THE CONTEST LIMIT IS 45 TEAMS	Jeff Sindelar Superintendent (608) 262-0555 jsindelar@wisc.edu

The Meat Evaluation Competition will be held at the Meat Science Laboratory (directly west of the Stock Pavilion) on the UW-Madison campus. The contest begins at 8:30 a.m. and concludes by 11:45 a.m.

After the contest, a contest key will be made available, and exhibits will be open until 12:30 p.m. for team members and coaches to review.

Event Format

All contestants are required to wear frock and hard hats. Students not properly dressed will not be allowed to compete. If you have a meat processor in your area, you may be able to borrow hats and frocks from them for the contest. If you want to purchase your own frocks and hats, a major industry source is: Koch supplies, Inc., 1411 West 29th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108 (1-800-456-5624). Contestants should also bring a clipboard and several No. 2 pencils.

The Meat Division will consist of 14 stations. Several of the ranking classes will also require the answering of five posted questions. Contestants may view the class as they answer the questions. Time per station (class) will be 6.5 minutes.

Beef Carcasses

Lamb Carcasses

Pork Carcasses

Fresh Hams

Retail Cuts (2 Classes)

Five beef carcasses (quality and yield grades) - carcass weight given - one class of 3 carcasses and one class of two carcasses.

Click on the link below to see a sample of the Beef Carcass Evaluation Worksheet.
(This form will be provided to students at the contest)

Beef Carcass Evaluation

Retail cuts - 3 classes of 10 cuts each (identify species, primal cut, retail name). This is the same scorecard used in the state 4-H Meat Judging Contest.

Retail Cut Key
Retail Cut Contest Worksheet

A double-sided scantron answer sheet will be able to accommodate all ranking, grading, meat cut identification and question classes in the contest.

IMPORTANT: Please click on the following link to view Scantron Scoring Sheet Instructions:

Scantron Scoring Sheet Instructions (MS Word document)
Scantron Scoring Sheet Instructions (Pdf document)

Contestants should bring along a No. 2 pencil and clipboard to use in filling out the sheets. Special care will be required of contestants in recording ID number, class numbers, and answers. Each year students lose points by failing to fill in circles on the scantron sheets. A properly filled out scantron sheet will be displayed at each station, showing where and how students' answers are to be recorded.

The questions are answered by identifying the carcass or cut that best answers the questions.

1. Which carcass carries the most backfat?
2. Which carcass has the thickest, most muscular ham?
3. How many of the carcasses are steer carcasses?
4. Which chop has the largest tenderloin muscle?
5. Which steak contains the most marbling in the loin eye?
6. Which carcass has the least kidney, pelvic and heart fat?

The Consumer Information class requires students to answer 10 multiple choice questions related to meat safety, storage, cooking, nutrition, etc.

Click on the "Meat Cookery" link below to access the resources from which the questions will be drawn:

Meat Cookery (MS Word document)
Meat Cookery (Pdf document)

1. To maintain acceptable flavor, what is the longest time that fresh pork should be stored in a

     freezer (Zero Degrees Fahrenheit or lower)?

(A) 2 months (B) 6 months (C) 12 months

2. The best cooking method to achieve tenderness during cooking for a less tender beef chuck

     arm roast is:

(A) broiling (B) roasting (C) braising (D) stir-frying

3. A standard "serving size" for cooked, trimmed lean of beef, pork, lamb or veal is:

(A) 2 ounces (B) 3 ounces (C) 5 ounces (D) 8 ounces

4. The least safe method to defrost frozen meat is:

(A) On the kitchen counter (B) In a microwave (C) In the refrigerator

(D) Immersed in cold water

5. True or False. All fresh meat cuts carry pathogenic (disease-causing) bacteria:

(A) True (B) False

Students will be presented with a processed meat product label. Students will answer 10 multiple choice questions related to the product label. Listed below are the types of questions to be used:

1. What is the "serving size" (in terms of grams or ounces)?
2. How many calories does one serving provide?
3. Which non-meat ingredient is present in the largest amount?
4. What is the sodium content for two servings?
5. What percentage of calories comes from fat?
6. True or False. This product does not carry a "special handling"
statement?
7. What is the "establishment number" of the plant producing this product?

 1.    American Meat Science Association (AMSA)

       1111 North Dunlap Avenue
       Savoy, IL 61874
       217-356-3182
       217-398-4119 (fax)
       www.meatscience.org (can order materials on-line: “meats judging”>“meats judging materials”)

       “Meat Evaluation Handbook” ($71.00 - shipping included)
         Revised in 2000.  For years this handbook has served as the primary text for training meat science professionals in the area of fresh meat evaluation.  Now in a revised and expanded edition this handbook is the industry standard guide for fresh meat grading and selection.

