COURSE OVERVIEW

LPT-312: ABATTOIR PRACTICES AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS TECHNOLOGY

(1+1)

Definition

 Slaughter of food animals is done either in public slaughterhouses called Abattoirs,

usually the property of local government authorities or in private slaughterhouses
owned by individual or retail butchers. The latter must be registered and should hold
a license.
 Basically the term by-products and offals are used to denote the parts, which is not
included in thedressed carcasses. So, by-products may be defined as, “everything
from the abattoir or butcher‟s shop that is not sold directly as food”. Some of the by-
products include organs, such as kidney, brain, liver, heart, lungs and intestinal
tract, stomach, blood, bones, hooves, horns, hair and bristles, hide and skin, etc

Objectives

 Given the resource materials, the under graduate students will be able to have a clear
and better understanding of the practices need to be carried out in an abattoir to
produce hygienic and wholesome meat forhuman consumption.
 They will also understand how to operate and maintain the abattoir and specific roles
played by the veterinarian in wholesome meat production.
 The course material will also help the students for better understanding of utilisation
of slaughterhouse by-products, better economic return and reduce the environmental
pollution. This would also make the meat industry more sustainable as animportant
component of livestock economics

Structure of the course

 This course is structured as a 1+1 credit course.

 The study material has been designed and constructed in such a way so that it covers
all the aspects of abattoir construction, operation, sanitation, maintenance and
management.
 Further, the processing and utilisation of animal by-products for better economic
returns are also included for a comprehensive and effective study.
 Emphasis is also given on proper disposal of the abattoir wastes and other
condemned articles that are obtained from the abattoir by including effluent
treatment.
 Thus, a student will have a composite knowledge not only wholesome meat
production, abattoir practices and utilisation of by products but also on being eco-
friendly and take care of the environment pollution.
 Under abattoir practices the techniques of different methods of slaughter
anddressing of food animals and birds are also incorporated.
 Basic information on food animals and meat hygiene are also added to contents of the
course.
 Hence, the present study material is divided into various chapters with suitable sub-
headings and arranged in sequence for easy reading and understanding of the subject
by the student/user.

MODULE-1: FOOD ANIMALS AND MEAT HYGIENE

Learning objectives

This moduledeals with,

 meat consumption habits in different regions of the world,

 classification of food animals,
 description of food animals,
 exotic breeds of food animals,
 Indian breeds of food animals,
 duties and responsibilites of the meat hygienist,
 coverage of meat hygiene programme and
 elements of meat hygiene.

SOURCES OF FOOD ANIMALS

 Food animals are all animals that are used forhuman consumption.
 They may be mainly herbivorous animals.
 Food animals are generally of two types viz., Conventional food
animals(cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats and pigs) and non-conventional food
animals (musk oxen, yak, deer, reindeer, horses, camels, alpaca, llama
and vicuna).
 The animals suitable for the food of man should have cloven footed hoof and
chew the cud.
 In addition, poultry (chicken, ducks, geese, turkey, pigeons, emu, etc) have
become major meat producing species.
 Food animals are kept primarily for the production of meat but they often
yield additional products of sufficient value to influence the economics of the
total process.
 The carcass yield ordressing percentage is expressed as a percentage of the
live weight of the animals.

Dressing percentage = ((Live weight of

the animal - dressed weight) / live weight )
x 100
Kind of animals Carcass yield (%)
Cattle 50 to 54
Sheep and Goat 35 to 50
Veal 63
Pig 65 - 70
MEAT CONSUMPTION HABITS IN DIFFERENT REGIONS OF
THE WORLD

 In Europe (Denmark, Belgium Holland and France) horseflesh forms animportant

item of human diet but in many other parts of world it is not so common.
 People of Korea and some parts of North-Eastern India consume the flesh of dogs.
 In Italy and Germany dogs were used in the past.
  In the south and south East of Asia, south and south west of Europe and in India,
buffaloes are used. Deer, wild boar, etc. are used as dainties.
 Consumption of rabbit meat is rapidly increasing because of their quick turnover and
better feed conversion ratio.
 Swine especially, the exotic variety are increasingly used nowadays in India.
 Some tribal people of Africa consume flesh of hippopotamus, rhinoceros and
elephants.
 Diet of the Eskimos constitutes flesh of seal and polar bears.
 In some remote areas consumption ofhuman flesh (Cannibalism) was noticed.
Whale is used in Norway and Japan.
 Fish, snakes, crabs, prawns, lobsters, frogs, molluscs, etc., form the aquatic source of
meat in different parts of the globe.
 Frogs are consumed in China, Japan and U. S. A.
 Non-domestic ones – deer, wild boars, antelopes, wild cats, etc., are consumed as
game animals in different parts of the world.
 Flesh of kangaroos is consumed in Australia.
 In Africa and Russia, elands are being domesticated, as well as antelopes in Russia.
 In South America large rodents, capybara, which is a semi-aquatic vegetarian, is
being used as a source of meat, although it is not especially palatable.

CLASSIFICATION OF FOOD ANIMALS

 Macro Livestock / Large stock: Includes cattle, buffaloes, camels, etc.

 Medium stock: Includes pigs.
 Micro Livestock / Small stock: Includes calves, sheep, goats etc.
 According to the physical condition, food animals are sometimes referred as lean
stock and fat stock.

DESCRIPTION OF FOOD ANIMALS

Cattle

 In India, cattle are reared mainly for milk production and draught purpose.
 Slaughter of cow is banned by law in most of the states of India except in Kerala
and West Bengal. Slaughter of bullocks does take place at most of the places. Carcass
yield varies from 50 to 54% depending upon the condition of the animal.

Buffalo

 Indian buffaloes are primarily reared for milk production and slaughtered after their
productive period.
 There is a good demand for buffalo meat among the Middle East countries and
Malaysia.
 Male buffalo calves with proper feeding and management offer vast potential for
good quality and better-priced meat forexport . A dressing percentage of 50% is
obtained from well-maintained male buffalo calves of less than 3 months of age. The
averagedressing percentage of Indian buffaloes varies from 50 to 55%.

Sheep

 In arid, semi-arid and mountainous areas of our country which are not suitable for
crop farming, sheep are primarily reared both for wool and meat.
 Sometimes milk is also obtained from sheep.
  Sheep and goat skins are fairly valuable and about 90% are recovered from slaughter.
 Almost 5% of total meat is derived from this species by slaughter of 33% sheep
population every year.
 India stands third in sheep population in the world with vast genetic resource of as
many as 40 breeds.
 In general, an average Indian sheep weighs between 13 to 16 kg at 6 months of age
except for Deccani and Magra (both are dual purpose breed for mutton and carpet
wool), which weigh about 20 kg.
 At 12 months of age the average weight varies from 18 to 22 kg except
for Muzaffarnagri (dual purpose) and Magra , which weigh 25 and 28 kg,
respectively.
 The dressing percentage of sheep is about 45 to 48%, which may go up to 50% in a
well-bred stock.

Goats

 India ranks second largest in the world goat population.

 Since 90 % of goat population is found in Asian countries it is referred as Asian
Animal.
 It is also regarded as the poor man‟s cow and it has got the distinction of being the
mostimportant meat animal of India.
 It forms the choicest of all meats fetching the maximum retail price in the Indian
market.
 The preslaughter weight of goats varies from 12 –to 20 kg depending on the size of
the breeds.
 Most of the Indian breeds are medium sized.
 Thedressing percentage also varies from 43 to 50%
 Tellichery due to its compact body and short stature has a dressing yield of 48-50%.
 Black Bengal and Barbari breeds produce good quality meat and skin.
 Sirohi and Marwari breeds have a meaty conformation.

Pigs

 Pigs should be slaughtered at 6-7 months of age.

 The dressing percentage varies from 65 to 70% in case of desi pigs and 70 to 75% in
case of crossbred pigs.

Rabbit

 Rabbit is gainingimportance among the Indian consumers of the hilly tracks as an

alternate source of meat.
 Rabbits are highly prolific, grow rapidly and produce meat from cheap roughages.
 The average live weight ranges from 1.2 to 1.5 kg at 8 weeks and nearly 2 kg at 12
weeks.
 The carcass yield varies from 52 to 58% in different grades.
 Rabbit carcass contains 82% lean meat, which is white in colour and soft in
consistency.
 It is comparatively low in sodium and rich in potassium and phosphorus.
 The saturated fatty acids account for more than 60% of the total fatty acids whereas
free cholesterol is also relatively low.

Poultry

 Indian poultry industry has made a phenomenal progress in the last few decades.
  It has transformed into a sophisticated industry quite rapidly after the establishment
of several franchise hatcheries in 1970s.
 The broilers have a dressing percentage of 65-70%.
 Broiler meat is a true delicacy while it is available at comparatively lowerprice than
chevon or mutton.

Japanese Quails

 This is another species of poultry, which is gainingimportance and growing fast.

 It gains a weight of about 125 Gms at 5 weeks of age. The dressing percentage is
about 60.

