ABSTRACT
Carcass grading or classification, while an important part of meat quality assurance in most countries that have significant livestock populations, has been slow to advance and utilize technologies that will improve the process. A notable exception to this rule has been Denmark, which has automated pork carcass assessment (Pork Classification Centre) and partly automated beef grading (Beef Classification Centre). Visual assessment of carcass meat yield through estimation of fat cover and conformation score does not represent a new technology and has probably been developed to the extent of its usefulness. The assessment of muscle quality has achieved rather slow progress in comparison with the work on carcass composition. The focus has also been in pork rather than beef, since pale, soft, and exudative pork is a problem that causes economic loss in many countries. The quality traits of most interest include muscle color, marbling fat, and more recently muscle tenderness.
