Porkcarcassclassificationand

gradinginCanada
C.POMARand M.MARCOUX
Dairy andSwine Research andDevelopment Centre
Sherbrooke,Qubec,Canada

Introduction

Somedefinitions
Term
Classification

Definition andusages
Therankingofcarcassesaccordingtogivenparametersdescribing
attributes (e.g.,leanyield)ofthecarcassthatareusefultothose
involvedintheirutilization(i.e.,selection,trade,etc.)
Usage: toestablishcarcassesevaluationsystemsbasedongiven
carcassqualitycriteria

Grading

Theplacingofdifferentvalues(e.g.,indexes)oncarcassesforpricing
purposes,dependingonthemarketandrequirementsoftraders
Usage: toestablishapayment systembasedoncarcassquality

Polkinghorne andThompson,2010

Introduction

However,whyareweinterested
incarcassclassificationand
grading?

Introduction
Carcassgradingsystemshavebeendevelopedacrossdomestic
animalsspeciesandcountriesto,

Facilitatethetradeofcarcassesbyprovidingacommonand
unambiguouslanguagefordescribingthecommercially
importantattributesofcarcasses(AllenandOka,2004).

Pay producersaccordingtothequalityoftheyproduct.In
Canada,theporkcarcassgradingsystemwasdeveloped
toensurethatproducersreceiveafair,impartialand
equitablereturnbasedontheleanyieldoftheircarcasses
(Fredeen etal.1964;Price1995;Daumas 1999).

Introduction
Whencarcassattributeshavearealvaluetotradeandthe
classificationisaccurateandmeaningfultoallindustrysectors,
carcassgradingcouldbeeffective,

Tosendaclearsignaltotheproductionsector
reflectingconsumerdemands
maintainingtheprofitabilityoftheoverallsector
(AllenandOka,2004;Marcouxetal.,2007;Andersen,Oksbjerg etal.,2005)

Introduction
Accuratecarcassqualityassessmentandmeaningfulcarcass
classificationandgradingsystemsareessentialto,

Definecommoncarcassqualityobjectives acrossindustry
sectors

Improveproductioneffectivenessbyallowingtheproduction
sectortoidentifyoptimalproductionmethodsintermsof
genetics,feedingandmanagement

Facilitatethelinkbetweenspecificmarketdemands(niche
markets)andspecializedproductionsystems

Introduction
Inintegratedpigproductionsystems,accurateandmeaningful
carcassqualityassessmentsystemscancontributeto,

Identify thebestgenetics,feedingprogramsandmanagement
strategies(e.g.,slaughterweight)foroptimalproduction
profitability

Alloweasydevelopmentandmanagementofseveral
productionschemaseachrespondingtospecificmarket
demands

Continuousevaluationofproductioneffectiveness

Introduction
Inthispresentationwewilladdressthefollowingtopics

Porkcarcassqualityassessment
Currentreferencemethods
Onlinemeasuringmethods
Predictionmethods
Qualityofthepredictions
Limitsofcurrentmethods
Futureperspectives

Porkcarcassqualityassessment
Inmostpigproducingcountries,porkcarcassqualityis
estimatedbasedoncarcassweightandleanyield

Carcassleanyieldisdefinedastheproportionoftissuesof
interestofacarcassobtainedaccordingtoareference
methodinwhichcarcasspreparationandthenumberand
extentofdissectedtissuesispreciselydescribed

Porkcarcassqualityassessment
Thetissuesofinterestaremainlydissectedleanbuttheycan
alsoincludesomefatandbones

Canada
Saleableleanyield(%)=

X100

Currentreferencemethods
TodaytheCanadianporkcarcassclassificationsystem

Isbasedinthe1992nationalcutoutwithequations
readjustedin1994(AAFCetal.1994)

Todaypigsaremuchheavierinrelationtothosesampledin
the1992Nationalcutout
1992cutoutcarcasscharacteristics
Item
n
mean
Hotcarcassweight,kg
Leanyeald,%
Backfat,Hennessy,mm
Muscledepth,Hennessy,mm

