The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) has filed comments with the Mexican government regarding its concerns about the country’s beef grading standards.
A Meating Place Dot Com article says Mexico’s system closely resembles the one used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, using the names “prime,” “choice,” “select,” and “standard.” However, where it’s different is the government’s plan to use the names interchangeably.
The USMEF says the plan will create confusion in the beef marketplace and diminish the value that the U.S. beef industry derives from the USDA grading system. Other differences between the Mexican and American systems include marble-scoring and the procedures used to determine carcass grade. Those differences make the interchangeable use of English and Spanish grade names problematic. USMEF says, “Beef carrying any of the Mexican grades will not be comparable to beef that’s been given a parallel USDA grade. This will pose a problem in the marketplace as those grades represent standards that are well known in Mexico and around the world, as they’ve been used many years.” USMEF wants the Mexican grading system, which the government wants to make mandatory, to stay voluntary and for the government to remove the English grade names from their program.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.