Contents

1. Introduction
   
   
2. Poultry Grading and Certification Services
   • A. Poultry Programs
   • B. Poultry Eligible for Grading and Certification
   • C. Official Identification Marks
   
   
3. Grading According to Quality Standards and Grades
   • A. Uses of Standards and Grades
   • B. Examining Carcasses and Parts To Determine Quality
   • C. Quality Factors for Carcasses and Parts
   • D. Cutting Poultry Parts
   
   
4. U.S. Classes, Standards, and Grades for Poultry
   • A. Classes of Ready-to-Cook Poultry
   • B. Standards for Quality of Ready-to-Cook Individual Carcasses and Parts
   • C. Standards for Quality of Specified Poultry Food Products
   • D. Grades for Ready-to-Cook Poultry and Specified Poultry Food Products
   
   
5. Certification to Specific Purchase Requirements
   
   
6. Resource Materials Available

Introduction

This manual is a guide to the uniform application of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) classes, standards and grades for poultry, and to USDA's voluntary poultry grading and certification services. It can also serve as the course outline for a poultry grading school.

It is designed primarily to aid poultry graders. However, it should also prove useful to those teaching poultry marketing, to quality control personnel in the poultry industry, and to volume food purchasers

To read the full report, please click here (PDF format, 389Kb).

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service - April 1998.