The first Uruguayan Beef Quality Audit (UBQA) was conducted in 2002, in a joint project among Colorado State University, INAC e INIA and was an important benchmark to identify what the beef industry was producing, measuring and reporting on cattle and carcass traits. Seven National Beef Quality Audits (NBQA) were conducted in the U.S. (1991, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2011, 2016 and 2022), and four in Uruguay (UBQA 2002, 2007, 2013 and 2022). Many of the UBQA findings were used as training practices for producer and packers related to animal handling. But also some marketing demands have occurred, not only in Animal Welfare but also in meat quality attributes (marbling) explained by improvements in genetics and efficiency of the production systems. This UBQA-2022 was done to quantify if these mentioned changes could improve the quality and consistency of the Uruguayan cattle and identify current issues for the beef industry.
Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria