Meat People Grading Grades Butcher's Food Beef Sell

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) tries to improve "food safety" (the safety of the food that people eat, so that they don't get sick from eating bad food). One of the ways that it does this is by "operating" (running or managing) a "beef grading program."

The "beef grading program" is "voluntary" (optional, or not required). Companies that prepare and sell meat can "opt" (choose) to pay a USDA-trained "meat grader" to "grade" (evaluate and assign a number to) "carcasses" (the bodies of dead animals) before they are cut into smaller pieces of meat. The meat grader "considers" (thinks about) the amount of fat on the carcass and the age of the animal. These two factors determine the quality of the meat.

A meat grader may "assign" (give a number to something) one of eight grades to the carcass. Listed in order from best to worst, the grades are: prime, choice, select, standard, commercial, utility, cutter, and canner. The grade is "stamped" (marked on the surface) onto the carcass, which is then cut into smaller pieces.

Prime meats are sold to very "fancy" (very nice and expensive) restaurants. Most "grocery stores" (businesses where food is sold) sell choice and select meats. The other grades have very little fat in them and are not normally graded or sold to individuals.

Some people believe that the USDA meat grading system needs to be "updated" (changed to become more modern). Some of these people think that the meat graders should "consider" (think about) the meat's "tenderness" (how soft and easy it is to chew). Other people think that meat graders should pay more attention to the animal's health.