Survey of beef carcass quality graded in Tabasco State, Mexico

A survey of beef carcass grading included 22 294 carcasses produced in tropical humid (Am) and sub-humid (Aw) climates subjected to the Mexican norm NMX-FF-078-SCFI-2002, between November 2009 and February 2010, at the No. 51 Federal Inspected Abattoir, in Tabasco State. The aim was to identify areas for improvement of carcass quality as influenced by four gender groups (young bull or heifer, up to 2 years of age; mature bull or cow), using five basic evaluation criteria: 1) maturity (age), 2) conformation (muscularity), 3) meat color, 4) fat color, and 5) subcutaneous fat distribution. Quality grades were designated: Supreme, Select, Standard, Commercial and Out of Grade. The effect of gender groups on the final quality grade and on each of the five criteria assessed was expressed as percentage proportions of the total number of observations per gender group. Carcasses with final classification as Select were present only in the young bull (18.7%) and heifer (1.1%) groups. Young bull and heifer carcasses were most frequently Standard grade, while those of mature bulls and cows were mostly Commercial grade and Out of grade. No carcass merited a final grade of Supreme due to inadequate conformation. It may be concluded that this application of the Mexican beef carcass classification norm in question to a sample population of tropically-produced carcasses highlights an industry capable of producing slaughter animals of early age, with carcasses showing adequate meat and fat color and subcutaneous fat distribution, but wanting improved conformation

El caso México

Se describe al país bajo un enfoque socio-económico tanto de la población en general como de la rural y, en particular, de las características zootécnicas de las Unidades Productivas bovinos carne. Aunado a la proyección en al aumento de la población humana y su demanda alimenticia, se enfatiza un escenario cuestionable sobre el deterioro en la calidad de vida rural, acentuado por un impacto negativo en el ambiente. En contraste, se cuestiona la adopción de políticas públicas del sector, enfocadas en atender la seguridad alimentaria con base en importaciones, su impacto negativo en la producción nacional y el menoscabo en la soberanía alimentaria. En contraste con la visión y objetivos oficiales de la SAGARPA, para el 2030, se señalan proyecciones tentativas de producción-consumo del sector como resultado del ejercicio llevado a cabo en el presente taller; incluyendo escenarios de consumo privativo a sectores de la población con ingresos económicos altos, como una de las consecuencias originadas de la bursatilización de los alimentos, bajo un marco económico capitalista dominado por el libre mercado