Usda Marbling Photographs

A carcass in yield grade 1 usually has only a thin layer of external fat over the ribs loins rumps and clods and slight deposits of fat in the flanks and cod or udder.

Usda marbling photographs.

Department of agriculture by and available from the national cattlemen s beef association. Quality grades are widely used as a language within the beef industry making business transactions easier and providing a vital link to support rural america. Psd provides a wide range of products and services to fulfill the need for imagery of usda operations and programs. Desirable ribeyes exhibit an adequate amount of finely dispersed marbling within firm fine textured bright cherry red colored lean unruh says.

It is the second highest quality grade and has a minimum degree of marbling requirement for carcasses to be graded choice as small usda choice carcasses span three degrees of marbling small modest and moderate and because they are the largest group of carcasses they were. The above illustrations are reduced reproductions of the official usda marbling photographs prepared for the u s. Welcome to usda s photography services division psd. Use keywords to search here for more than 6 500 images in our collection.

The official usda marbling photographs are the official illustrations of the lower limits of the appropriate 6 marbling degrees referenced in the official standards. Usda select has only slight marbling. Supervisors and graders are required to have the complete set of photographs readily available when performing official grading duties. Usda grade labeling definitions.

Usda choice is the beef quality grade most frequently produced. There is usually a very thin layer of fat over the outside of the rounds and over the tops of the shoulders and necks. Beef cuts with less marbling such as usda select can be cooked on the grill just like usda choice or usda prime grades but may need to be monitored a little closer and cooked a little less to keep it as tender as possible. Our flickr photostream contains thousands of images dating back to the 1930 s covering usda subjects and programs.

This image gallery is a complimentary source of high quality digital photographs available from the agricultural research service office of communications. Ncba usda these scores correspond to initial quality grades but other characteristics come into play. The usda grade shields are highly regarded as symbols of high quality american beef. Usda prime beef has the highest marbling score or fat content followed by usda choice.

Rea option 1 is the default for carcasses to qualify. You can also select a category below to view thumbnail images for that category.