 SOME EXOTIC BREEDS OF FOOD ANIMALS

Cattle Aberdeen Angus, Divan, Hereford, Sussex, Galloway, West Highland

Sheep Cheviot, Welsh Mountain, Southdown, Dorset Down, Merino
Pigs Middle White, Berkshire, Large White, Essex, Large Black, Welsh,
Landrace, Lincoln
Goats British Alpine, Somali, Nubian, Criolla, MaTou, Toggenburg
Rabbits New Zealand White, Californian, Dutch, Flemish Giant, Beveren, White
giant
Poultry
Chicken White Cornish, White Rock, New Hampshire
Ducks Aylesbury, White Table Duck, Pekin

Pigeon White Kings and Silver Kings

Turkey Broad-Breasted, Bronze, Beltsville, Small White.
SOME INDIAN BREEDS OF FOOD
ANIMALS

Pigs Gangroo
Sheep Mandya, Bandur, Madras Red, Mecheri, Nellore, Muzaffarnagari, Hassan,
Trichy Black, Lohi (mutton breeds)
Goats Black Bengal, Ganjam, Sangamneri, Sirohi, Tellicheri, Zalawadi (meat
breeds), Barbari, Beetal, Jamnapari, Jakhrana, Osmanabadi, Surti (dual
purpose)
MEAT HYGIENE

 The term meat hygiene is used to denote a wider field than meat inspection.
 The consumer expects his meat to be derived from animals that are healthy at the
time of slaughter, to be slaughtered in a humane method and the handling of meat
and meat products in a hygienic manner.
 The subject deals with the care and transport ofdressed carcasses from the
slaughterhouse to the wholesale market and then to the consumer in addition to
the Meat Inspection carried out in the methodical way within the slaughterhouse.
 In contrast to the olden day practice, meat is sold not only as fresh meat but also as
preserved and prepared forms such as chilled, frozen, canned, smoked meats,
sausage, ham-burger, etc.
 Meat hygiene is not luxury, it starts at the site of production and ends at the table of
the consumer i.e., from farm to fork.
 The consumer asa member of the modern society is entitled for the supply of
wholesome meat obtained after paying due regard to all recognized principles of meat
hygiene.
 These principles should be uniform throughout the country to have the total
confidence of the consumers.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITES OF THE MEAT HYGIENIST

 Duties and Responsibilities of the meat hygienists are as follows

o To pay particular attention to ensure quality, wholesome, hygienic and safe
meat production.
o To see that there is no adulteration of the meat during the handling and
processing with truthful labelling and transportation.
o To identify and eliminate carcasses affected with zoonotic diseases from food
chain.
o It is alsoimportant to identify certain carcasses during ante-mortem
examination where antemortem manifestations of certain diseases are more
pathognomonic than that of postmortem findings like Anthrax, Rabies,
Locked jaw, etc.,
o It is also not uncommon for a meat inspector to identify certain diseases for
the first time in the lairage and thereto tracing back the disease at the site of
production where proper prophylactic measures could be advocated.

COVERAGE OF MEAT HYGIENE PROGRAMME

 Meat hygiene programme has a multi dimensional approachdealing with farmers,

traders, handlers, processors and finally consumers. In some way it covers
academicians and policy makers to have better distinction on public health
improvement programmes.
 The production of sound, vigorous livestock and poultry in an economic manner.
 Thoughtful attention for the supply of safe and wholesome meat i.e., the food should
be produced in clean environment and free from contamination.
 Protection against economic frauds such as adulteration, inaccurate labeling or
substitution.
 The maintenance of good health of the public is entrusted to the meat hygienist and
he must maintain and safeguard the trust and confidence of the public as well as the
trade.
 Meat hygiene protects the meat supply and safeguards the Nation‟s Livestock
economy.

ELEMENTS OF MEAT HYGIENE

 Ante–mortem inspection.
 Post-mortem inspection.
 Re-inspection
  Sanitation.
 Condemnation and destruction of unfit materials.
 Adulteration – prevention of adulteration and fraudulent practices.
 Misrepresentation – prevention of false labeling.

MODULE-2: ABATTOIR AND ITS MANAGEMENT - I

Learning objectives

This moduledeals with,

 existing conditions,
 attitude and outlook of butchers, etc.,
 steps to improve the abattoirs,
 usefulness of public slaughterhouses,
 steps in planning an abattoir,
 location,
 Environmental Assessment (EA),
 Environmental statement (ES),
 submission of plans,
 selection of site,
 facilities required,
 small abattoir units and
 buildings and their dispositions.

DEFINITION

 Slaughter of food animals is done either in public slaughterhouses called Abattoirs,

usually the property of local government authorities or in
private slaughterhouses owned by individual or retail butchers.
 The latter must be registered and should hold a license.

EXISTING CONDITIONS

 There are 3600 registered slaughterhouses in India besides, a number of slaughter

booths where mostly clandestine slaughter takes place.
 Most of the slaughterhouses are lack in proper facilities of lairage, inspection, water,
light, electricity, collection of edible and inedible offal and disposal of slaughter
effluents.
 Mostly they are very old and dilapidated due to lack of planning and funds as the
planners fail to understand the necessity of slaughterhouses over the public health
and meat consumption.
 The expenditure involved may be low in comparison with the advantages, which
could accrue in construction of slaughterhouses.The person involved in the
slaughter process are ill trained and often go with the practices not at all encouraging
for hygienic and wholesome meat production.
 There are no proper avenues in the slaughterhouses to utilize the slaughterhouse
byproducts, In some places - the heads, feet and other offal are given to poor women
in return for help during slaughtering by flaying, washing and doing similar types of
work, who often succumb to number of health hazards.
 The elements of meat hygiene were seldomly be practiced, bad habits and unhygienic
meat handling practices, such as the chopping up or soaking of meat in water
beforesale are in vogue.
 No restriction in the movement of unauthorized persons and entry of the stray dogs
at the site of slaughter in the abattoirs.

ATTITUDE AND OUTLOOK OF BUTCHERS

 The butchers, livestock, meat and hide traders generally are not ready to accept for
any improvement in relation to slaughter process, slaughterhouse and related
matters.
 They constitute a conservative hostile group to anything new which they consider to
be a nuisance. They also intended to think that such tightening control over their
industry may check their income or increase their losses if they accept centralized
slaughter and to work according to strict hygienic measures.
 In such conditions new slaughterhouses and a tightening up of hygienic control may
be resented.

STEPS TO IMPROVE ABATTOIRS

 Construction of modern, improved slaughterhouses with facilities of all the elements

of hygienic slaughter.
 Butchers and consumers have to be educated to the idea of proper standards set up
for their benefit.
 An appreciation of hygiene and civil consciousness have to be developed to encourage
healthy meat trade and discourage clandestine slaughter in the wake of little
legislation.
 Licences have to be enforced in regard to slaughter and other related factors with
enforcement of illegal entry of unauthorised persons within the slaughter premises.
 Proper disposal of slaughterhouse effluents and use of byproducts must be ensured.
 The transportation of meat with adequate health coverage should be done for
possible contamination or infestation of the meat.
 Entry of stray dogs / birds to the site of slaughter must be restricted.
 Personnel hygiene of the butchers, cleanliness of the appliances, knives and use of
phytochemicals must be ensured to uplift total hygienic standard of the concerned
area and persons.
 Improved abattoirs, staffed by skilled personnel, may lead to loss of employment by
the groups of slaughterers, assistant slaughterers and sub-assistant slaughterers who
carry out the actual slaughtering operations for the owner of the animals or for the
butcher - for many butchers do not themselves perform this work.
 The co-operation of the local authorities required to effect changes from obsolete to
improved slaughtering system have to be ensured.
 The advantages that is achieved through changes have to be demonstrated
periodically to the butchers, consumers and stakeholders in terms their respective
profits.

USEFULNESS OF PUBLIC SLAUGHTERHOUSES

 Centralised slaughter is helpful for achieving hygienic wholesome meat with less
environmental pollution and with optimum collection of byproducts.
 Better and efficient antemortem inspection and postmortem examination can
be performed.
 Slaughtering anddressing of animals is performed under sanitary conditions.
 Identification of diseases of zoonotic importance.
 Prevention of fraudulent substitution.
 Implementation of slaughter operation procedures, rules, regulations and acts will
be easier.
 Meat of assured wholesomeness only will be madeavailable for public consumption.
 Ensures economic handling of the by-products including hides, offals, glands, blood
and condemned material leading to reduction on overheads on buildings, equipment
and labour.

STEPS IN PLANNING AN ABATTOIR

 To ascertain the ultimate maximum daily kill of each class of animal

 Proposal for proper disposal and treatment of the edible and inedible by-products.
 The actual system of operation - be determined, bearing in mind the local conditions.
 To decide whether it is a complete meat plant including full processing operations in
one or more floors or an abattoir adapted solely for slaughter anddressing .
 Thefactory abattoir requires regular full-time skilled slaughtermen to deal with all
kinds of livestock.
 The abattoir should be constructed considering the livestock population, type of
livestock, marketing facilities and socio-economic conditions of the local area.

LOCATION

 The essential considerations to be borne in mind while selecting a site for the
construction of a slaughterhouse are
o Available of sufficient land for expansion
o Accessibility by road and rail transport
o Water facility
o Supply of electricity and
o Facility for sewage disposal
o Proximity for supply of labour
o Proximity to regular supply of resource animals
o Social and religious background of the local habitants

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (EA)

 EA - considers the outputs to the environment, during the construction phase and
from the plant in normal operation but. In the case of meat plant the following are
considered
o Effect of increased traffic movements in the locality
o Noise and dust during construction phase
o Operational noise
o Odour
o Emission of combustion gases
o Waste water disposal.
o EA must be carried out before commissioning the project

ENVIRONMENT STATEMENT (ES)

 Used in determining the suitability or otherwise of the proposed plant in the

particular location.
 Planning authorities will often require the production of an ES.
  A substantial document to be accompanied by a non-technical summary for use by
laypersons.
 Available to all interested parties.
 Used by the planning authority in determining a planning application and by review
bodies in the event of any appeal or public enquiry.

The elements of ES

 Justification of the need for the development.

 Description of site and processes. Identification of outputs to the environment.
 Report of established baseline data (ambient air quality levels, traffic flows, etc.).
 Anticipated environment impacts at both construction and operational stages.
 Proposed measures to mitigate impacts.

SUBMISSION OF PLANS

 Two sets of drawings and four sets of specifications submitted to responsible

authority for approval.

The specifications must include

 details of proposed throughput and capacity,

 number of employees - category wise
 building construction,
 water supply,
 refrigeration capacity,
 lighting,
 ventilation,
 equipment and operations,
 details for pest control - fly screening,
 the methods to be used for steam and vapour removal - proposed flow lines for
product, equipment, personnel and packaging.

Guidance notes for prospective applicants and their consulting architects and engineers are
normallyavailable from government departments and these should be carefully studied
beforehand.

The site plan (scale 1:500)

 The site plan show the complete premises and the location in relation to roads,
railways, waterways and adjoining properties and their function, catch basins, water
and sewer lines, storage tanks, etc.,

The floor plan (scale: 1:50 or 1:100)

 Relates to layout of walls, doorways,windows , partitions, rail systems, equipment,

benches, platforms, toilets, chutes, conveyors, staircases, hot and cold- water
connections, ventilation fans, work positions of operatives, etc.
 The position of drainage gutters and floor gradients must also be included.

