Canada · Canadian Beef Grading Agency
CBGA Canadian Beef Grading
CBGA grading is the Canadian Beef Grading Agency standard for assessing beef quality in Canada. It evaluates marbling, maturity, lean color, fat color, and meat texture to assign quality grades from Canada A (least marbling) to Canada Prime (highest), aligned with how the United States organizes USDA quality grades.
What CBGA Canadian Beef Grading actually measures
The CBGA was established in 1996 to deliver beef and bison grading on behalf of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Quality grades stack vertically by marbling: Canada Prime, Canada AAA, Canada AA, Canada A. Yield grades (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) are assigned separately and describe how much salable lean a carcass produces.
Canada AAA is the most common grade exported and is the closest analog to USDA Choice; Canada Prime corresponds to USDA Prime. Canadian quality grades require A maturity (under 30 months physiological age) for Prime, AAA, AA, and A.
Read the universal four-factor framework
Canada carcass diagram, primal cuts and grading reference points
The Scale
Grades from highest to lowest
Canada Prime
~8 to 13% IMF
Slightly abundant marbling or higher. The Canadian equivalent of USDA Prime.
Canada AAA
~4 to 7% IMF
Small marbling at minimum. The most exported Canadian grade; analogous to USDA Choice.
Canada AA
~2 to 4% IMF
Slight marbling. Comparable to USDA Select.
Canada A
Traces of marbling. Above maturity and meat-quality minimums but minimal IMF.
What Graders Evaluate
Visual factors at the carcass
Marbling, intramuscular fat at the ribeye, judged against CBGA reference imagery
Maturity, under 30 months for the four primary quality grades
Lean color, bright red preferred; dark cutters disqualify from upper grades
Lean texture, fine-grained preferred
Fat color and firmness, white firm fat preferred over yellow or oily fat
From a Photo
How MeatGrader applies CBGA Canadian Beef Grading
MeatGrader applies the same five visual factors CBGA graders use, adapted to a retail-cut photograph. The model returns the inferred Canadian quality grade plus a per-factor breakdown, with the marbling reference frame tuned to the CBGA system rather than the USDA system. Yield grade (1 to 5) is not estimated from a retail-cut photo because it requires a whole-carcass view.
FAQ
Common questions about CBGA Canadian Beef Grading
What people ask most about how Canada grades beef.
Compare
Other grading systems
Each region applies the same four visual factors (marbling, lean color, fat, texture) to its own scale.
Grade any cut against CBGA Canadian Beef Grading
Photograph any beef cut and see how it scores under CBGA Canadian Beef Grading and the other five systems.