A video analysis instrument — which grades beef carcasses by analyzing a digital video image it takes of the ribeye portion — could become a widely used substitute for U.S. Department of Agriculture graders, according to a USDA official.

The systems have been tested for "accuracy, precision and repeatability" of results in a laboratory setting, Marty O'Connor, chief of the standards analysis and technology branch of USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, told Meatingplace.com.

USDA is rolling out commercial tests of the video grading system in four major processing facilities: National Beef Co. and Cargill Meat Solutions in Dodge City, Kan., Nebraska Beef Co. in Omaha, Neb., and JBS Swift Group in Grand Island, Neb.

The goal is for grading to be more uniform, precise and accurate across the country than has proven possible with human graders performing subjective evaluations, O'Connor said.

Assuming the technology stands up under commercial testing, it could be used by any company that grades its beef according to USDA standards. Nationwide, about 160 USDA graders now evaluate about 94% of the steer and heifer slaughter.

The greater efficiencies made possible with the video imaging technology means that the agency could begin to cut back on the number of graders it employs within a year, O'Connor said. In three to five years, if the technology proves reliable enough, the USDA could move to a system of auditing the grading results, further reducing its head count in that area.

The video technology already is installed in many large processing facilities, for in-house sorting, for example.

By Lisa M. Keefe on 2/15/2008 for Meatingplace.com