 2.     National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA)

       444 North Michigan Avenue
       Chicago, IL 60611
       1-800-368-3138
       1-800-368-3136 (fax)

       Marbling Photos (#06-901) - - $19.50, set of 6 (2007- these are new and updated versions
                                 with more accurate assessments of various quality grades)

       (“Beef Made Easy”) Beef Retail Cut Chart: Wall Size (#10-501) - - $2.50
       (“Beef Made Easy”) Beef Retail Cut:  Notebook Size (#10-503) - - $6.50/100

       “Guide to Identifying Meat Cuts” (#06-202) - -
         $2.60 each for 9 or less, $2.30 each for 10-99; $1.95 each for 100 or more.
         53 pages.  Includes information on retail cut identification (color photos of cuts), meat labeling, meat safety, and meat cookery.  Also available from AMSA (above) and National Pork Board (#04362 - - $2.00 each).

3.     National Pork Board

       P.O. Box 9113
       Des Moines, IA 50306
       515-223-2621
       515-223-2646 (fax)

       On-line ordering is now available.  Website: www.pork.org. Click on Pork Store in the
       upper right hand corner, then go into either: Retail or Quality.

       “Guide to Identifying Meat Cuts” ($3.00 - shipping included)
              The pocket-sized guide is a handy reference for consumers, students and meat         
                
              science professionals.  It includes photos, descriptions, and cooking guidelines for
              over 200 cuts of beef, pork, lamb and veal.
       Pork Retail Cut Chart: Wall Size (NPB-03341) - - $2.00 each
                             Notebook (NPB-03342) - - $.10 each

       NPPC Pork Quality Standards (texture, color, marbling)
                 8 1/2 X 11" Notebook Size - - $1.00 each
         25 X 35" Wall Poster - - $5.00 each
         Laminated cards (each standard) in a vinyl pouch - - $32.50

 4.     University of Illinois - - Information Technology and Communication Services

       1917 S. Wright Street
       Champaign, IL 61820
       800-345-6087

       Meat Judging and Grading Booklet (40 pages - - #J180F) - - $4.00

       Retail Meat Cut Identification and Technology
              Retail Meat Cut Identification and Technology is an onscreen instructional material    
              composed in Microsoft PowerPoint and should run well on PCs or Macs. Image
              quality is excellent. This CD includes a wide array of information on beef, pork,        
              and lamb cut identification, location of cut on the carcass, and cooking methods.   
              Also included in the CD is an orientation session that includes primal cut    
              identification and definitions of the different types of cuts. Presentations include a   
              regular set with images and text descriptions of the cuts, a practice set that includes
              only the identification features without the names of the cuts, a practice contest that
              includes a combination of 30 images, and an interactive quizzing presentation
              which allows the user to identify the proper cut among three. In all, this CD            
              includes over 700 slides. (MDS100 CD-ROM.)----------- $75.00

       Retail Meat Cut Identification and Technology Quiz
              Pack of 10 CD-ROMs containing practice set, practice contest, and interactive
              quizzes from MDS100 (MDS100-10) --------- $200.00

 5.     University of Nebraska Animal Science Website

       http://animalscience.unl.edu
              - click on “Meats”
              - provides meat identification information and quizzes

6.    Texas A&M University Meat Science Website

  http://meat.tamu.edu
          -click on “Meat Judging”
          -provides meat judging classes and meat identification

7.    Meat Judging Videos

CEV Multimedia lists 40 video tapes on carcass and wholesale cut judging, beef grading, and retail cut identification.  Costs range from $49 to $99 per video.  For a current listing of meat evaluation products go to: www.cevmultimedia.com

                    CEV Multimedia
                    P.O. Box 65265
                    Lubbock, TX 79464
                    800-922-9965
                    800-243-6398 (fax)

          The Meat Science Laboratory holds a number of CEV videos, and will loan out.  (Call    
          Laura Trumble to reserve tapes for a 10 day period - 608-262-0463)

               Beef Grading - Yield     (#247)     35 minutes
               Beef Grading - Quality     (#245)     30 minutes
               Carcass Judging     (#258)     23 minutes
               Lamb Carcass Judging     (#269)     51 minutes
               Retail Cut Judging     (#270)     28 minutes
               Beef Retail Cut ID*     (#252)     41 minutes
               Pork Retail Cut ID*     (#253)     27 minutes
               Lamb Retail Cut ID*     (#254)     17 minutes
               Practice Beef Quality Grading I (#266) 33 minutes
               Practice Beef Yield Grading I    (#265) 43 minutes

 8.     Loin Eye Grids

       - Beef Ribeye Grids - - $3.00 each
              Art Design Services Company
              4910 Decatur St, Ste 104, Hyattsville, MD, 20781
              Phone 301-277-7304
              Fax 301-277-7307

       - Pork/Lamb Grids - - $2.50 each
            Nasco
            901 Janesville Avenue
            Fort Atkinson, WI 53538
            920-563-2446

 8.    Backfat/Grading Rulers (stainless steel)

            Nasco
            901 Janesville Avenue
            Fort Atkinson, WI 53538
            920-563-2446

              - beef USDA yield grade ruler (preliminary yield grade/inches),
                        P4G/inches (#CO2615) - $2.35 each
              - pork backfat ruler, inches (#COO155) - - $2.30 each