Nearly all steer and heifer beef carcasses processed in the United,
States are chilled before cutting. However, recent meat science research
has shown that carcasses can be processed, and quality of meat maintained,
with little or no chilling. Processing as defined here involves cutting
the carcasses into subprimal pieces, removing bones and excess fat, sealing
the pieces in vacuum packages, and placing the packages in palletized boxes.
It is already known that substantial economic saving can be obtained from
reduced storage and transportation costs of boxed beef, but little work has
been done on the economic feasibility of hot processing.
