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USDA Inspected vs. USDA Graded
Many times meat is advertised as
USDA Inspected or USDA Graded. There is a difference between the
two, however they are both important to the quality of beef you eat
at a restaurant or what you serve your family at the dinner table.
Inspection is a mandatory program
and ensures all consumers that the meat is wholesome. This is paid
for by tax dollars. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS),
an agency of the USDA, fulfills the need for the inspection of meat.
The FSIS makes certain that meat is safe, wholesome, and correctly
labeled and packaged. The inspection of meat can either be federally
inspected by the FSIS or state inspected by a state’s Department of
Agriculture. The FSIS monitors these state inspected programs. With
state inspection, the inspected meat can only be sold within the
state’s borders.
Here at Ohio Signature Beef we work
with both Federally inspected and State inspected facilities so you
will always be consuming a wholesome, locally raised cut of Ohio
Signature Beef.
Like stated before, there is a
difference between USDA Inspected and USDA Graded. USDA Grading is a
voluntary service, not required, that is paid for by the party that
requests the service. A Federal grader completes the grading of beef
and is provided by the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. The
grading of beef is to determine the quality of the meat (Quality
Grading), which is determined by evaluating the traits that are
related to tenderness, juiciness, and flavor of the meat, as well as
the cutability (Yield Grading) of the carcass. The USDA Grades of
beef are based upon Federal standards of quality that are uniform
across the nation so when a consumer purchases a graded beef product
anywhere in the U.S. it will have met the same standards as other
beef products with the same grade. As producers of Ohio Signature
Beef we see the need to have a consistent product so we go above and
beyond the mandated inspection and require all of our beef to be
USDA Graded. This is so we can guarantee every time you eat a cut of
Ohio Signature Beef you will enjoy a tender and flavorful cut of
beef.
Source of Information:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Inspection_&_Grading/index.asp
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