Classification Of Veal

The slaughter, weighing and classification of meat is bound by strict regulations.This means that a buyer will be able to judge what he is buying, even from a distance. Italso deters dishonest competition. The majority of carcasses are sold according to thecarcass weight after slaughter. This is defined and strictly monitored by independentinspectors according to the EUROP system.Everything is prescribed, from what can or cannot be removed from the carcass beforeweighing, to the maximum amount of time an animal is allowed to wait after its arrivaland before being slaughtered and weighed. This is a maximum of 4 hours. And withinthose 4 hours, the animal needs to be weighed within 45 minutes of being slaughtered.Each animal is labelled with information including the identification or slaughternumber of the animal, the weight of the carcass, the date of slaughter, where it wasraised, the name of the slaughterhouse and a full I&R number (Identification andRegistration) for each calf.

Immediately after slaughter, the calf is assessed for the conformation class, fat cover,colour and age. The inspector also looks for roundness of muscles and the volume of thecarcass. Most attention is given to the hindquarters, back, shoulders, the loins and thelegs. The meat is graded according to the following letters:

E = excellent The muscle development is outstanding and all profiles are round to very round.U = very good The muscle development is strong and the profiles are round in general.R = good The muscle development is good and the profiles are straight in general.O = fair The muscle development is moderate and the profiles are straight to hollow.P = poor The muscle development is minimal and all profiles are hollow to very hollow.

Officially there is also a category S (superior), which is meant from the rump or round.Usually that’s not an issue for calves. Categories can also be given a minus sign or a plussign to help classify the meat.

In order to determine the fat class, a visual appraisal is carried out of external fatdeposits and those on the inside of the chest cavity. These are graded from 1 to 5. 1 beinglean and 5 being fat: i.e. a carcass that is covered with fat and has a significant amount offat in its chest cavity.

The colour of meat in the flank is measured using an electronic colour measuringinstrument. The meat from milk-fed calves is divided into classes 1 to 10, from light todark. Rose veal has a value ranging from 11 to 13. In this way, someone buying veal in,say, Italy or France knows exactly what to expect.