Beef is an amazing food, but do you really know it? Likewise other gourmet foods, beef are standardized by grading systems and strive for the best for foodies. By reading this complete guide, you will know deeply about six common beef grading systems in the world. Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
About Beef Marbling Score (BMS)
Beef grading systems are different according to different countries, beef breeds or organizations. Each has their own standards, which makes comparing the beef across different grading systems confusing. The easiest way is to first understand what Beef Marbling Score (BMS) is. Since BMS is an internationally accepted standard which could be an objective ruler to compare various systems. And then learning different beef grading systems is not a problem.
What is Marbling?
Before diving into Beef Marbling Score, let’s figure out what marbling actually is. Marbling is the white streaks and flecks of fat within the meat, which forms a beautiful marble pattern, hence the name. It is the primary factor that determines the quality of the beef in terms of tenderness, juiciness and flavor.
Another name of marbling is “intramuscular fat” while intermuscular fat is the fat surrounding the meat that we usually trim off. When marbling begins to melt, it coats the muscle fibers and creates a juicy, flavorful beef with rich buttery texture. In other words, beef with a richer marbling has a better quality, in most cases.
What is Beef Marbling Score (BMS)?
Using BMS, beef marbling is scaled from 1 to 12. The higher the score the richer the marbling, beef with 12 scores has the highest level of marbling.
Different parts of beef have different amounts of marbling even in the same cattle. Therefore, to unify, all beef is assessed with the ribeye muscle between the 12th and 13th rib by a visual inspection.
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To give you an idea, American Beef scores from BMS 1 to 5 while Wagyu could go from BMS 1 up to 12!
It’s noteworthy that beef that scored BMS 9 or above is very rare, luxurious, and highly prized (e.g. Wagyu beef that is higher than BMS 8 is about A5 level).
And now, it’s time to dive into various beef grading systems. Let’s go!
1. United States – USDA Beef Grading System
The American beef grading system is developed, maintained and interpreted by The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). They divide beef into 8 different grades, which base on the tenderness, juiciness and flavor; and yield grades for the amount of usable lean meat on the carcass.
USDA Beef Grades
USDA Prime—It only accounts for 2% of the total production of U.S. beef. It is the most tender, flavorful, and juiciest beef with the richest marbling. The Prime steaks are approximately equal to BMS 4-5.
USDA Choice—The degree of marbling is slightly lower than that of USDA Prime. But its tenderness and flavor are still good with a lower price. Opt for the premium cuts such as ribeye which would be delicious as well.
USDA Select—The beef in this grade is typically leaner and tougher. Marinating before cooking could maximize the tenderness and flavor. Also, slow cooking methods like braising and stewing help increase the tenderness too.
USDA Standard & USDA Commercial—These two grades are generally sold as ungraded or as store brand meat.
USDA Utility, USDA Cutter & USDA Canner —You can never see the retail stores sell these three grades directly as cuts of beef. They are usually used for ground beef, processed meats and canned meats.
◈ Addition: Certified Angus Beef (CAB)
What is Angus Beef?
“Angus” is the name of the breed of cattle, which does not exactly mean the beef has a high quality. However, Angus beef has a better marbling when compared to most cattle, and thus they usually taste juicier and more flavorful.
They originated from Scotland and were brought to the United States in the 1870s. Since the Angus breed has various advantages in quality and rearing, they are now the most popular breed in the United States.
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What is Certified Angus Beef (CAB)?
Certified Angus Beef (CAB) is a label for the truly exceptional Angus beef. Not all Angus beef could get this honor. Firstly, the beef must be USDA Prime or Choice grades, beef with lower grade would be knocked out immediately. Apart from this basic requirement, the beef is then further inspected according to 10 science-based specifications, for marbling, size and tenderness.
Only 3% of beef achieves these standards and gets this prestigious CAB label. Angus beef with CAB guarantees you every cut has a high level of marbling which will tickle your taste buds.
2. Canadian Beef Grading System
In brief, the Canadian beef grading system has 5 grades, they are Canada Prime, A Grades, B Grades, D Grades, and E Grades (haha yes, no C grades). Maturity of beef is an important factor that affects which grade the beef belongs to. They are either categorized as youthful or mature, only youthful beef could get Canada Prime, A or B Grades. Then, the graders will rate the beef according to different indicators like marbling, fat color, meat texture and more.
Canadian Beef Grades
Canada Prime—Beef with this grade has the highest marbling quality. Only 2.3% of all graded beef in Canada could get this grade. It is equivalent to USDA Prime.
A Grades—It is subdivided into AAA, AA, and A representing marbling degrees with AAA being the best. Their quality is similar to USDA Choice, Select and Standard.
B Grades—There are B1, B2, B3 and B4 while B1 indicates the highest quality among them. Beef in these grades are typically used in the fast food industry.
No C Grades…
D Grades—D grades are similar to B grades which also have sub-grades from D1 to D4. Yet, carcasses with D grades are mature instead of youthful. You can find these beef in ground beef and processed products.
E Grade—The beef with E grade generally applies to processed foods.
It’s interesting that beef grading is voluntary in Canada. As a result, many Canadian beef are ungraded in the market.
You could compare the quality of Canadian beef to U.S. beef easily by the following equivalency:
- Canada Prime = USDA Prime
- AAA = USDA Choice
- AA = USDA Select
- A = USDA Standard
3. Japanese Wagyu Beef Grading System
What is Wagyu Beef?
Wagyu means Japanese cattle literally, but it doesn’t equal every Japanese beef. It is a specific term for four particular native breeds of Japanese cattle raised professionally with the finest quality.