The plumbing plan

  Details of the drainage system, ensuring that toilet and floor soil lines are separated
until outside the building and that the former do not connect with grease traps.
 Specialized knowledge is required to design and construct a meat plant.
 Competent architects, veterinarians and engineers with greater experience are
employed along with reputable contractors.
 Plan should compliance with hygiene, health and safety, EC regulations, good
building standards and practices, precaution against fire.

SELECTION OF SITE

The site to be selected should

 Be located outside the city or town, in a place, which will not soon become an abode
of habitation. The rural site generally outweigh those of the other sites, hence it is
recommended that a rural location be chosen where possible,
 Be of such size as to allow for future expansion,
 Be on an elevated plane to facilitate better natural drainage and prevent water
stagnation. A stock-proof fence to keep slaughter stock in and other animals out
should surround the abattoir,
 Be in a direction in which wind passes out from dwellings; neither to the leeward nor
windward of the town. If the prevailing winds are north/south, the abattoir should be
built to the east or west of the town. The land could be landscaped and planted with
trees, to provide windbreaks, shade and shelter, if not to make the building
moreattractive ,
 Be accessible from all parts of the city or town,
 Be provided with rail tracks for receipt of animals by railways,
 Be within reach of the highway,
 Have permeable soil and suitable for good foundations including piling. Arable
farmland should not be chosen, as it may be a waste of productive land for the
cultivation of crops may be subject to drift of crop spraying chemicals.
 Have ample water supply for washing, etc., at an estimated requirement of 150
gallons per animal slaughtered or 10,000 litres/tonne ofdressed carcass weight,
 Enjoy unhindered ventilation and light,
 Ability to separate „clean‟ and „dirty‟ areas and access,
 Proximity to supply of varied labour,
 Goodavailability of stock nearby, and
 Mains electricity and sewerage.
 The actual site need not be a flat one.
 Indeed, slopes can provide suitable loading bays for stock and product and are of
value when two or more floors are contemplated.
 In general, therefore, urban sites should be avoided; rural and nominated sites are
preferred.

AREA SIZE

 The size of the site should be given a careful consideration with allowance for the
various buildings and traffic circulation.
 Modern livestock and meat transportvehicles have very large turning circles: 14 m
for a vehicle 15 m long.
 Completely separate routes for stock and meat vehicles should be provided.
 Approach roads should be at least 6 m wide.
 When all the various buildings are considered, it will be realized that a large area is
necessary.
Area requirement

 Generally for a small abattoir (up to 30,000 units*/year) the area required will be
about 1-2 acres.
 For a medium plant (50,000+ units*/year) about 2-4 acres will be required.
 A large abattoir handling over 100,000 units* annually will require about 4-6 acres of
land.

*One livesotock unit is equivalent to ONE adult bovine or TWO pigs, THREE calves or
FIVE sheep.

ABATTOIR FACILITIES

 The facilities required in a abattoir are

o Water
o Electricity
o Drainage
o Lighting
o Ventilation
o Floor and wall finishes
o Doors
o Equipment design
o Pest control

WATER

 Mains water supply should provide an ample supply of potable water.

 Water should be distributed to all parts of the plant under adequate pressure,
which in the mains pipeline should be at least 20 psi. The hot water supply
should have a temperature of 82°C.
 Water storage tanks must hold at least one day‟s water requirement. The
recommended water requirement is
o 454 litres/day per pigs,
o 272 liters/day per bovine and
o 45 litres/day per sheep or goat.
o plus 25% at a reasonable pressure of 15 psi
 If non-potable water is used for steam production, refrigeration or fire control,
it must be carried in separate lines and identified as such.
 Baconfactories and manufacturing operations require special assessment.

ELECTRICITY

 Industrial three phase electricity supply should be provided besides a stand-by

generator must be installed in the slaughterhouse for uninterrupted power supply.
 Provision of central steam boilers may be fuelled with oil or gas for supply of hot
water and steam to different units in the abattoir.

DRAINAGE
 The floors in wet areas should slope uniformly to drains with a gradient of 1:50. One
drain is for each 40 m2 of floor area. The internal drainage should be in the form of
open concrete channels leading to open gullies, situated immediately outside and
connected to closed drains.
 Low places where water and blood could collect are to be guarded against. Where
blood tends to collect, e.g. underdressing rails, special provision must be made to
supply drainage valleys at a gradient of at least 1:25. The valleys themselves should be
60 cm wide and should continue under dressing lines for the collection of all blood
and bone dust.
 Catch Basins - Catch basins must be provided on drains for grease recovery.
 Traps and Vents - Traps and vents must also be provided on drains, properly sealed
and easily cleanable and the latter to be effectively vented to outside the building.
 Special arrangements have to be made fordealing with stomach and intestinal
contents, the drains for bovine material to be at least 20 cm in diameter and for the
smaller species 15 cm.
 All drains in the slaughter hall be trapped with 4 mm screens, to prevent the
possibility of contamination of the effluent.
 Grids covering drains should be made of cast iron or other approved material.

LIGHTING

 Adequate natural or artificial lighting must be provided throughout the meat plant.
 The type of lighting should not distort colours. It is generally recommended that the
overall intensity should not be less than
o 540 lux (50 foot-candles) at all inspection points
o 220 lux (20 foot-candles) in workrooms
o 110 lux (10 foot-candles) in other areas
 These intensities of light are usually taken at levels of 0.9 m from the floor, except in
inspection areas where the height is 1.5 m.
 Protective shields must be fitted to lights in areas where fresh meat and offal are
exposed to prevent contamination from shattered

VENTILATION

 Adequate ventilation should be provided to prevent excessive heat, steam and

condensation.
 Ventilation prevents the accumulation of odours, dust, etc., but it should not
excessive, that may cause draughts and thus problems for staff.
 Openings of the ventilators and windows should be screened and sills sloped.

FLOOR AND WALL FURNISHES

 All parts of the meat plants must be able to clean easily and the floors and
walls should be non-toxic and non-absorbent. The floors should be non
slippery.
 It is recommended that walls should be coated with a smooth, durable,
impervious material to a height of not less than 3 m from the floor.
 Surface materials should be capable of withstanding impact, doors should be
wide enough to allow easy passage of personnel.
  Good ventilation, insulation and easily cleaned surfaces will minimize the
disruption of routine works.
 Abattoir operations entail wet floors on which are usually present quantities of
fat and blood. While floor finishes should be easily cleaned, they should also
non-slip.
 Walls and floors may be made of concrete or tiles. Wall sheets are often used
in the form of plastic laminates, aluminum, polished asbestos, PVC-faced rust
less metal or stainless steel.

DOORS

 These should be wide enough to allow passage of product without contact with
the doorway.
 A width of 1.37 m (4.5 ft) is usually adequate.
 Doors must be constructed of rust-resistant material. If made of wood, they
should be covered with rust-resistant smooth impermeable material.
 Double-acting doors should have aglass (reinforced) panel at eye level.
 Plastic strip doors are not much suitable for fitting in abattoir because they are
difficult for proper cleaning.

EQUIPMENT DESIGN

Equipment design aspects as well as operating efficiency, durability etc. to be

considered.

 Faults in construction and design include: Use of wood for equipment and
tools. Wood cannot be cleaned and disinfected with ease and is liable to
deteriorate rapidly in moist surroundings.
 Use of unsuitable fastenings, which can work loose and contaminate the
product.
 Provision of ledges and corners where meat, fat etc., can lodge and cause
bacterial build up.
 Badly recessed nuts, bolts and screws can also gather scraps and hinder
cleansing.
 Use of expanded metal for decks, walkways and staircases especially near
conveyors. All these should be constructed from non-slip solid plate.
 Metal joints, which are rough. Joints should be welded and then ground to a
smooth finish.
 Fixed covers for conveyors that makes cleaning difficult.
 The design and location of equipment should be such as to allow for ease and
efficiency of cleaning and disinfection.
 The slaughter house must be fitted with overhead weigh bridges, stunning
pens, stunning equipment, overheads rails (twin bar runways), electric hoists,
pulley, beef trees, hooks, electric hide removers, tail pullers, carcass splitting
saws, trolleys, hot water sprayers, etc.
 Thespecial requirements for the slaughtering of pigs include, gaseous
stunning, pig traps, scalding and dehairing machinery.
 PEST CONTROL

 The entrance of birds, rats, mice and insects such as flies and cockroaches can
cause serious problems like dirt and may carry food-poisoning organisms -
responsible for zoonoses.
 Birds - sparrows, starlings, feral pigeons and gulls inhabit areas where food
and nesting material areavailable .
 They feed on meat scraps, dung, insects, grain and food scraps, discarded or
even on occasions purposely laid by personnel.

Control

 Rats and mice are alsoattracted by the presence of food and may gain
entrance from adjoining properties.
 Mice are introduced into an abattoir in polystyrene insulation for use in chill
rooms.
 Droppings and musk trails are indicators of their presence.
 A sketch plan of the premises indicating numbered bait points should be
produced and a record of usage of each point noted, as well as dates of
inspection and any structural defects.
 Insects are drawn into food premises mainly by the presence of pre-digested
food, such as excreta, and by warmth.
 Nearby breeding grounds such as waste pits, stagnant ponds and sewage
works may be responsible for the advent of flies.
 Plant location and design are important factors in prevention of fly
infestation; for e.g, the manure bay must be sited away from meat areas.
 Insecticidal sprays should be avoided in the abattoir considering meat is a
consumable commodity.

SMALL ABATTOIR UNITS

 Smaller plant is cost effective can be located in remote areas close to production
areas thereby reduction in transport costs.

The FPE plant (Food Processing Engineering Plant)

 A prefabricated unit conisiting of a slaughter section with dimensions of 9.14 m (30

ft) length, 3.7 m (12 ft) width and 4.6 m (15 ft) height.
 This is combined with refrigeration, cutting and boning and by products facilities,
etc.
 Capacity of 10 cattle, 20 sheep and 10 pigs daily.

Mobile slaughter facility

 Many animal welfare organisations are coming up with such mobile units with
slaughter facilities aimed to hygienic meat processing cumhumane aspect of
slaughter particularly for the birds.
 Based on a large trailer unit on an avehicle .
 Fitted with a stunning box, hoists, bleeding area, dressing cradles, chill room, storage
for by-products, detained and effluent material.
 The unit operates from a home base and visits farms on request
  The farms provide basic facilities of water, electricity, lairage pens, toilet and
changing rooms.
 Careful attention is given for animal welfare and organization of ante-mortem and
post-mortem inspection.

