Standards · USDA, A5, MSA, EUROP

Beef grading systems

Beef grading systems are national schemes that sort carcasses into classes, usually by marbling, maturity, colour and yield. USDA, Japan’s JMGA and Korea’s KAPE rank mainly by marbling in the ribeye, the EU’s EUROP by shape and fat cover, and Australia’s MSA predicts eating quality cut by cut — so their grades cannot be converted one-to-one.

Also known as: Sistemas de clasificación de carne vacuna · Hệ thống phân hạng thịt bòLast reviewed 22 Oct 20266 sources

A judgement on the ribeye, between two ribs

A grade is a judgement made on the carcass, normally after chilling, by a trained grader or a camera. Most systems look at a cross-section of the ribeye between two ribs and score the visible fat inside the muscle (marbling), the colour of meat and fat, and signs of the animal’s age. Some also estimate yield: the proportion of saleable meat.

Systems differ in purpose. The American, Japanese and Korean schemes rank carcasses mainly by marbling, on the assumption that more marbling means a better eating experience. Australia’s MSA predicts eating quality for each cut cooked in a particular way. The European EUROP grid was built to set prices between farmer and slaughterhouse and does not try to predict eating quality at all.

United States: USDA

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service grades beef on request; grading is voluntary and paid for by the packer. Quality grades are, from highest, Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter and Canner. They depend on two factors: the degree of marbling at the twelfth–thirteenth rib, and maturity estimated from bone and cartilage. Prime requires “slightly abundant” or more marbling in young cattle; Choice ranges from “small” to “moderate”; Select is “slight”. Prime is a small share of graded beef. Separate yield grades, 1 to 5, estimate cutability.

Japan: JMGA

The Japan Meat Grading Association scores carcasses at the sixth–seventh rib. A letter (A, B, C) gives the yield grade; a number (1–5) gives meat quality, which is the lowest of four scores: marbling on the 12-point Beef Marbling Standard (BMS), meat colour and brightness, firmness and texture, and fat colour and quality. A5 requires BMS 8–12. See Wagyu.

Australia: MSA

Meat Standards Australia, launched in 1998 and run by Meat & Livestock Australia, takes a different approach. Instead of grading the carcass, it predicts the eating quality of each cut for each cooking method, using a model built from hundreds of thousands of consumer taste tests. Inputs include tropical-breed content (judged by hump height), carcass maturity by ossification, marbling, meat pH, rib fat, hormone use, how the carcass was hung, and days of ageing.

The output is an MSA index for the carcass and a score for each cut-and-method combination, sold as 3 stars (good everyday), 4 stars (better than everyday) or 5 stars (premium). The same rump can therefore be 4-star as a steak but 3-star as a roast. Australia also uses the AUS-MEAT marble score, 0–9, especially for export and Wagyu.

Korea: KAPE

The Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation grades Hanwoo (Korean native cattle) and imported-breed cattle. Quality grades are 1++, 1+, 1, 2 and 3, mainly by marbling on a 9-point scale, with meat colour, fat colour, texture and maturity; yield grades are A, B and C. A 2019 revision lowered the marbling required for the top grades and gave more weight to the other quality factors.

European Union: EUROP

Under EU law, carcasses of adult cattle are classified on the EUROP grid: a letter for conformation — the muscularity of the carcass profile, from S/E (superior/excellent) through U, R and O to P (poor) — and a number from 1 to 5 for fat cover. It is a carcass-trading tool: it measures shape and fat, not marbling, tenderness or flavour. A heavily muscled, lean continental bull scores high on EUROP and might score poorly on marbling elsewhere.

Side by side

A5 is not USDA Prime

A5 equals USDA Prime. The scales do not overlap neatly. USDA Prime starts well below the marbling required for A5, so most Prime beef would grade around BMS 4–7 in Japan.

Higher grade always means tastier. Grades predict tenderness and juiciness on average, not for each steak. Ageing, cooking and the cut itself can outweigh a grade step — which is exactly what the MSA model tries to capture.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

6

1. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. United States Standards for Grades of Carcass Beef. 2017. www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/carcass-beef-grades-and-standards
2. Japan Meat Grading Association. Beef Carcass Grading Standard. Tokyo, 1988 (rev. 2014). www.jmga.or.jp
3. Meat & Livestock Australia. Meat Standards Australia: Standards Manual for Beef Grading. Sydney, 2021. www.mla.com.au/marketing-beef-and-lamb/meat-standards-australia
4. Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation (KAPE). Beef cuts and grading. www.ekape.or.kr
5. Polkinghorne, R. J.; Thompson, J. M. "Meat standards and grading: a world view." Meat Science 86, no. 1 (2010): 227–235.
6. European Commission. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1182 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 as regards the Union scales for the classification of beef, pig and sheep carcasses. Brussels, 2017.

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