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Americans are vitally concerned about the safety of their
food supply. The beef industry is likewise concerned about
the safety of its products. Consumer concerns about
nutrition and safety, as reported by FMI (1996) were ranked
according to the percent of consumers rating the item as a
serious hazard. Bacterial contamination was considered a
serious hazard 77 percent of the time by consumers,
pesticides and herbicides as well as product tampering 66
percent of the time, and use of antibiotics 42 percent of
the time.
The
National Beef Quality Audits (NBQA) studies were conducted
in 1991 and 1995 for the purpose of examining the incidence
and magnitude of quality defects that occur due to
selection, management, and production practices. A similar
carcass survey was also conducted in 1974 by the USDA. The
audits show that improvement is continuous and never
ending. Losses due to management decrease the value of
beef. Injection sites in the top sirloin butt and round
diminish tenderness of a larger area than just the actual
injection site. Producers, feeders, truckers, and packers
must address bruises. Working facilities should be designed
to eliminate this problem. Hide quality can be decreased by
mud, manure, insects and brand placement. Reducing
injection sites, carcass bruising, and hide damage should
remain top priorities for producers and research personel.
They also should put more interest in reducing variation in
carcass weights and the lean to fat ratios of carcasses with
the hope of narrowing the variation found within the
industry.
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