BUILDINGS AND THEIR DISPOSITIONS

The slaughterhouse may consist of (a) main department and (b)accessory

department.

Main department

This department may have the following units

 Lairage Weighment room

 Stunning chamber
 Slaughter hall
 Cooling hall
 Hide and skinstore
 Manure house
 Detention room
 Condemned meat room
 Boiler house
 Facilities for Personnel
 Mess rooms
 Bath rooms
 Veterinary Office
 Office accommodation
 Superintendent‟s office and
 Veterinary Laboratory

Accessory department

 The accessory department may consist of the following units

o Gut and tripe room
o Red offal room
o Edible Fat room
o Cutting rooms
o Inedible Area
o Equipment Wash
o Digester room
o Blood drying yard
o Fresh Meat Dispatch Area
o Residential quarters
o Isolation block
 It will be observed from the above list, that each of the rooms is intended to
serve certainspecial needs in the slaughter, dressing and subsequent disposal
of food animals‟ carcasses in the order of operations taking place here.

LAIRAGE
  Lairage is a place near to the slaughterhall to give rest prior to slaughter for a
period of 6 to 36 hours.
 Period of rest before slaughter has marked beneficial effect on the meat and
subsequent marketability of the carcass.
 Consist of pens for live animals.

Livestock reception area

 Roofed to protect animals and staff, particularly during identification,

handling and sorting of stock.
 The off-loading dock should be about 1.2 m high to permit careful offloading,
especially of stock carried on upper tiers of Lorries. The slope should not be
more than 30o.
 A suitable office for reception area staff is essential for maintaining slaughter
records.
 Sufficient room should be allowed for manoeuring and temporary parking.
 The entry point to the meat plant for livestock should have a display board
containing „All stock must be handled gently and quietly‟.
 Irregularities in transportation can be noted at the reception area and the
appropriate action taken.

Facilities

 The ramps must slope up rather than down.

 Drain inlets in the centres of passageways should be avoided.
 Sharp corners should be avoided and projections of any kind and gates should
preferably be placed at the end, not in the middle of the pen side.
 The horizontal bars should be correctly spaced to prevent strangulation if
tubular partitions are used.
 Strident voice and noises, dark objects (especially if these are moving), sudden
movements of personnel, drain openings in the centres of passage was sharp
corners, etc., are contraindicated.
 The final drive races should have solid sides, non-slip floor surfaces and
lighting to encourage the animals to go forward.
 In larger plants it is necessary to have two single-line crushes for cattle to
allow for stock movement so that an animal fall in one race.
 Side gates should be installed to handle such emergencies and also to provide
escape gates for personnel in the drive race when they are confronted with
wild animals.
 The length of the final race is determined by the overall throughput of the
meat plant.
 In a large plant this race can be 36 m long, with stop gates to prevent the
animals going backwards, 80 cm wide, and reach to about waist height.
 Catwalks must be provided alongside the race to enable handlers to control
stock movement, check identification etc.
 Equipment used should be noise-free.
 Gates located in the drive race and sliding or one-way gates in the single file
race should be made of expanded metal or closely spaced bars to enable the
animals to see through them.
  Constant vigilance is requiredto ensure that there is
o No bullying by dominant individuals and
o No females in oestrus.
o Horned stock must be kept separate.

Ante-mortem (AM) inspection facilities

 Ample natural or artificial lighting which is even and diffuse.

 Anisolation pen with a crush for clinical examination of animal.

Pen size

The following pen sizes are recommended for housing of livestock in abattoirs.

 Cattle
o Loose - 2.3-2.8 m2 /animal.
o Tied - 3.25 m2 /animal.
 Pigs
Bacon and small porkers - 0.6 m2 /animal
o
Heavy pigs and calves - 0.74 m2 /animal
o
 Sheep and goats
o 0.56 m2 /animal

A further 30% - added for reception areas and passageways.

Lairage sizes have beencalculated to hold one day‟s average kill.

CATTLE LAIRAGE

Dimension of pens

 7.6 m x 6 m - to hold 20-25 cattle.

Facilities

 Drinking water must be alwaysavailable to animals with a gravitational force.

 One cistern sufficient to feed three troughs.
 Automatic water bowls.
 In tie-up type lairage long water troughs satifactory for easy cleansing than individual
troughs or bowls.
 Hayracks to be provided.
 Animals are fed twice daily except on the day of intended slaughter or from the
afternoon preceding the morning of intended slaughter.
 Hydrant points are placed conveniently so that all parts of the lairage can be reached.
 An estimated amount of about 680 litres of water per cattle slaughtered is
sufficient for cleaning.
 Passage should be wide enough to admit entry of avehicle for the removal of
manure and dead animals.
 Ease of cleaning, comfort for the animals and ease of handling to be emphasised.

SHEEP & GOAT LAIRAGE

Dimension of pens

 Sheep and goat pens should be 0.9 m high with passages 0.9 m wide between them

Facilities

 Rails should not to be more than 15 cm apart to prevent strangulation.

 Double-hinged gates to facilitate entry and exit of stock
 Sliding gate provided between the pens to accommodate an overflow of animals.
 Water troughs are placed some 50 cm from the floor to prevent fouling.
 Hay racks provided above the level of the sheep and goat heads.
 Straw provided for solid floors to help keep the sheep and goats dry.
 Clean or expanded metal floors to keep clean and dry.
 Cattle and sheep and goats or pigs and sheep & goats lairages can be accommodated
in the same building

PIG LAIRAGE

Dimension of the pens

o Bacon and small porkers - 0.6 m2 /animal

o Heavy pigs - 0.74 m2 /animal
 Pig pens are constructed with solid walls.
 Rails used should be stronger than required for sheep lairage
 The lower horizontal rails of the pen should not be more than 15 cm apart to
prevent pigs putting their heads between the rails.
 The pens are long and narrow to allow more pigs to rest against the walls.
 Automatic filling and emptying of the pens is achieved by controlled
lifting/driving gates.
 The system is said to improve welfare standards with reduction of damage due
to fighting.
 Two single files are employed in the race section where some manual assistance
is required.
 A fine water spray and/or litter in the lairage pens are useful means of reducing
fighting among pigs, cooling them and reducing the incidence of pale, soft,
exudative (PSE) pork.

WEIGHMENT ROOM

 A weighment room with a weighbridge, suitably located, is a useful facility.

WASHING OF LIVESTOCK

 Washing of animals is contraindicated in temperate regions, except for pigs.

 In tropical and subtropical countries washing is practiced.
 Facilities for footbath spray system or bath with an adequate draining area prior to
slaughter to be provided.
 A system for recovering solids and a final potable water wash must be included.
 MANURE DISPOSAL

 Considerable quantities of lairage waste in the form of bedding and dung

require periodic removal, preferably to an elevated, covered site near the
lairage, from which it can be conveniently reloaded for removal.
 It is convenient to load it directly on to a large trailer, which can be removed
as necessary.
 The manure obtained from the stomachs and intestines of slaughtered
animals requires separate treatment.
 It is sometimes used as compost and manure production.

SLAUGHTER HALL

 The place where actual slaughter and dressing animals take place after
stunning.
 Form of „bays‟ or „booths‟ of 6.5m x 6.5m or in the form of an open hall with
generous floor space, well ventilated and lighted.
 The space requirements of this chamber will depend on the kill @ 3 sq. m per
cattle and 0.5 sq. m per sheep or goat.
 The transfer of animals from lairage to slaughter hall will be easy in a well
designed abattoir
 In upper kill floor the animals are walked directly on the slaughter floor by a
ramp provided with battens and a catwalk
 Cattle and sheep and goat can readily be driven up a ramp as steep as 1 in 6
 If animals are stunned on the ground level then hoisted after bleeding for
subsequent dressing on the top floor.
 Cattle and sheep can be slaughtered in the same slaughter hall provided such
operations are conducted at different periods.
 Hot water and steam facilities should beavailable for washing and sterilizing
purposes.
 Floors should be impermeable, non-slip, monolithic screed, sloping at 1:50
into screened drains.
 The walls should be of solid construction, finished in a smooth impermeable
granolithic screed and be tiled, grouted with a impervious material or covered
with an epoxy resin paint designed to function as a „tile‟ to a height not less
than 2 metres.
 Above this level, the walls should be finished in flake free high quality, light
coloured lead and arsenic free gloss paint.
 Ceilings and superstructures similarly finished.
 All floor/wall/ceiling junctures are rounded or coved.
 The illumination requirements are 220-lux units in the slaughter hall and 540
lux units in place where inspection is done.
 Overhead rails should be 3.3 m high for cattle dressing, although 4.5 m would
be required for the bleeding rail.
 Small stock and pigs may be slaughtered and dressed from a 3 m rail.
 The overall height of the building should not be less than 6 m at the point of
the cattle bleeding.
 Floor levels should slope in such a way that water and materials on the floor
flow into drains from clean to dirty areas.
  Water should not flow fromone room to another.
 The slaughter hall should be provided with conveniently placed chutes for
disposal of offal.

Sterilisers

 An adequate number of efficient sterilisers operating at 82°C for hand tools,

shackles, etc. to be provided on all slaughter/dressing floors, all conveniently
placed for operator use.
 Bootwash / apron wash facilities are necessary for cleanliness of operative.

STUNNING AREA

 The area in front of the stunning pen should be at least 3 m in width to the
opposing wall or bleeding trough and be fitted with upright bars 5 cm in
diameter and 1.2 m high, spaced at 40 cm intervals for safety purposes should
improperly stunned animals regain their feet.
 The floor must be properly drained and possess high-impact and non-slip
properties.
 A raised sturdy frame of expanded metal on to which the animal is ejected aids
cleanliness and reduced wetness.
 Effort to be made to reduce hide contamination.