1527
1445
1660
1660

81,2
59,8
19
48

STD
6,3
3,1
5,7
8,1

Min

Max

65,2
49,5
6
1

99,5
69,9
44
78

Onlinemeasuringmethods

Opticalprobes

Destron (Anitech Identification System Inc., ON)

Fat-O-Meater (FOM) (Carometec A/S,Herdev, Denmark. Former SFK Ltd)
Hennessy Grading Probe (HGP) (Hennessy Grading Systems Ltd., Auckland, New Zealand)
Capteur Gras-Maigre (CGM) (Sydel , Lorient, France)
Danish Classification Center (Carometec A/S,Herdev, Denmark)

Onlinemeasuringmethods

Ultrasoundprobes

Ultrafom (UFOM) (Carometec A/S,Herdev Denmark)

Carcass Value Technology (CVT) (Animal Ultrasound Services (AUS), Inc, Ithaca, NY, USA)

Onlinemeasuringmethods

Ultrasoundprobes

AUTOFOM (Carometec A/S,Herdev Denmark)

Onlinemeasuringmethods

Artificialvision

CBS

VCS

VCS (e+V Technology GmbH, Oranienburg, Germany)

CSB-Image-Meater, Germany)

Predictionmethods

Differentstatisticalmethodsforcreatingpredictionformulaeare
available

Thechoiceforaparticularpredictionmethoddependsmostly
ontheinstrumentwhichisusedtomeasurethepredictors

Whenthenumberofpredictorsisreducedanduncorrelated,
traditionalleastsquareregressionmethodscanbeused

Predictionmethods

Wheninstrumentsextractmanymeasurements,partialleast
squaresorprincipalcomponentregressionmethodsare
recommended

See Causeur D, Daumas G, Dhorne T, Engel B, Font i Furnols M and HJSGAARD S. Statistical
handbook for assessing pig classification methods: Recommendations from the EUPIGCLASS project
group

Limitsofcurrentonlinetechnologies

Limitedmeasurementaccuracy

Limitsofcurrentonlinetechnologies

Limitedmeasurementaccuracy

Pomar and Marcoux, 2005

Limitsofcurrentonlinetechnologies

Limitedpredictionaccuracy
RSDorRMSEPbetween1.5and2.5%

Pomar et al., 2008

Limitsofcurrentclassificationmethods

Actualmethodweakness
Perforationofsometissueswhichmayreduceitsvalueandincrease
theriskofcontamination(opticalprobes)

Complexalgorithmsfordatacleaningandanalysis(automatic
systems)

Limitedpossibilitiesforqualitycontrolofmeasurementsand
predictions(automaticsystems)

Limitedcapabilityformeasuringcarcasscutweightsand
composition(allsystems)

Limitsofcurrentreferencemethods

Buttheprimarylimitofactualsystemstoassessporkcarcass
qualitydoesnotoriginatefromthetechnologiesthemselves,but
fromtheconceptionofactualcarcassevaluationsystems

Inactualsystems,carcassleanyieldisbelievedtobeassociated
toitscommercialvalue

Iscarcassweightandleanyieldthecarcassattributethat
betterdescribeitscommercialvalue?

Limitsofcurrentreferencemethods

Carcassmarketvalue ($/kg)hasonlyaweaklinkwiththe
variousdefinitionsofleanyieldandgridindices
Lean yield definition and indices

Correlation coefficient (r)

Canadian lean yield predicted by Destron

0.14

European dissected lean content

0.23

Commercial cut weight (e.g., ham, loin, etc.)

