A German-made digital imaging system for beef grading has picked up Canadian Food Inspection Agency approval for use in Canada’s larger federally inspected packing plants .
The new camera systems, made by e+v Technology, have already been approved and put to use in over 20 U. S. plants, but only three in Canada – the Cargill facilities at Guelph, Ont. and High River, Alta. and the XL Beef plant at Brooks, Alta. – have a moving rail to accommodate it. All three have already installed the imaging system.
Before cameras can be put to their newly approved use, packing plants must request to use the equipment for grading, the CFIA must approve installation and the Canadian Beef Grading Agency (CBGA) must establish protocol.
But the e+v instrument, designed for use with a moving rail, photographs and analyzes the rib-eye area between the 12th and 13th ribs of each carcass as it passes by.