BLEEDING AREA

 Blood is collected in shallow trays or basins or a separate channel be

constructed.
 The bleeding trough should be at least 1.5 m wide, possess a good gradient,
side walls of the same height, and two drains, one for blood only and the other
for water.
 The length of the bleeding line depends on throughput and the system of
conveying carcasses
 The bleeding trough has two points for the reception of blood: one at the
actual point of sticking where the greater volume of blood will be handled; and
thereafter a longer gradual slope that collects „drip‟ blood classed as inedible.
 The bleeding trough must have smooth impervious surface, often a suitable
grade of stainless steel.
  For hygienic bleeding for edible purposes, the stainless hollow knife combined
with cleanliness and a sodium citrate/phosphate anticoagulant is used.
 The knife is held in the wound by hand, by a rotating endless screw; or by
other means.
 For small meat plants individual containers are used for holding the blood
 For large throughputs and high rates of slaughter several blood draining
knives (as many as 14) can be used in a „carousel‟ which rotates synchronously
with the bleeding conveyor.
 Arrangements to be made for routine sterilization of the knives and adequate
staff to man this additional operation.
 The hollow knife is made of stainless steel in two sizes, for cattle and pigs.
 Consist of a tubular handle with a defector plate and two blades set at right
angles to each other.
 They are easy to strip for sharpening and cleaning and are combined with an
anticoagulant dispensing tube.
 The broad blade should be directed in the longitudinal direction of the animal
 A collagen tubing connects the knife to containers where the blade is cooled
prior to collection.
 A system which correlates each batch of blood to the carcass from which it
originates must be operated so that if a carcass is subsequently condemned
the blood from that animal may also be condemned.
 In the bleeding trough for sheep and pigs both sides are enclosed and have a
width of 1.1-1.2 m.
 For sheep the overhead bleeding rail is 2.7 m high, and dressing rail is 2.3 m
high.
 For pigs the overhead bleeding and dressing rails should be 3.4 m high.

DRESSING AREA

 Platforms are fixed at suitable positions and heights for operatives and inspectors to
work efficiently and without unnecessary stooping and labour for subsequent leg,
hide or fleece removal, evisceration, carcass splitting, inspection, kidney and channel
fat (KKCF) removal, carcass washing and shrouding stations.
 The position of the viscera inspection table is of particularimportance
 For adult cattle where the size of the top of the table should be about 2.7 m x 1.5 m
wide.

MODULE-3: ABATTOIR AND ITS MANAGEMENT - II

Learning objectives

This moduledeals with,

 scalding,
 accessory department,
 cutting rooms,
 disposition of the buildings,
 equipment used in abattoir,
 management and practices in abattoir,
 hygienic aspects of abattoir operation,
 bacteriological aspects of plant sanitation
  employees,
 abattoir effluent treatment and
 operations in slaughter house.

SCALDING

The factors to be considered relating to scalding and dehairing are

 Hourly rate of slaughter

 Size of pigs to be handled
 Efficiency of cleansing and corrosion.
 Vertical scalding of pig carcasses involves the use of a double-walled tunnel in which
steam, generated from a water bath in its bottom, is blown over the carcasses and
through a ventilator located over the condenser.
 A thermostat at 62˚ -64˚C controls the temperature of the tunnel.
 The cooling water from the condenser in the tunnel is used to flush the pig carcasses
during the dehairing process.
 Before entry into the tunnel, the carcass should hang for three minutes and then lie
on its side for two minutes.
 The pig carcasses are then transported to the tunnel on a rising rail so that the head is
under the other parts of the body during the whole scalding process, which lasts six
minutes.
 Trimming and singeing take place afterwards.

Advantages of Vertical Scalding

 To greatly improve the bacteriological standards of the pork.

 To produce bacteria-free lungs.
 To reduce muscular degeneration.
 To reduce incidence of PSE (pale soft exudative muscle) due to the fact as here
the body temperature does not go above 41˚C.
 To have better dehairing.
 To reduce operating costs.

COOLING HALL

 Carcasses are retained for specified periods of time before release to be transported
to retailers.
 Fresh meat intended must be chilled immediately after the post-mortem inspection
and kept at a constant temperature of not more than 7°C for carcasses and cuts or
3°C for offal.
 It is essential that the specified temperatures be achieved quickly. Where hot boning
is carried out, the resultant joints must be chilled before dispatch.
 It is necessary to provide a series of chilling units suited to the capacity of the meat
plant and possessing a system of high rails for beef and low rails sheep and pigs.
 In some smaller plants it may be possible to combine species, utilising the high rails
for double-tiered pork and lamb carcasses.
 A number of small rectangular chill room s will reduce the time during which the chill
room doors are open, speed up the chilling process and increase efficiency by
reducing the mixing of hot and cold carcasses.
 The carcasses must be hung in such a way as to allow free movement of cold air
around them
 Rail spacing should be
 0.9 m for beef,
  0.7 m for pigs and
 0.5 m for lambs and goats
 The minimum space between carcasses on rails should be 0.3-0.4 m.
 The chilling facilities is providing chilling to protect carcasses against spoilage by
microorganisms leading to surface slime formation or bone taint in deep muscles.
 Refrigeration also protects against oxidation of fat, adverse changes in the colour of
the superficial tissues and their undue desiccation.
 The risk of spoilage and deterioration of carcass meat is less likely when consumed
rapidly after slaughter (within 24-36 hours), as happens in many of the rural areas
and townships served by abattoirs with low animal throughputs.
 For optimal plant performance, chill rooms should be rectangular, with a width to
length ratio of 1:2 and a maximum length of 70 m.
 Temperatures and relative humidity are recorded to control the chilling process,
preferably by using charts or computer-generated records.
 The air temperature must not fall below –1°C and relative humidity should be
between 87-91%.
 It has been assumed that ambient conditions are 38°C with a relative humidity of
75%.
 The rate of cooling of carcasses depends upon the size and heat capacity of those
carcasses.
 If the relative humidity is not maintained between 87-91%, moisture losses or
shrinkage in beef cattle is 4% and in lamb 5%.
 The weight loss poorly covered carcasses will be greater than that from those having a
heavy fat cover, for any given condition of chilling
 Chill doors should be made of durable, high-impact materials such as stainless steel,
aluminium or reinforced plastics.
 They may be sliding or single- or double-hinged and if hinged should open outwards.
 Internal finishes should be durable and impervious, with good insulation and floor
drainage.
 Areas of walls where contact with carcasses occurs on loading should be protected
with stainless steel or aluminium or plastic sheeting.
 Chill and freezer doors be close fitting and that they be provided with an internal
opening device to avoid personnel being closedin the rooms .
 Space must be enough to accommodate carcasses at least for 2 days.
 Several smaller chilling rooms can also be put up for convenience.
 The temperature of the chilling rooms must be between -10C and 40C.

HIDE AND SKINSTORE

 Hide and skins must be removed from the slaughter hall straight to the hide store
which should have a airconditioned temperature and it must be despatched to
tannery within 10 to 12 hours if more time is needed, a primary treatment with dry
salt at the inner aspect of skin and hide can also be practiced to extend the shelf life to
prevent initiation of microbial spoilage.
 At the planning stage itself suitable arrangements be provided for all areas where by-
products are held pending dispatch, not only in relation to their position, size, layout,
chute system with slaughter hall floor, etc., but also in connection with the facilities
for easy loading on or off vehicles.
 A system of handling hides and skins in palletized containers is of value.
 For handling hides and skins gravity feeding is easier if the slaughter hall floor is on a
higher level, and connected with the various by-products departments by stainless
steel chutes.

MANURE HOUSE
  All refuse like dung and ingesta are retained here before removal.
 This should be sited near the lairage and / or on the dirty side of the plant.
 In some cases stomach and intestinal material is handled along with manure or it
may be processed separately.
 Size and design depend mainly on throughput but in all cases of transportvehicles
should be made priority, which usually means having the bay in an elevated
position.
 Its floor and sides should be impervious, with provision made for overflow liquors to
be drained away.
 In certain whether conditions the manure has to be treated to prevent problems with
flies.
 Disposal of waste material must be carried out before development of foul odour
and objectionable conditions.

DETAINED MEAT ROOM

 Carcasses suspect for unwholesomeness are brought directly by aspecial rail to

the detained meat room, which should be located adjacent to the main slaughter hall
inspection points inorder to achieve close liaison over disease findings.
 All parts of the carcass must be identifiable pending the final decisions.
 They are detained here for a further detailed inspection by the meat inspector.
 This room may be maintained a temperature of 150C to 200C.
 There should be ample space for the examination of carcasses, which being hot at this
stage and prior to final inspection, should not be allowed to touch each other.
 If they are to be held for any period, e.g. pending laboratory examination, chilling
accommodation is necessary.
 Good lighting of an intensity of not less than 50 foot-candles (540 lux) is required,
which does not distort colours.
 The normal facilities of good drainage, easily cleaned surfaces and adequate
sterilisation and recording equipment are also necessary.
 A hydraulic lift stand is an advantage for detailed examination.
 If this department is situated adjacent to the meat plant laboratory, this is an added
advantage, since microbiological, pathological, parasitological and biochemical
examinations, as well as photography, can be more conveniently carried out.
 This room should be enclosed and entry restricted to authorized personnel. It must
be kept locked.

CONDEMNED MEAT ROOM AND BOILER ROOM

Condemned meat room

 Condemned meat and organs arestored here under lock and key before final
disposal.
 This room must be located in a place, which is in a direct line of vision from the Meat
Inspector‟s room.
 It should have adequate space for proper sorting and holding of materials unfit
forhuman consumption prior to dispatch, refrigeration and drainage along with the
supply of durable and lockable containers and weighing facilities.
 A suitable rail linkage with the detained meat room and other means of handling
materials complete this important area.

Boiler room

 This room is meant for the location of a boiler.

 FACILITIES FOR PERSONNEL

 Facilities for the workers to keep their clothing, valuable articles, etc., under safety in
locker rooms, a sufficient number of water closets, showers and wash-hand basins
must be provided (one for every 15 employees).
 Alternatively, individual wash-hand basins may be replaced by suitable communal
hand washing facilities of an elongated or circular type, which are more easily
maintained.
 Separate units must be provided if both sexes are employed.
 The dressing rooms should be properly separated from the toilets and these must not
open directly on to working areas.
 Lockers should be of made of metal with sloping tops and placed 40 cm above the
floor inorder to facilitate cleaning.
 A plastic, stainless steel or wooden bench along the front of the lockers at this level
completes the furniture.
 Separate lockers should be provided to each employee.
 Soiled working clothing should not bestored in lockers but be directed to the
laundry.
 Urinals should be installed in toilet rooms for male personnel.
 It is well worthwhile giving close consideration to the layout and design of changing
facilities for staff.
 Ventilation in these areas is of great importance.
 Separate welfare facilities may be provided for those employees working in inedible
and other unwholesome areas.
 The efficient operation of a meat plant depends on he well-being of its personnel.
 Although a fully trained industrial nurse and a well appointed first aid room are
considered beneficial, especially for the larger premises, not only todeal with the
many cuts and other problems associated with slaughtering operations but also to
assist materially in raising hygiene standards and preventing the onset of zoonoses,
they have mostly been replaced by a trained first-aider.
 In a modern meat plant a laundry and a conveniently sitedcar park are necessary.
 A comprehensive system of communication comprising internal telephones, a staff
location system of the VHF-radio type and loudspeaker equipment should be
installed along with adequate security arrangements.