0.54

Marcoux et al. 2007

Limitsofcurrentreferencemethods

Thelowcorrelationsbetweencarcassmarketvalueandlean
yieldareexplainedbytheproportionoftheweightofthe
variouscutsrelativetototalcarcassweight
23.6 %

29.5 %

Marcoux et al. 2007

Limitsofcurrentonlinetechnologies

Theopticalprobesareunabletoevaluatethemorphological
differencebetweencarcassesotherthanfatandmuscledepths
Ex:Proportionofcutweightrelativetothecarcassweightforthesamebest
classificationresulton2carcasses
Destron
fatdepht
(mm)

Predicted
lean yield
(%)

Grid index

126

20,0

60,3

129

20,5

60,3

No

Ham

Loin

Belly

Shoulder

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

115

26,5

28,9

17,6

26,9

115

28,7

25,2

16,8

29,2

Limitsofcurrentreferencemethods

The22yearsoldCanadianporkcarcassclassificationsystemis
notadaptedtotodaycarcasses

Carcassmarketvalueisnotadequatelycorrelatedwithcarcass
leanyield

Therefore,whyareweclassifyingand
gradingporkcarcasses?

Limitsofcurrentreferencemethods
Carcassgradingsystemshavebeendevelopedacrossdomestic
animalsspeciesandcountriesto,

Facilitatethetradeofcarcassesbyprovidingacommonand
unambiguouslanguagefordescribingthecommercially
importantattributes ofcarcasses(AllenandOka,2004).

Pay producersaccordingtothequalityoftheyproduct
Tosendaclearsignaltotheproductionsectorthat

Limitsofcurrentreferencemethods

Newcarcassqualityassessmentmethods

Newporkcarcassqualityassessment
approachesareneeded

Theconformationandcompositional
informationshouldbeobtainedonlinefor
eachcarcass

Newcarcassqualityassessmentmethods

Thenewporkcarcassqualityassessmentmethodsshould
determinepreciselytheweight,compositionandvalueofeach
carcasscut
AA

27,9%

27,9%

29,1%

Ex:Proportionofham
weightinrelationto
visualconformation
classes

25,6%

Newcarcassqualityassessmentmethods

Carcassesshouldbevirtuallycutandtheweightand
compositionofeachcutestimatedusingmeasurements
takenonthe3Dmodeledcarcasses

Newcarcassqualityassessmentmethods

Thenewcarcassevaluationsystemshavedepotentialto
estimateretailcutsweightandcomposition

Newcarcassqualityassessmentmethods

Thenewcarcassevaluationsystemswillbeusedto,

Optimizecarcasscuttingandmarketutilization
Evaluatethegeneticmeritofindividualcarcasses
Establishmorefaithfulcarcasspaymentsystems
Providetherightsignalforcarcassqualitytoproduction

Carcassinformationwillbestoredandusedforfurtheranalysis

Thank you
Merci beaucoup

Candido Pomar
Research Scientist
Tel: 819 780 7252
Email: Candido.Pomar@agr.gc.ca

Marcel Marcoux
Research Assistant
819 780 7281
Marcel.Marcoux@agr.gc.ca

Introduction

Someclarifications
Forclassificationandgrading,thesecarcassattributeswhich
normallyonlyincludescarcassmeasurements(e.g.,fatand
muscledepths,leanyield)shouldnotexcludemeatquality
measurements(e.g.,pH,color,intramuscularfat)

Introduction
Theneedtoplaceanobjectivevalueonporkcarcasseshas
beenrecognizedbythepigindustryformorethan80years

Itwasnotuntilthe60'sthataneffectivevaluebasedsystems
wereintroducedinmanycountriesfollowingthecapacityto
measurefatdepthswithautomaticprobes inslaughter
plants

Frequently,porkcarcassgradingsystemsusecarcassweight
andleanyieldtodeterminethecommercialvalueof
carcasses

Porkcarcassqualityassessment

Different definitions ofmeat yield areused forcarcass quality

assesment
Canada
Saleableleanyield(%)=

Europe

USA

+
Leanyield (%)=

X100

Fatfreelean

X100

yield (%)

X100

Since 2006 the EU has changed the definition of lean yield (TVM) to LMP (Lean Meat Percentage)

