The Beef Report · $30 for six months or $45 for 12 months · paid once

Beef Chemical Residue Report

Twice a year we buy ribeyes from the 20 top-ranked purveyors on our board, anonymously, at the price anyone pays, and send them unopened to an independent lab. It checks what the labels claim: residues of antibiotics and growth hormones against “no antibiotics” and “no added hormones”, grass-finished signatures, grade and weight, among 14 tests. The report comes in writing only, printed and mailed. Ask for up to 5 written copies of each.

Next report: February 15, 2027

The first report is published on February 15, 2027; until then there are no results. The board’s scores aren’t lab tests: they rank sellers’ own claims, each linked to its source. This report is where a lab checks the ones it can test.

Buy: from $30

Price: $30 for six months (one report) or $45 for 12 months (two reports), paid once. It doesn’t renew: when your time runs out, nothing more is charged.
Next report: February 15, 2027, then every six months.
Purveyors: The 20 top-ranked on our board when the steaks are bought.
Format: In writing only: printed and mailed. No PDF, web page or email copy.
Copies: Up to 5 written copies of each report, at no extra cost, all to your address.
Address: US addresses only.
Published by: Beefshopper Consumer Research Foundation

A sample of its front page

The front page of a sample report: 20 purveyors in rows, their names blurred, lab results in columns, and a score on the far right in green, yellow or red, greyed out so it can’t be read.

The printed report’s layout with illustrative values: purveyor names blurred, scores greyed out. Open the sample (PDF, 2 pages). This sample is the only digital copy: the reports themselves are in writing only.

What the lab tests, on every purveyor

Each figure is the average of three ribeyes. The ranges are what real-world retail ribeyes measure; a result past our line is marked on the report.

Test	Method	Real-world range	Our line
Drug and hormone residuesAntibiotics, and synthetic growth hormones (trenbolone, zeranol, melengestrol). It checks “no antibiotics” and “no added hormones”.	LC-MS/MS multi-residue screen, USDA FSIS Chemistry Laboratory Guidebook	Not detected in beef raised without them; trace trenbolone in implanted cattle	Not detected where the label says none
Marbling (intramuscular fat)How much fat runs through the lean. It checks the grade on the label.	Chemical fat extraction, AOAC 991.36	Select 3–4%, Choice 4–8%, Prime 8–13%, American Wagyu 12–25%, Japanese A5 25–50%	Within the range for the grade it’s sold as
Tenderness (Warner-Bratzler shear force)The force to cut a cooked core of the steak. Lower is more tender.	AMSA Research Guidelines (2016); ASTM F2925	Ribeyes 2.0–5.0 kg; ASTM “very tender” 3.9 kg or less, “tender” 4.4 kg or less	4.4 kg or less
Cooking lossHow much weight the steak loses in the pan, mostly water. Lower is juicier.	AMSA Research Guidelines (2016)	15–30%	28% or less
Ultimate pHStress before slaughter leaves a high pH: dark, dry, firm “dark cutter” beef that keeps less well.	Probe pH of the lean, AOAC 981.12	Normal 5.4–5.8; 6.0 or more is a dark cutter	Below 5.9
Purge (liquid in the package)Red liquid that left the meat: freezing, thawing and refreezing make more.	Package drip weight	0.5–3% for vacuum-packed steaks	4% or less
Bacteria count (aerobic plate count)How many bacteria are on the meat. It reflects handling and freshness. Lower is cleaner.	FDA BAM ch. 3; AOAC 990.12	Retail steaks 2–5; spoilage begins near 7	5.5 or less
Pathogens: Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 and the other big-six STECWhether disease-causing bacteria are present.	USDA FSIS MLG 4 and MLG 5C	Not detected in almost all intact steaks	Not detected
Omega-6 to omega-3 ratioGrass makes omega-3 fats; grain makes omega-6. It checks “grass-fed” and “grass-finished”.	Fatty acid profile by gas chromatography, AOAC 996.06	Grass-finished 1.5–3; grain-finished 6–20	3 or less where sold as grass-finished
Diet signature (carbon isotopes)Corn leaves a carbon-13 signature in the meat that grass doesn’t. A second check on grass-finished claims.	Stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS)	Grass-finished −28 to −22; corn-finished −18 to −11	−21 or lower where sold as grass-finished
Net weight against the labelWhether you got the weight you paid for.	NIST Handbook 133 (checking packaged contents)	97–104%	98% or more
Temperature on arrivalThe steak’s internal temperature when the box arrives by the seller’s chosen shipping.	Calibrated probe on delivery	Frozen −10 to 15; fresh 30–40	40 °F or colder
Eating quality (taste panel)Untrained consumers score tenderness, juiciness, flavor and overall liking, blind.	Meat Standards Australia consumer protocol (MQ4 score)	Below 46 unsatisfactory; 46–63 good; 64–76 better; 77 or more premium	46 or more
Label claims confirmedOf the seller’s claims we can test (grade, grass-fed, no hormones, no antibiotics, breed, weight), how many the lab confirmed.	The tests above, plus a DNA breed panel where a breed (Wagyu, Angus) is claimed	—	All confirmed

How the steaks are bought

Three ribeyes from each of the 20 top-ranked purveyors on our board, from three separate orders, bought anonymously at the price anyone pays, delivered by the seller’s own shipping.
Each box goes unopened to an independent third-party food-testing laboratory. The lab works from coded samples and never knows whose steaks they are.
Results are the average of the three steaks. A pathogen or residue found in any one of them is reported.
Each purveyor gets one score from the results, and a tier: green for the top, yellow for the second tier, red for the bottom.

Questions

Does it renew?: No. You pay once for six or 12 months. When that time is up, it stops and nothing more is charged. Buy more time whenever you like: it’s added to the end of the time you have.
Which reports do I get?: Every report printed while your time runs: one in six months, two in 12. The next is on February 15, 2027.
More than one copy?: Up to 5 written copies of each report, at no extra cost, mailed together to your address. Change the number any time before a report is printed, from the link in your emails.
Can I get a PDF?: No. The report comes in writing only. The sample above is the one digital page, with its names and scores hidden.
Moving?: Change your address from the link in your emails.
Can I share it?: No: every copy is for your own use, and you may not distribute or reproduce it in any way. You can talk about it on social media if you don’t mention results or purveyors and you credit beefshopper.com. The terms have the details.
Refunds?: A purchase isn’t refunded, except where the law requires it. Charged in error? Write to [email protected].