MAKKET CLASSES AND GEADES OF DRESSED BEEF. 9 
factors as color, grain, marbling, thickness of flesh, and several other 
terms. All are either included, as factors under one or another of 
the three main characteristics just described, or serve merely as 
accompaniments and, therefore, indexes of conformation, quality, or 
finish. 
The system of grading outlined herewith is confined to beef which 
is sound and wholesome. Meat which is diseased, bruised, or par- 
tially decomposed is not subject to grading; that is, it is "off 
grade." 3 
FRESH BEEF. 
All commercial fresh beef may be divided into two general groups, 
" fresh chilled " and " fresh frozen." 
Strictly speaking, this grouping is not a part of either classifica- 
tion or grading. It is wholly independent of quality, finish, and 
conformation, being based entirely on a method of processing or 
handling for preserving purposes. 
FRESH CHILLED BEEF. 
Modern meat-packing plants are equipped with large chill or 
refrigerating rooms which are held at temperatures ranging from 
approximately 34° to 38° F. In these the carcasses are placed shortly 
after slaughter to allow the animal heat to escape and the meat 
to cool and " firm up," preparatory to shipment or local distribution. 
After remaining in these rooms from 24 to 36 hours, the meat be- 
comes thoroughly refrigerated, but not frozen. Beef handled in 
this manner usually is referred to as " chilled." The grade of the 
meat, however, is in nowise affected by such refrigeration. In fact, 
fresh beef may be so held for several weeks without injuring the 
quality. Ageing or holding beef for four to six weeks or longer 
under these circumstances renders the flesh of well-finished car- 
casses more palatable on account of the ripening process that takes 
place while the beef is held in storage around 36° F. Beef deficient 
in finish usually will not hold up or retain its soundness or palatabil- 
ity for more than three weeks under ordinary refrigerating con- 
ditions. 
FRESH FROZEN BEEF. 
Most packing and cold-storage plants are also equipped with what 
are known as " freezers," which are refrigerating rooms in which 
the temperature can be lowered to 5° or 10° F. — sometimes lower. 
Meat is placed in these rooms and allowed to remain until it is frozen 
solid. This requires from 12 to 36 hours, depending upon the char- 
acter and temperature of the meat when it enters the freezer and the 
temperature at which the room is held. Heavy carcasses or cuts 
will naturally require a longer time than light ones. Frozen meat 
will remain sound and wholesome for an indefinite period, provided 
it is held below freezing. Before frozen meat can be disposed of 
at retail and used by the consumer, it must be thawed. 
3 " Spotters " is a term applied to carcasses having small dark blood spots apparently 
caused by the rupture of minute blood vessels and the coagulation- of small quantities of 
blood that did not escape at the time of bleeding. They are more frequent in well-finished 
carcasses. These spots, which often envelop the muscular tissue, vary in size from small 
specks to areas one-half inch or more in length and one-quarter of an inch or more in 
diameter. Many theories for this condition have been advanced by slaughterers, but the 
exact cause has'not been determined. 