Mess room

 This room is built for the convenience of the workers for their lunch etc.
 The access to this room should be restricted to employees.

Bathroom

 Here workers can clean themselves after their day‟s work.

ETERINARY OFFICE, OFFICE ACCOMMODATION,

SUPERINTENDENT’S OFFICE AND VETERINARY
LABORATORY

 An adequately equipped lockable room for the exclusive use of the veterinary service
is advocated.
 The rooms should be provided with hand-washing and shower facilities, and lockers
for clothing (clean and dirty) and meat inspection equipment.
  A convenient means of cleaning footwear before entry into changing rooms is an
advantage.

Office accommodation

 Official work concerning the slaughterhouse is performed here.

Superintendent’s office

 This building is so placed that it commands the bestview of all slaughter operations
and also as much of the abattoir as practicable.

Veterinary laboratory

 A well-equipped laboratory is essential, for the preliminary diagnosis of animal

disease and also to maintain the overall hygienic standards.
 These premises are very often also utilised for training of meat inspectors and other
employees.

ACCESSORY DEPARTMENT

 Gut and tripe room

 Red offal room and the edible fat room
 Cutting rooms
 Inedible area, equipment wash and digester room
 Blood drying yard, fresh meat dispatch area and residential quarters

GUT AND TRIPE ROOM

 Cleaning of the stomachs and intestines and preparation of tripe are done
here.
 The stomach of the ox and the sheep, constitute the raw material for tripe.
 The rumen and reticulum are processed together the omasum and the
abomasum separately.
 The stomachs are first emptied and washed.
 The fat is trimmed off.
 The stomachs are then scalded in water containing washing soda, scraped and
placed in cold water for cleaning them.
 They are finally cooked for 3 to 3 1/2 hours at 49ºC to 60ºC.
 In some establishments the omasum is discarded because of the difficulty in
removing its mucus membranes.
 In sheep and goat the omasum is discarded.
 It is convenient to have moving-top tables, with an arrangement for
discharging to a macerator or holding pending collection for composting, etc.
 Heavy cattle stomachs should be handled either by mechanical equipment or
by suitable gradients.
 The cattle-paunch emptying table should be at a convenient height in relation
to the moving-top table or be provided with a power-operated hoist for
elevating paunches to the higher level.
 The table must be fitted with an “umbrella” of spray rods fro cleaning the
 inside and the outside of the paunches.
 Subsequent processing of stomachs and intestines should take place in a
separate unit.

RED OFFAL AND EDIBLE FAT ROOM

Red offal room

 Offal such as liver, lungs and kidneys should be trimmed and then placed in a chill or
freezing room depending on the ultimate system of disposal.
 Offal for edible purpose must be held at a temperature not exceeding 3°C.

The edible fat room

 This is a completely separate holding room, usually situated near the gut room and
where edible fat is held pending dispatch.

CUTTING ROOMS

 In the cutting rooms hygienic procedures on fabrication of carcasses are carried out.
 So these rooms and the techniques employed in them that legislation usually
givesspecial consideration to them.
 During the cutting process the temperature of the building must not exceed 10°C and
the rooms must have sufficient refrigeration accommodation to keep meat at an
internal temperature of not more than 7°C.
 There must also be a thermometer installed in the cutting room.
 Adequate facilities are necessary in the form of suitable equipment, an adequate
supply of hot, potable water to keep the whole area hygienic, and a waste disposal
system that meets hygiene requirements.

INEDIBLE AREA, EQUIPMENT WASH AND DIGESTER ROOM

Inedible area

 All materials unfit forhuman consumption, with the exception of hides and skins,
are handled in this area.
 Handling of omasum after separation from cattle paunches is very difficult, since
improper handling of these organs may result in unhygienic conditions.

Equipment wash

 A properly designed equipment wash adjacent to work rooms is essential.

 There should be a one-way system through the washroom, to avoid the mixing of
clean and dirty equipment, good drainage and mostimportantly good steam
extraction.

Digester room

 The digester apparatus is located in this room

 This apparatus is utilised fordealing with condemned meat.
 FRESH MEAT DISPATCH AREA AND RESIDENTIAL
QUARTERS

Fresh meat dispatch area

 The fresh meat dispatch area must be sited away from the dirty area and access to it
restricted tovehicles associated with meat and offal forhuman consumption.
 The floor level of the loading bay should be atvehicle floor height and the whole area
should be roofed so that personnel can work in inclement weather conditions.
 A system whereby the meat plant rails coordinate with those of the meat transport
vehicles is of great value in efficiency and hygienically loading meat for delivery.
 There must be protection against pests of various kinds as well as stops to prevent
damage to plant walls.
 This is best achieved by a docking system whereby there is no air movement from
outside the premises into dispatch area or vehicle.
 If quartering of carcasses or any other butchering takes place in this area, it should be
refrigerated to 12°C.

Residential quarters

 Provision must be made for the Superintendent of the abattoir, a mechanic and
watchman to reside within the area to be of ready assistance during emergencies.

ISOLATION BLOCK

 This is also known as Emergency Slaughter Unit or Miniature Abattoir.

 In large abattoirs isolation block is necessary for detention of suspected animals for
observation and if necessary slaughterhouse in structure, with a small lairage up to
four cattle, slaughter hall, cooling hall, bacteriological laboratory, incinerator and
sterilization rooms.
 This block must be located at a distance from the main buildings and workers should
not move from here to the main buildings. It should be situated near to the suspect
meat detention room and should be in direct communication with the by-products
department.

DISPOSITION OF BUILDINGS

 The design varies from country to country and from town to town in the same
country with usage and customs.
 In principle every abattoir should be so constructed as to render maximum service at
low cost and great convenience.

The following points have to be considered while constructing an abattoir

 A most desirable arrangement in abattoir lay out is that in which the live animal
enters at one end of the abattoir, and the finished produce leaves at the other end of
it, with the whole process working in one direction only.
 A cooling hall should occupy a central position in front and connected with covered
passages to the slaughter hall.
 Cattle and sheep slaughter blocks should be on one side and behind the cooling hall.
 Pig slaughter block should occupy a similar position on the opposite side separately.
 Hidestore , Tripery, Guttery, Manure house, Boiler room, condemned meat room,
etc. should be in the rear.
  Detention rooms and condemned meat rooms should be just behind the cooling hall
on the other side of the passage.
 Cattle and sheep blocks should comprise of 2 separate buildings, one in front for
slaughter and dressing of cattle and sheep and one in the rear providing lairage
accommodation, the two being connected by an open passage.
 From the lairage the animals after weighment if necessary, are led to stunning pens
and from thereon to the bleeding passage.
 Then removed on to the dressing block.
 There should be a sufficiency of water in the lairage.
 For pigs, in addition to the above, stunning traps and provision for scalding and
scraping are to be madeavailable .

Click here toview the clean and unclean operations in single and double storied slaughter
house.

EQUIPMENT USED IN ABATTOIR

For cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry dressing

 captive bolt pistol,

 dressing rail,
 shackle hoist,
 shackles,
 rail system,
 transfer hoist,
 transfer platform,
 skinning platform,
 skinning machine,
 evisceration,
 platform andtrucks ,
 brisket saw,
 splitting platform,
 splitting saw,
 pneumatic spreader,
 trolleys,
 pluck hooks,
 hose pipes,
 gambrel elevator,
 gas singeing unit,
 electric stunner,
 scalding tank,
 defeathering machine,
 chilling tank,
 packaging unit
 sealer
 Different sets of knives to undertakespecialized slaughter operation.

MANAGEMENT AND PRACTICES IN ABATTOIR

There are two main management systems are in practice in abattoir.

System 1
  This system may be of Central or State government or of local government like
municipal boards, Co-operatives or any private enterprise.
 Permanent staff of workers may be employed by the authority to carry out the
slaughterhouse operations.
 In this system the organisation either takes over the livestock from the owners
and return it to traders.

System 2

 In this system the management only hires the place to private owners, who bear the
responsibility for butchering operations with their own or hired labour.

Practices

 In system 1, the abattoir is divided into sections for each operational stage.
 All are connected by overhead rail system and each section has its own staffspecially
trained.
 When the chain or line system is operated for slaughter and dressing of animals,
work is carried out while the animals are hanging from a track bar or rail, along
which they are slowly and continuously pushed by a mechanical conveyor or chain.
 Men work in a team and the work on each animal is subdivided among them.
 A definite part of every animal is allotted to each person and he must confine his
activities to the part assigned to him.
 To prevent staleness setting in and resulting in the lowering of efficiency, each worker
is assigned a new job at regulated intervals.

HYGIENIC ASPECTS OF ABATTOIR OPERATION

 Meat hygiene and sanitation perform the function of quality control to safeguard
public health andenhance the keeping quality of meat and its products.
 Sanitation in meat industry is concerned with aseptic preparation, processing,
packing, storage, preservation and distribution of the meat.

BUILDINGS

 The area surroundings the slaughterhouse building must be well maintained.

 It should be properly drained leaving no scope for water logging.
 Inedible material and manure should be collected in closed containers and removed
regularly.
 Building proper should be vermin and fly proof.
 The junction between ceiling and walls should be rounded for convenient cleaning.
 Floor angles and corners should be imperviously sealed.
 Paint should be lead-free.
 The machinery installed in the building should be smooth and its functional surfaces
should be easily accessible for cleaning.
 Wood fittings are not allowed.
 There must be adequate washing facilities for personnel hygiene.
 Adequate facilities for disinfection of knives and tools should be there in the plant.
 Eating and smoking is prohibitted except in the designated places.

