Carcass grade

Because of the wide variations in operating conditions, tread and carcass blacks cannot be made in the same reactor however, all tread grades can be produced in the same reactor as is the case with all carcass grades. Unfortunately, exact reactor construction details and operating details are proprietary information and cannot be revealed however, exact internal configuration, dimensions, oil spray pattern, and burner design are all extremely critical for optimum quality and yields. One reactor will produce from 20,000-40,000 lbs/day, and a unit consists of from 4 to 5 reactors, discharging into common downstream facilities. 

Experiments with rats given oral doses of tritiated food-grade mineral oil provide supporting evidence that the absorption of hydrocarbons in mineral oils is limited. Five hours after dosing with 0.66 mL/kg of tritiated mineral oil ("liquid petrolatum U.S.P."), -75% of the administered radioactivity remained in the alimentary tract, and only 3% of the administered radioactivity was accounted for by radioactivity in other parts of the rat carcass (Ebert et al. 1966). About 80% of the administered radioactivity was recovered in feces during the first 2 days after treatment, and over 90% of the radioactivity in the feces was in the form of mineral oil. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that ingested mineral oil was poorly absorbed. Neither biliary excretion nor enterohepatic circulation of mineral oils was measured in this study, and thus, any quantitative estimates of the extent of absorption based on these data should be viewed as tentative. 

Sample Preparation. Broiled beefsteaks were selected as the basic experimental material. Steaks 5/8 inch thick and 3 inches in diameter were prepared from major round muscles of choice grade beef and were oven-broiled 3 inches from the heating elements for 12 minutes on the first side and 10 minutes on the second. These conditions produced an internal temperature of about 75°C., which was sufficient for complete enzyme inactivation (8). This cooking schedule produced a medium well done steak. Either all steaks to be used in a given test series were prepared from the same carcass or steaks prepared from different carcasses were randomized with respect to treatment variables. All samples were prepared this way unless otherwise indicated. 

III., using the temperature control system developed by the Quartermaster Food and Container Institute 46), The amino acid solutions and the samples used in the evaluation of carcass variation, grade, and cut by consumer acceptance panels were irradiated in the cobalt-60 source at the U. S. Army Natick Laboratories, Natick, Mass. 

Effect of Grade, Cut, and Animal Variations. Samples were prepared from the half loins (rib eye) and top rounds of two U. S. Choice and two U. S. Commercial grade beef carcasses. Half of each set of samples received 6.0 db 1.5 megarads of irradiation at — 196°C. at the Natick irradiation facility. The other half of the samples was frozen and held as unirradiated control. 

S. D. M. Jones, Quality and Grading of Carcasses of Meat Animal, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1995, p. 215. 

They were killed after 66 days and hot carcass weights were obtained. Twenty-four hours later, cold carcass weights and grades were obtained. 

In general, vitamin E supplementation has not appeared to affect feedlot performance, carcass characteristics or quality grades of beef cattle... 

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