The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has 8 grades for describing the quality of beef.
Grades:
(1) prime (PR)
(2) choice (CH)
(3) select (SE)
(4) standard (ST)
(5) commercial (CO)
(6) utility (UT)
(7) cutter (CU)
(8) canner (CA)
Parameters used to in grading:
(1) maturity of the animal in months
(2) marbling (intramuscular fat) pattern
|
Maturity in Months |
Designation |
|
9 to 30 |
A |
|
30 to 42 |
B |
|
42 to 72 |
C |
|
72 to 96 |
D |
|
> 96 months |
E |
Marbling categories:
(1) abundant
(2) moderate
(3) modest
(4) small
(5) slight
(6) traces
(7) practically devoid (none)
|
Marbling |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
|
1 |
PR |
PR/CH |
CO |
CO |
CO |
|
2 |
CH |
CH |
CO |
CO |
CO/UT |
|
3 |
CH |
CH |
CO |
CO/UT |
UT |
|
4 |
CH |
ST |
CO/UT |
UT |
UT |
|
5 |
SE |
ST |
UT |
UT |
UT/CU |
|
6 |
ST |
ST |
UT |
UT/CU |
CU |
|
7 |
ST |
ST/UT |
UT/CU |
CU |
CU/CA |
