{"id":889172,"date":"2026-10-20T19:26:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T19:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/889172\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T19:26:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T19:26:14","slug":"callipyge-genetics-says-genomic-test-identifies-cattle-for-beef-tenderness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/889172\/","title":{"rendered":"Callipyge Genetics says genomic test identifies cattle for beef tenderness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Agricultural biotechnology company Callipyge Genetics<\/a> made a genomic discovery in 2018 that identified the genetic basis for the highest level of beef tenderness. Company President Frank Hendrix said that the discovery of genetic markers and the trademarked product TENET advance consumer-level beef quality, benefit animal welfare and enhance the American beef industry’s environmental reputation.<\/p>\n

Hendrix uses a system that extracts DNA from a few drops of blood or a small tissue sample to identify Tenet animals. Once identified, Tenet animals remain at the highest level of quality throughout their lives. If American Beef tenderness is ranked on a 1 to 10 scale, the national average is 3. Tenet is 10, said Hendrix.. An average herd can raise quality and reach the Tenet level in two generations because tenderness is highly heritable, according to Callipyge Genetics.<\/p>\n

Tenderness is a naturally occurring phenotype in every cattle breed. Tenet AI sires or certified bulls can change quality very quickly. There are Tenet individual animals in every breed of cattle. Tenderness is an inherited trait, and Hendrix believes that between 5% and 15% of the American herd are currently Tenet. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The USDA introduced its beef quality grading system in the early 1960s. Since then, cattle and beef have changed, but the grading system remains the same, Hendrix said. Compared with cattle in 1960, today’s cattle have substantially different carcass weights, fat levels and marbling. The Select, Choice and Prime grades were developed based on fat, specifically intramuscular fat. We now know that fat and tenderness are not the same: fat is not required for tender beef, according to Callipyge Genetics. In recent research, trained taste panels could not distinguish among Select, Choice and Prime when identical cuts were cooked the same way. Differences in tenderness can be detected with less than one kilogram of pressure.<\/p>\n

Beef tenderness has been consumers’ top concern in every USDA consumer survey from 1990 through 2022. Consumers are dissatisfied with the tenderness of commercially raised beef 23% of the time. In the 2015 survey, 66% of grass-fed beef consumers were dissatisfied with tenderness. Across all surveys, consumers consistently cite animal welfare, food safety, and environmental concerns.<\/p>\n

Tenet certification addresses tenderness concerns in both grass-finished beef and commercially fed cattle. Tenet certification has nothing to do with GMOs. Tenet occurs naturally in all Bos taurus cattle breeds, including Wagyu, and it is naturally occurring in all cattle breeds and crossbreds. It ensures tenderness, reduces the need for long feeding periods and ultra-heavy cattle, and cuts thousands of pounds of unnecessary fat and thousands of tons of manure, according to Callipyge Genetics.<\/p>\n

Callipyge Genetics has developed Certified Tenet Beef, a Tenet-branded product that will coordinate Tenet-certified animals with either grass-finished producers or those willing to pay for added quality, with companies marketing nationally and locally. Callipyge Genetics’\u00a0goal is to place Tenet-certified animals in a value-added market to increase producer profitability and consumer urgency for Tenet quality, said Hendrix.<\/p>\n

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