Prediction of marbling score and intramuscular fat percentage in beef rib eye at quartering sites caudal to the 4th-6th and 10th-13th rib using the Q-FOM Beef grading camera

In Australia, quality assessment of the beef rib eye according to AUS-MEAT chiller assessment and MSA standards provides a means of describing saleable meat characteristics. One of the characteristics visually assessed is the amount of marbling. In Europe, a growing interest to evaluate the amount of marbling in beef rib eye is observed among slaughterhouses. Objective measurement technologies ensuring consistent, precise and standardised grading which can be adopted by the beef industry has in recent years become more and more important. The Q-FOM^TM Beef camera is an objective equipment that predicts the marbling score and chemical intramuscular fat percentage (IMF%). This paper summarises the prediction accuracy and precision of MSA marbling and chemical IMF% by the Q-FOM^TM Beef camera in Australian beef carcasses, quartered at 10th-13th rib, and European beef carcasses, quartered at the 4th-6th rib. The Q-FOM^TM Beef is highly accurate and predicts the MSA marbling score with a precision of approximately 50 MSA marbling points and chemical IMF 1.3% at both quartering sites. These results are important for both European and Australian beef industries. The Q-FOM^TM Beef camera is commercially available and suited for grading both at grading stations and in chiller.