Camera grading errors may be costing consumers $375 million a year: OIG report

By Lisa M. Keefe on 8/23/2013

A recent report from USDA’s Office of the Inspector General said that the standards for the camera-grading system used to evaluate and grade some 40 percent of beef carcasses harvested in the U.S. needs to be re-evaluated. The report noted that inaccuracies and loopholes in the system may mean that carcasses are incorrectly graded, potentially costing U.S. consumers more than $375 million a year for their beef products.

“As long as [the Agricultural Marketing Service] relies on and encourages the use of these cameras to assist AMS graders, the methodology used to define the cameras’ grading classifications must be established in a way that is objective and transparent to all interested stakeholders,” the OIG report said. “When AMS initially established these classifications, industry objected that the cameras’ grading did not conform to what the graders were doing in the plants; ultimately, AMS agreed to lower the grades. The new lower grading classifications meant more beef would receive higher grades, which may be correct. If these classifications are not correct; however, and the marbling scores originally determined by the agency were more accurate, then, comparatively, consumers may be overpaying ….”

The OIG used AMS’s own calculations to arrive at the $375 million figure.

The OIG suggests, and USDA has agreed to, a number of recommendations for verifying the ensuring the ongoing accuracy of the camera-grading system, including having its methodologies evaluated by third-party experts, clarifying policies related to camera grading, reviewing certification programs and ensuring the cameras themselves are properly calibrated and maintained.

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