Text 3187, 98 rader
Skriven 2006-07-11 09:47:36 av DAVE SACERDOTE (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av DAVE DRUM
Ärende: Tastes Cheap
====================
DS> I swear this "Black Angus" stuff is a
DS> ploy to raise beef prices.
 
DD> More like a ploy to get around mentioning the USDA's beef 
DD> grade of the meat. We have several markets around here with 
DD> some "brand" or other of ANGUS!!!! beef. Some even "certified" 
DD> Angus Beef.

DD> It's all marketing hype. Grain finished choice and prime beef 
DD> is as good or better than whatever "Angus" beef I have ever 
DD> had. Our local Jewel (formerly owned by Albertson's - recently 
DD> sold to (I think) Shop & Save) always features Select (formerly 
DD> USDA Good 1 step above Canner & Cutter)  at Choice/Prime pricing. 
DD> And they have recently introduced a line of "Angus" beef cuts 
DD> and hamburg at super-premium pricing.  FEH!!!

Basically, we agree about the "Angus" label being a way to 
simply make more money on beef.

But your understanding of USDA grades are off quite a bit.  There 
are actually eight beef grades used by the USDA:

1. USDA Prime 
2  USDA Choice
3. USDA Select (formerly Good)

These top three are the ones most commonly sold to consumers.
Beef grades for any given carcass are determined by the amount
of intramuscular fat (marbeling) _within_ _the_ _ribeye_ as
visually determined with a cross-section taken at the 12th rib.

Prime = 8% to 11% or more
Choice = 4% to 8%
Select = 3.5% to 2.5%

It should be noted that the name change from Good to Select was
done at the request of the beef industry, but I'm not at all 
certain that they should be "blamed" for that change.  It was 
more a response to changing consumer preferences than a ploy to
make more money in this case.  Over the past 20 years, people
have been demanding leaner beef cuts, yet at the same time they
were passing over the "Good" classification as being unworthy.
But that was just the name for the grade with the fat percentage
they WANTED!!  So, the USDA changed the name.  The problem, if
you can call it that, was that tastes have changed and the label
needed to catch up.

Anyway, the remainder of the USDA grades, in order:

4. USDA Standard
5. USDA Commercial
6. USDA Utility
7. USDA Cutter
8. USDA Canner

Fact of the matter is, if you are canning a beef stew product
(for example) the meat is going to have to withstand a lot of
processing. You need a tough old meat for that, and "eating
quality" beef isn't going to hold up - that's why "processing
quality" grades like Cutter and Canner were established.  But
as you can see, there is still quite a range between "Select"
and "Cutter."

Also, when you get that far down the ladder, the amount of fat
in the meat is no longer the only way to grade the beef.  You saw
above that Select can be as lean as 2% fat - below that the USDA
allows "negligible" fat without really specifying further.  So
they start basing the grades on maturity ratings, which are
alphabetical:

A - 9 to 30 months
B - 30 to 42 months
C - 42 to 72 months
D - 72 to 96 months
E - more than 96 months.

The Eating Grades (Prime, Choice, Select, and G-d help us 
Standard) are restricted to young cattle (A and B maturity.)
But even here, there is a restriction:  Select grade beef
MUST come from Group A.  (That was a concession the beef
industry made to the USDA for the name change.  So it isn't
all bad, you see.)

Commercial, Utility, Cutter, and Canner grades almost always
come from the oldest cattle (C, D, and E maturity.)

We should also remember that no beef producer is REQUIRED to
have their beef graded.  It's voluntary, and the producers pay
a fee to the USDA to have it done.  When you don't see a grade
advertised, it's because the producer has not chosen to have
the USDA grade it.  Inspections for wholesomeness are an
entirely different matter and do not involve that little purple
grade stamping.

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