European Meat Cuts

Because food and health standards vary worldwide, British, French, and North American primal cuts are very different. While the British try to use as many parts of the animal as they can, the French have stricter standards and categories for each animal, using a letter and number grading system.

With the creation of the European Community, certain standards have been implemented by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which has sought to standardize the classification and labeling of meats in Europe. This has not affected the butchery cuts used by different countries and regions.