SANITATION
This is a process (an attempt) to kill or eradicate most of the organisms on or from
equipment surfaces and other related places or articles.

The types of contamination

 Microbial
o This is related to food safety and keeping quality.
 Chemical
o This implies to remaining minerals, detergents, scales, sanitizer, etc.,
 Physical
o This is degree of sanitation where no visible and remains where it
should not be.
 Apparent
o This relates to efficient cleanliness, disposal of waste water, oil and
sewage.
o Sanitation is one of the mostimportant functions in any meat plant.
o It involves a technology more detailed than that of slaughter and
carcass dressing.
o It demands good working conditions, well-trained and responsible
operatives influencing on meat quality and product shelf life.
o It costs less to be clean than to be dirty.
o The chief function of sanitation is the protection of the product from
contamination.
o Work areas are to be visually clean and odourless.
o Personnel have to be protected from contamination and possible
infection.
o Poor hygiene standards can lead to
 bad product quality,
 loss of customers
 outbreaks of food poisoning.
 affect the shelf life and
 can lead to actual production delay and condemnations.
o Cleaning and sterilization of trolleys and gambrels and other
equipment in the meat after each run are the mostimportant tasks.
o There must be a sterilizing room or rooms managed by specialised
personnel.
o Inspection by a responsible and competent individual should include a
pre-operations and on operational inspection.
o The ultimate aim must be to achieve a physically, chemically and
microbiologically clean environment.

Sanitation report

 This is an integral item of any good sanitation programme, whichdeals the

state of the various plant areas and the action taken by the inspector, copies
being given to Management and to Licensing authorities.
 The Sanitation Report is completed daily and rendered weekly.
 To develop an effective sanitation programme it is necessary to identify needs
and defects
  Establish detailed cleaning instructions for all areas and equipment
 Set up and further improvement of the working programme
 Ensure that all personnel receive proper training in hygiene, environmental
and personnel safety

BACTERIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF PLANT SANITATION

The contamination occurring in abattoirs is largely derived

 From the animals entering it. The accumulation of animals in lairages further
increases the possibility of cross-contamination (Salmonella is often incriminated).
 Inside the meat plant bacteria can spread by contact with personnel, clothing,
surfaces and equipment.
 Vermin, birds, insects and animals are other means of spread of bacteria.
 Visitors and other personnel and theirvehicles employed in the ancillary trades can
also spread microorganisms into the premises of plant.
 A heavily contaminated hide or fleece will transfer considerable amounts of
contamination to the carcass at the dressing process.
 Improper washing of hands and clothing, regular sterilization of equipment and
efficient hygienic techniques are also responsible for the occurrence of
contamination.
 After skinning about 10,000 to 100,000 bacteria/cm2 can be found on the tissues.
 About 80,000 to 40 million organisms could be found in each blade of knives.
 As many as 3 x 109 bacteria/gm of scrapings has been noticed in leggings of
operatives after skinning 100 carcasses in six hours.
 As many as 2 million bacteria can be noticed in the hands of meat operatives.
 Hence it is necessary to minimise the initial contamination on the animals as low as
possible and strict hygiene precautions at all stages in the abattoir itself has to be
supplemented.

CLEANING OPERATION

 An ample supply of good, hygienic, soft and hot water at a temperature of not less
than 82° C and adequate number of hose points are essential.
 The usual method of applying hot water in meat plant is through high-pressure jet
cleaners with 14kg f/cm2.
 The manual operation of spray guns in which the pressure is in the 35-49 kg
f/cm2 range, the volume of water being low, averaging about 9 litres/minute.
 Application of detergent followed by sanitizer or a combination of both is necessary
for an actual meat premises under adequate pressure and temperature (not less than
14 kg f/cm2 and 82°C).
 Dry cleaning should commence immediately after operations have ceased and
shouldembrace the whole premises, where disinfectant should be used.
 This good system will ensure the final daily operation after the completion of
slaughtering rendered more effectively.
 Cleansing operations must be done frequently to prohibit any built-up of bacteria on
trolleys, hooks, gambrels, etc., which come in contact with the meat.
 Instead of using highly sophisticated cleansing installations, manual cleansing has
been found to be more effective in some parts of the slaughterhouse.
 It is essential to have a schedule of cleansing.
 It involves a constant use of cold hosing and a daily application of hot water (82°C)
plus detergent.
 At less frequent intervals other cleansing methods may be necessary.
  Recently two methods of detergency have been introduced which greatly reduce the
need for manual work. They are foam and gel cleaning .
 The foam or gel adheres to the surfaces allowing time for the chemical to breakdown
the soil, which is then rinsed away with hot water under pressure.
 Depending on whether protein or fat is to be removed an acid or an alkaline
compound respectively is used.
 The foam and gel cleaning solutions are usually applied rapidly through a lance from
a unit operated by compressed air or by an electrically operated compressor.
 45 litres of foam solution expands to 729-909 litres, sufficient to cover 55.7 – 92.9
cm2 of surfaces in 15-20 minutes.
 The gel does not collapse and can be applied in a very hot form and is useful for thin,
tenacious protein or fat films where longer contact times and/or heat may be
advantageous.

Advantages of foam cleansing

 Itsaves on labour. Surface areas can be covered in a relatively short time. It can
penetrate inaccessible areas, often eliminating the need for the dismantling of
equipment.
 It is economical since the foam clings to surfaces and does not run to waste. Foam
can effectively substitute for other cleansing compounds in the cleaning schedule.
 It is biodegradable and does not give rise to effluent problem. Foam does not splash
and is comparatively safe to use, although strong alkalis and acids must be used with
care.

PROCEDURE AND REQUIREMENTS FOR CLEANSING

OPERATION

 Remove all gross fat, skin and most scraps. In the slaughter hall this is round-the-
clock operation and must be associated with tidy working methods
 Application of cleaning compounds at proper temperatures for their optimum activity
 Rinsing with hot water
 Sanitation.

Requirements

 Temperature, force or agitation, time and chemical concentration are involved in

cleaning efficiency.
 The use of light mineral oil has been found to be on surfaces and as an aid to
maintenance.
 Hoses must be equipped with proper nozzles.
 The pressure, volume and shape of the stream of water are critical for effective
cleansing. e.g. a fishtail jet of water is much more effective than a round stream.
 Hoses should be adequate in number (both hot and cold) and of short length.
 If hung vertically they can be more effectively applied to restricted areas.
 Lengthy unwieldy hoses are both a nuisance and a danger.
 Fat, soil, clay, seed, hay, straw, hair, wool and blood are common entities to be dealt
within the meat industry.
 Water for cleaning, hand washing, carcass spraying, etc., must be of potable quality.
 For refrigeration, steam production and fire precautions water may be of a lower
standard.

AUTOMATED CLEANING SYSTEMS

There are several automated systems to cope with what is probably the mostimportant
problem in the food industry sanitation. Three main types of automated cleansing
systems are

 Cleaning – in – place system (CIP)

 Central cleaning system (CCS)
 Self – contained cleaning system (SCCS)

The Cleaning-in-place system

 The CIP was first developed for the dairy industry.

 It is a closed system in which cleaning compounds are circulated by a pump through
a series of pipes to the components to be cleaned.
 It is basically designed for cleaning internal surfaces only but also used for external
cleaning.
 Even though it is used for the internal cleaning of mixers, choppers and other
equipment that necessitates the use of tanks, at present, it has a limited application in
the meat industry.

Central cleaning system

 CCS has a central pumping source supplying cleaning solutions under pressure to
remote locations in a meat plant.
 In one CCS the cleaning materials may be mixed centrally and delivered to the
various points through one manifold, the plant water supply being used for rinsing.
 The unit should be capable of achieving pressures of 35-49 kg f/cm2 and a flow of
136-181 litres/min.
 It is a flexible system in that if a pump fails a unit from another area can be used,
whereas in the CCS the entire sanitation process stops if this eventuality should
occur.
 Continuous cleaning of viscera conveyors and other equipment in contact with edible
material is another essential task.
 In the other CCS the detergent is transported through a separate manifold to each
remote station where it is mixed with the high pressure water system as required and
used through a cleaning gun. With these two separate lines (which are more costly),
both pressure wash and pressure rinse can be carried out. The self-contained
cleaning system.

Self contained cleaning system

 SCCS has the pumping source and chemical spray systems contained in one unit and
may not have facilities for foam production.
 Some units produce hot water while others employ a steam-mixing valve or utilise the
separate hot-water system of the plant.
 Some SCCS are able to use an alkaline cleaner and acid cleaner and a sanitizer at each
remote station.
 Some forms of this automated cleaning equipment are portable and can be removed
from one location to another, being connected to an electrical or air and water source
of power.

EMPLOYEES

 Different levels of training in the various functions of a meat plant are required for
different staff members in meat plant.
  But the level of training is the same for all from the company director to the latest
recruit in relation to cleanliness, clothing attitudes and behaviour.
 Basic training in hygiene on induction would include the nature of hygiene, how it
affects the operative, his or her colleagues and consumer, hygiene practices,
regulations and procedures of meat plant and health requirements of personnel.
 These items can be fully explained in a reasonable booklet given to the new
employees in whom the nature of viruses, bacteria, yeasts and moulds is explained,
along with occupational hazards.
 On the job training candeal with the use of equipment and tools and their
sterilization, protective clothing, good housekeeping in relation to hygienic practices,
accidents and their reporting, use of dressings and first aid room (if available) and
safety measures.
 On-going training programmes are concerned mainly with furthering awareness of
the need for good hygiene practices among personnel by way of posters, lectures,
personal approach, etc.
 Since cuts of various types are the most common form ofinjury encountered in a
meat plant the need for personal hygiene, hair and hand care, toilet, general
cleanliness and prompt treatment of cuts abrasions and other skin lesions must be
stressed.
 The elements of sanitation, refrigeration, the awareness of hazards for consumers,
reporting procedures and responsibilities also have to be communicated to
employees.

ABATTOIR EFFLUENT TREATMENT

 Effluent means dirty water with organic matter such as blood, dung, urine, fat,
trimmings, fascia, etc.
 The disposal of effluent of abattoir is essential because of possibility of pollution
leading tohuman health hazards.
 Large quantity of water is utilised in the abattoir to clean blood from slaughter
section, pen manure and similar material containing organic matter as suspended
solids.
 This wastewater has got a high pollution capacity and hence should not be connected
to municipal sewer line.
 However, water from the toilet lines and cooling towers should be directly connected
to sewer system.
 The concentration of effluent solids is measured in terms of biological oxygen
demand (BOD) usually expressed in parts per million (ppm) or mg/litre.

