applied in sequence: (1) maturity (age), (2) conformation (muscularity), (3) lean color, (4) fat color and (5) distribution of the subcutaneous fat cover [ 91 ]. The carcasses were classified as 13.4% Select, 45.8% Standard, 27.4% Commercial, 10.6% Out of Grade and 2.7% Veal, with no carcasses attaining the highest quality, Supreme grade.…”

Estimación del grado básico de calidad en canales bovinas conforme a madurez ósea, marmoleo y predominancia fenotípica Bos indicus

“…Al tomarse como referencia una Norma Oficial Mexicana que recién entró en vigor en el territorio mexicano, no hay estudios previos con los cuales se puedan comparar estos resultados. Sin embargo, al considerar canales bovinas producidas en una región tropical de México, con base en la ya derogada Norma NMX-FF-078-2002, Zorrilla-Ríos et al (32) utilizaron cinco criterios para la clasificación: madurez, edad, conformación, color de la magra, color de la grasa y distribución de la cobertura de grasa subcutánea. Las canales fueron clasificadas en 13.4 % Selectas, 45.8 % Estándar, 27.4 % Comerciales y 10.6 % fuera de clasificación.…”

Desarrollo y validación de un patrón visual para la evaluación del color de la carne de bovino en México

“…Aunque actualmente existen algunas iniciativas privadas y se han realizado varios estudios de alcance regional (18)(19)(20)(21)(22) , hasta el momento no se ha desarrollado un patrón visual que sirva de referencia para la industria nacional. Tal carencia representa una desventaja comercial para los productores locales, que pueden recibir penalizaciones en el precio de la carne con base en valoraciones subjetivas por parte de sus clientes.…”