Wagyu cattle are raised by specialist breeders in the first 7 months, they are then sold to fattening farms. They grow up in a stress-free environment to keep the quality of meat at the peak. The farmers provide the most attentive care to the Wagyu cattle. For example, farmers will use a stiff brush to comb their hair and massage regularly in order to facilitate their blood circulation.
Every Japanese Wagyu cattle has a birth certificate certifying their pure bloodline as well as an individual identification number. So all the details of the cattle are traceable. Their unique bloodline and strict management make them to be the first-rate beef in the world.
Japanese Wagyu Beef Grades
The grading system of Wagyu beef is managed by the Japanese Meat Grading Association (JMGA). They grade beef according to two aspects, Yield Grade (represented by a letter from A to C) and Meat Quality Score (represented by a number from 1 to 5), and finally combine into an overall grade.
“Yield Grade” measures the percentage of edible meat of the Wagyu carcasses excluding internal organs and skin. “A” stands for the highest yield grade while C being the lowest. Only fullblood Wagyu can score A.
“Meat Quality Score” is about (1) meat marbling; (2) meat color and brightness; (3) meat firmness and texture; (4) fat color, luster and quality. Each factor is ranged from 1 to 5, with 5 being the best. After inspecting, the final meat quality score is decided by the lowest score among these four factors. For instance, a beef gets 5 scores in three factors but only 3 scores in marbling, the final meat quality score of this beef is 3 only.
Converting (1) meat marbling score to BMS,
- 5 Scores = BMS 8-12
- 4 Scores = BMS 5-7
- 3 Scores = BMS 3-4
- 2 Scores = BMS 2
- 1 Score = BMS 1
In short, there are 15 grades of Wagyu beef in total. And the highest grade “A5” is very rare, which means the beef has to get the highest score in all aspects. Therefore, A5 Wagyu is heavenly luscious and luxurious.
4. American Wagyu Beef Grading System
What is American Wagyu?
As said in the above, Wagyu means Japanese beef. So how come an American Wagyu? It is the product of purebred Wagyu crossed with American cattle breeds.
The supreme genes of Wagyu lift the amount of marbling of the American beef to the next level. The marbling content goes beyond USDA Prime so there is another beef grading scheme for them.
American Wagyu Beef Grades
Snake River Farms, the pioneer of American Wagyu, classify their beef into Gold Grade and Black Grade.
SRF Gold Grade—Beef in this grade has a rich marbling that scores BMS 9+. It tastes exquisitely delicious that melts like butter in your mouth.
SRF Black Grade—It is also highly marbled, tender and juicy. The meat of this grade has a BMS score of 6-8.
5. Australian Beef Grading Systems
Australian beef tastes subtly different from American beef. This is because Australian beef is mainly grass-fed and pasture-raised, so they are much leaner and have a special flavor like game meat.
There are two beef grading systems for Australian beef—AUS-MEAT grading and Meat Standards Australia (MSA).
AUS-MEAT Grading System
The AUS-MEAT is an older standard which mainly focuses on marbling. This system scales from M0 to M9 in increments of 1. The number also indicates the level of marbling which is very similar to BMS (but the max of this system is 9 only). For example, beef graded M7 in the AUS-MEAT system approximately scores BMS 7.
Meat Standards Australia (MSA) Grading System
The MSA is a comparatively new grading system that is ameliorated from the AUS-MEAT. It considers many factors when grading the beef such as marbling, fat color, meat color, carcass weight, pH and more. This is a very comprehensive but also complicated standard.
The marbling scale of MSA starts from 100 to 1190 in increments of 10. There is no formula to convert MSA marbling scores into AUS-MEAT marbling scores since the assessment criteria are different. However, some people compared them as below:
| AUS-MEAT | MSA | BMS |
| M1 | 300 | 1 |
| M2 | 400 | 2 |
| M3 | 500 | 3 |
| M4 | 600 | 4 |
| M5 | 700 | 5 |
| M6 | 800 | 6 |
| M7 | 900 | 7 |
| M8 | 1000 | 8 |
| M9 | 1100 | 9 |
◈ Addition: Australian Wagyu Beef
What is Australian Wagyu?
Similar to American Wagyu, crossing full blood Japanese Wagyu bulls and Australian cows produce Australian Wagyu. It is tender, juicy with abundant marbling. Yet, when compared to Japanese Wagyu, the texture is firmer.
Australian Wagyu Beef Grades
The Australian Wagyu Beef is under the same grading system as other Australian beef, which is graded from M0 to M9 as well. However, since the actual marbling amount of Australian Wagyu Beef is richer than the grading system could cover, the Australian Wagyu sellers extended the grades by themselves. M10, M11 and M12 are then created.
6. New Zealand Beef Grading System
Natural grazing is the reason why New Zealand beef is healthier and more nutritious. The cattle could move freely on the beautiful grasslands which make them low calories, low fat and low cholesterol.
New Zealand beef is firstly classified into four types according to sex and maturity, they are steer, heifer, cow and bull. Here are the definitions—
- Steer: Male cattle castrated when young.
- Heifer: Female cattle having no more than six permanent incisors.
- Cow: Female cattle having more than six permanent incisors.
- Bull: Entire cattle with masculine characteristics.
After that, the system will further categorize them on the basis of fat content and muscling. Each attribute has its different grades causing a very complicated classification. If you want to know in detail, check this guide.
Summary
There is a load of information in this article. But no worries! Here is a comparison chart of the above beef grading systems for you, so you can understand fully at a glance. And now you can pick some to try one by one…
Beef with fancy marbling of course cost you a fortune, yet you could opt for the one with a little bit lower grade. As long as you choose a good cut and cook appropriately, it will be yummy. But I would say you won’t regret trying the luxurious steaks like Wagyu as they are heaven on a plate!
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Thanks! This is useful 😀