Ostrich Carcass Grading

OSTRICH CARCASS/MEAT GRADES

Prime

Choice

Select

Utility

Non-Food

Prime Grade Defined
Item	Status or Condition
Bird Age	Less than 16 months of age
Fat Pan Color	White Fat Pan color only
Muscle Color	Even red muscle color throughout
Heart Condition	Heart of normal size, color & texture with no damage
Liver Condition	Mid-brown color with no abscess/ulcerations
Disease Condition	No disease symptoms or evidence
Other Condition	No Oedema or "jell" substance on heart, thigh or sternum

Note: A Prime Grade carcass will yield the highest amount of primary meat cuts with a consistent degree of tenderness throughout all the primary meat muscles.

Choice Grade Defined
Item	Status or Condition
Bird Age	16 to 24 months of age
Fat Pan Color	White Fat Pan color only
Muscle Color	Even red muscle color throughout
Heart Condition	Heart of normal size, color & texture with no damage
Liver Condition	Mid-brown color with no abscess/ulcerations
Disease Condition	No disease symptoms or evidence
Other Condition	No Oedema or "jell" substance on heart, thigh or sternum

Note: A Choice Grade Ostrich carcass will yield a few primary meat cuts, if carefully selected, with a reasonable degree of tenderness. The majority of the Choice carcass will be secondary meat cuts and ground meat.

Select Grade Defined
Item	Status or Condition
Bird Age	25 months of age and older
Fat Pan Color	White Fat Pan color only
Muscle Color	Even red muscle color throughout
Heart Condition	Heart of normal size, color & texture with no damage
Liver Condition	Mid-brown color with no abscess/ulcerations
Disease Condition	No disease symptoms or evidence
Other Condition	No Oedema or "jell" substance on heart, thigh or sternum

Note: A Select Grade carcass should ONLY be used for value-added products and ground meat products.

Utility Grade Defined
Item	Status or Condition
Bird Age	Any age of bird
Fat Pan Color	Yellow Fat Pan color
Muscle Color	Multi-coloring of muscles (pink to dark red)
	White color areas in some muscles
Heart Condition	Small, damaged or spongy texture heart
Liver Condition	Yellow, Green or Black Color
	Liver abscesses or ulcerations
Disease Condition	No disease symptoms or evidence
Other Condition	Oedema or "jell" substance on heart, thigh or sternum

Note: A Utility Grade carcass should ONLY be used for value-added products and NOT for primary cuts, secondary cuts, or ground meat products.

Non-Food Grade Defined
Item	Status or Condition
Bird Age	Any age of bird
Muscle Color	Muscles with abscesses or channels in meat
	Muscles with light or dark spots
Liver Condition	Spotty or infected livers
Disease Condition	Any disease symptoms or evidence

A Non-Food Grade Ostrich carcass will exhibit one or more of the above undesirable traits
Note: A Non-Food Grade carcass must not be used for human consumption.