A set of indicators to better characterize beef carcasses at the slaughterhouse level in addition to the EUROP system

The EUROP classification system that is used in European slaughterhouses to characterize beef carcasses includes only a small number of general indicators (category of animal, conformation score, fat score and hot carcass weight). Consequently, the interests of stakeholders in the production chain (breeders, slaughterers and retailors) are not considered. The aim of this study was to propose a set of indicators, in addition to the EUROP system, to characterize beef carcasses in slaughterhouses in a more precise way that considers the interests of the different stakeholders in Europe. To this end, all of the key variables used in the scientific literature (n = 142 articles from 2010 to 2015) were considered as candidate indicators to characterize beef carcasses. An exhaustive list was used to identify eighty-nine candidate indicators that were organized according to a hierarchical structure to identify the elements underlying the characterization of a carcass. These elements were the animal, carcass and tissue characteristics and the technological and economic values. Indicators were selected based on the hierarchical structure according to their citation ranking in the literature and by ensuring that they were not redundant to the EUROP system. In addition, an expert appraisal was performed to ensure their relevance and feasibility in the European context. Finally, a set of 5 indicators was proposed: hindquarter weight, meat colour, retail-cut yield, rib-eye area and marbling score. Three of these (‘meat colour’, ‘rib-eye area’ and ‘marbling score’) are already used in several current classification grids and may thus be fully implementable. The other two can be obtained by measurement or estimation. This set of indicators is the first step in developing a new way to assess the overall quality of beef carcasses in Europe.