Porkcarcassqualityassessment
Method

Reference

Thedeterminationofthecarcassqualityshouldbe,

Measuringthedesiredattributesofcarcasses
Unbiased(true)
Precise
Maybelaborious
Usedinlabconditions

Usage:accuratemeasurementofthedesiredcarcassattributeswhichare
meanlyusedtocalibratetheindirectandonlinemethods

Indirect
reference

Accurate(normallylesspreciseandtruethanthereferencemethod)
Thedesiredattributesareestimatedfromindirectmeasurements
Maybelaborious(lessthanthereference)
Usedinlabconditions

Usage:replacesthereferencemethodwhencostandspeedisaconcern

Online

Thedesiredattributesareestimatedfromindirectmeasurementstaken
incommercialconditions
Thelevelofaccuracyshouldbeestimatedandperiodicallyverified
Usage:speedandcostaremajorconcerns

Currentreferencemethods

Canadiancutoutanddissectionbybutchers
Ex: Loin

Ex: Picnic

Currentreferencemethods

Europeancutoutanddissectionbybutchers
Ex: Loin

Ex: Belly

Currentreferencemethods

USAcutoutanddissectionbybutchers

Indirectreferencemethods
Indirectreference methods areused toreduce the
disadvantages (e.g.,timeconsuming,cost,operator effect,etc.)
brought aboutbythereference method

DualEnergyXRayAbsorptiometry(DEXA)
XRayComputedTomography (CTscan)
MagneticResonanceImaging(MRI)

Onlinemeasuringmethods

Electricalproperties

BIA

TOBEC

BIA (Bio electrical impedance analysis, RJL Systems, Detroit, MI, USA)
TOBEC (Total Body Electrical Conductivity, Meat Quality Inc., Springfield, USA)

Onlinemeasuringmethods

Artificialvision

Fortin, A. et al. 2003. A novel approach to grading pork carcasses: Computer vision
and ultrasound. Meat Science 63: 451-462

Qualityofthepredictions

RMSEandRMSEPshouldbeused
InEurope,gradingmethodsshouldbeauthorizedonlyiftheroot
meansquarederrorofprediction(RMSEP),computedbyafull
crossvalidationorbyatestsetvalidationonarepresentative
sampleofatleast60carcasses,islessthan2,5 (EURegulation
1249/2008).

Limitsofcurrentreferencemethods

Thevalueofthemeatandfatisrelatedtoitslocationinthe
carcassratherthantoitstotalweight

Marcoux et al. 2007

Cuts

Marketvalue($/kg)

Commercialham

1.48

Commercialloin

2.95

Commercialbelly

3.40

Spareribs

3.45

Picnic

1.30

Butt

1.73

Newcarcassqualityassessmentmethods

Theconcepthasbeenvalidatedusing61carcassesfrom
which3Dimagesweretakenbeforecutanddissected

Carcasseswereselectedaccordingto

gender(barrowsandgilts),
fatdepth(<14.9,15.0to18.9and>19.0mm
carcassweight(<85,90to100and>105kg)
Conformation(AA,A,BandC)

Newcarcassqualityassessmentmethods

Cutsweightarepreciselyestimated(CVe <0.6%)
Primalcuts

Average
weight
(kg)

R2adj

Estimation
error
(kg)

Ham

11.776

0.999

0.024

Shoulder

12.188

0.999

0.024

Loin

11.600

0.998

0.048

Belly

7.811

0.998

0.046
0.020kg

Newcarcassqualityassessmentmethods

Cutscompositionarepreciselyestimated
Forham,shoulderandloin:CVe <4.3%

Primalcuts

Averagelean
weight
(kg)

R2adj

Estimation
error
(kg)

Ham

7.588

0.935

0.260

Shoulder

6.759

0.868

0.281

Loin

6.854

0.901

0.272

Belly

4.078

0.691

0.330

Newcarcassqualityassessmentmethods

Foreachcarcass,theweightandcompositionof primaland
subprimalcutsshouldbeestimated
Primal cuts

Sub primal cuts