CANADIAN BEEF QUALITY AUDIT

A study was conducted in 4 Canadian processing plants in 1995-96 to de termine the prevalence of quality defects in Canadian cattle. One perc ent of the annual number of cattle processed in Canada were evaluated on the processing floor and 0.1% were graded in the cooler. Brands wer e observed on 37% and multiple brands on 6% of the cattle. Forty perce nt of the cattle had horns, 20% of which were scurs, 33% were stubs, 1 0% were tipped, and 37% were full length. Tag (mud and manure on the h ide) was observed on 34% of the cattle. Bruises were found on 78% of t he carcasses, 81% of which were minor in severity. Fifteen percent of the bruises were located on the round, 29% on the loin, 40% on the rib , 16% on the chuck, and 0.02% on the brisket. Grubs were observed in 0 .02% of the steers, and injection sites were observed in 1.3% of whole hanging carcasses. Seventy percent of the livers were passed for huma n food and 14% for pet food; 16% were condemned. Approximately 71% of the liver condemnations were due to liver abscesses. Four percent of t he heads, 6% of the tongues, and 0.2% of whole carcasses were condemne d. The pregnancy rate in female cattle was approximately 6.7%. The ave rage hot carcass weight was 357 kg (s = 40) in steers, 325 kg (s = 41) in heifers, 305 kg (s = 53) in cows, 388 kg (s = 62) in virgin bulls and 340 kg (s = 39) in mature bulls. The average ribeye area in all ca ttle was 84 cm(2) (s = 12); range 29 cm(2) to 128 cm(2). Grade fat was highly variable and averaged 9 mm (s = 4) for steers and heifers, 6 m m (s = 6) for cows, 5 mm (s = 1) for virgin bulls, and 4 mm (s = 0.5) for mature bulls. The average lean meat yield was 59.7% in cattle (s = 3.4); range 39% to 67%. One percent of the carcasses were devoid of m arbling, 1% were dark cutters, and 0.05% of the steer carcasses were s taggy. Six percent of the carcasses had poor conformation, 3.7% were u nderfinished, and 0.7% were overfinished. Yellow fat was observed in 4 % of the carcasses; 10% of carcasses were aged. Based on January 1996 prices, the economic analysis showed that the Canadian beef industry l ost $70.52 per head or $189.6 million annually from quality nonconform ities. Methods identified to reduce these nonconformities included imp rovements in management, animal identification, handling, genetic sele ction, marketing, and information transfer.