BOD5

 Biological oxygen demand is the amount of O2 required during the first five days for
decomposition of organic matter at 20°C by aerobic biological action.
 Higher the BOD level, greater is the organic matter content and greater its pollution
capability.
o Domestic sewage – BOD5 = 250-300 mg/litre normal and permissible
one
o Slaughterhouse - BOD5 = 1500-2000 mg/litre normal and permissible one

In general, abattoir effluent treatment involves the following steps

 Primary treatment
o This consists of screening out solids and removing fat by hands.
o It is carried out in a tank constructed below the ground level.
 o It is divided by a partition of strong steel meshes.
o The main trunk line drainage of meat plant or abattoir opens into the first
part.
o The gross solid materials like bits of fat, flesh, stomach, intestine, hide, etc.,
are filtered through the mesh.
o The waste water free of gross solids is pumped to the secondary filtration
unit.
 Secondary treatment
o This system depends upon cost, BOD level required, land areaavailable ,
odour level etc.
o This unit iserected at the first floor level and contains two vibrating screens
with fine mesh which are arranged at an angle.
o This unit separates the suspended solids. Subsequent treatment is done in
tanks erected at the ground level.

Fat separation

 It is a specially designed tank where waste water is agitated by pumping the air at
several points.
 The separated fat rises to the top and is skimmed off at regular intervals.

Equalization tank

 It is a large tank fitted with floating level mechanical aerator.

 Here waste water is continuously agitated to have a uniform quality for proper
biological oxidation.
 As a biological stimulant, a small quantity of activated sludge is also recycled into this
tank.
 This method is capable of reducing up to 90% of the fats, 65% of the solids and
BOD5 by 35%.

Biological oxidation tanks or ponds

 Further treatment of waste water depends on the availability of land or open space.
 In limited land area, anaerobic process and if enough land area is available, aerobic
process is adopted.

Anaerobic process

 This is used in which reduction of BOD5 is performed by bacteria in the absence of

O2.
 Ponds of 4.5 m deep and loaded to 7.5 kg BOD5 per 5000 litres pond volume will give
a BOD5 reduction of 60-80% at temperatures of 32.5 – 35°C.
 The effluent is digested in enclosed digester at 32.5°C.
 The gas being burnt and heat generated for heating.

Aerobic process

 In this the process, O2 assists bacterial action to reduce the BOD5.

 Shallow ponds 0.9 – 1.2 m deep having a loading of 7.3 – 9.3 kg BOD5 per day per
hectare of pond surface are mainly restricted to final treatment following other
processes.

Activated sludge process

  Involves utilizing biologically active sludge in small amount mixed with screened,
pre-settled effluent and then agitated in presence of ample supply of aeration tank.
This is a well-known method of treating domestic sewage but it is not commonly used
for meat plants.

The oxidation ditch system

 It was developed by Dr. A. Pasveer in Holland in 1953.

 It is an one-stage process for purification of sewage by oxidation using an aeration
rotor.
 The raw sewage flows into the aeration zone where it is mixed with ditch contents;
oxidation is effected by the rotor.
 Flow of the mixed liquor from the ditch to the final settlement tank is controlled by
means of an adjustable outlet weir which can regulate rotor blade depth and thereby
oxygen input.
 Settled sludge from the final settlement tank is returned continuously to the
oxidation ditch.

Biological filtration process

 Percolating filters consists of 1.8 -2.4 meter beds of stones 50 -1000 mm in diameter.
 Purification is accomplished by the action of a film of microorganisms covering the
stones on the organic matter.
 At loadings of 75-87 kg BOD5 per 5000litres of packing per day a BOD5 reduction of
40% is possible.
 This system is costly since it has a tendency to block and require a large area.
 Before treating the effluent, data on flow rate, BOD levels, fat, solids should be
determined over a period of time.

OPERATION OF CATTLE IN SLAUGHER HOUSE

MODULE-4: BIS STANDARDS ON LAYOUT AND ORGANISATION
OF ABATTOIRS

Learning objectives

This moduledeals with,

 layout plan,
 units of an abattoir,
 rails for carcasses,
 civil construction,
 lighting and ventillation,
 water supply,
 equipment construction,
 installation,
 plant waste water disposal and
 safety requirement.

INTRODUCTION

 The Standard was adopted by the Indian Standards Institution on 27 April 1979 after
the draft finalized by the Meat Industry Sectional Committee had been approved by
the Agricultural and Food Products Division Council.
 Abattoirs have not been constructed on modern lines and they do not fulfil the
requirements of hygiene, sanitation, public health and of the prevention of cruelty to
animals.
 This standard has been formulated to help in improving the present conditions of
abattoirs and in guiding the construction of new abattoirs on modern linesspecially
with a view to having greater utilization of slaughter-house by-products.
 This standard was first published in 1967.
 The present revision incorporates a number of modifications and additions like those
of improved lay-outs, flow diagrams and requirements for installation and plant
wastes disposal.
 For the purpose of deciding whether a particular requirement of this standard is
complied with, the final value, observed orcalculated , expressing the result of a test
or analysis, shall be rounded off in accordance with IS: 2- 1960.

SCOPE

 This standard covers the typical layout plan, hygienic and sanitary and basic
requirement for an abattoir for carrying out slaughter of sheep, goats, pigs and large
animals.

LOCATION

 Abattoirs may be located outside or on the periphery of a city or town and shall be
away from an airport.
 Care should be taken to see that these are easily accessible to the patrons and do not
adversely affect the transport of meat to the market place.
 Main services, such as potable water, electricity and proper hygienic sewage disposal
facilities are a prerequisite and should be provided.
 LAYOUT PLAN

The abattoirs shall have the following essential facilities:

 Resting place for animals before slaughter

 Adequate facilities for ante-mortem inspection
 Carrying outhumane slaughter
 Flaying, dressing and washing of the carcasses
 Hanging carcasses and edible offal
 Handling by-products
 Inspection of meat and disposal of meat unfit forhuman consumption
 Laboratory
 Social welfare
 Seggregation ward for sick/diseased animals and
 Adequate water supply
 Inaddition the facility may also be provided for rendering plant and an
incinerator.

UNITS OF AN ABATTOIR

 Reception area
 Lairage
 Slaughter hall
 Ancillary accommodation
 Refrigerated Room

RECEPTION AREA

 The animals are received and subjected veterinary inspection before passing to
lairage.
 Ramps for unloading of animals fromtrucks shall be provided.
 Office room for veterinary inspector should be located in the reception area.
 Adequate holding area shall be provided according to the class of animals to be
slaughtered.
 The holding area shall have water and feeding facilities.
 The resting grounds should have overhead protective shelters.
 Separateisolation pens shall be provided will watering and feeding arrangement for
o Animals suspected to be suffering from contagious and infections diseases,
and
o Fractious animals, in order to segregate them from the remaining animals.

LAIRAGES

 The lairage shall be adequate in size for the number of animals to be laired. The space
provided in the pens shall be not less than 2.8 m2 per small animal.
 The animal shall be kept separately depending upon their type and class.
 The lairage shall be so constructed as to protect the animals from heat, cold and rain.
 The lairage shall have adequate facilities for watering and ante-mortem inspections.
  Separate lariages are to be provide for livestock meant for „JHATKA‟ „HALAL‟ or
„JEWISH‟ slaughter.
 Complete visual separation shall be effected and entrances shall be as far apart as
possible

SLAUGHTER HALLS

 Separate provisions shall be made in an abattoir for slaughtering, dressing and

processing of sheep and goat („JHATKA‟ „HALAL‟ or „JEWISH‟), pigs and large
animals.
 Separate space shall be provided from stunning, bleeding and dressing of the
carcasses.
 The curbing should be not less than 150 mm high and 100 mm wide with the top
sloped not less than 450.
 The knocking section and dry landing area shall be accomplished with vertical pipes
150mm in diameter 1.5 m high on prepared vertical inserts; about 120 mm high
placed not less than 500 mm apart.
 A curbed in bleeding area of adequate size should be located such that the blood shall
no be splashed on other animals being slaughtered or on carcass.

Dressing area

 Should have means and tool for dehiding or belting of the animals and means for
immediate disposal of hides or skin through closed wheel barrow or chutes.
 A floor wash point, hand wash basin and sterilizer should be provided in bleeding
area and dressing area.

Viscera inspection area

 Facilities for immediate separation, identification, inspection and correlation of

carcass, viscera and head should be provided for various type of animal slaughtered.

Carcass washing

 A curbed and separately drained area with slope 33 per mm to a floor drain should be
provided.

ANCILLARY ACCOMODATION

 A separate room and hanging space shall be provided for emptying and
cleaning of stomach and intestines.
 Viscera cleaning and separating departments should be divided into edible
and inedible sections for further processing. This room shall have separate
exit, provided with solid, self- closing doors and separated from the slaughter
floor.
 Separate facilities provided for theisolation of meat which requires further
examination in laboratory located within the premises of the abattoir.
 Separate provision for retention of meat condemned as unfit for human
consumption is needed.
 Hide and skin room for separate storage must be provided.
  Labour welfare facilites:
 Toilet rooms provided away form the slaughter hall.
 Separate hall with lockers and shower facilities shall be provided.
 Adequate drinking water and washing facilities at convenient locations shall
be provided.
 Canteen and first aid facilities shall be provided.
 Separate rendering facilities should be provided or the condemned material
should he denatured and kept in inedible product room in water type metal
containers and disposed daily,
 Refigerated Room, Hanging halls air-conditioned with temperature not more
than 100C

RAILS FOR CARCASSES

 Rails (IS: 6628-1972) with suitable hooks of rust proof metal or mild steel for
hanging of carcasses and plucks shall be provided.
 The height and length of rails provided for bleeding and dressing are

Carcass Height Length of carcass (mm)

(mm)
Bleeding rail for sheep, 3 450
goats and pigs
Bleeding rail for large 4.5-5 600
animals
Dressing rail for sheep, 2-2.2 900
goats and pigs
Dressing rail for large 3.2 1800-for legging 2400-for
animals evisceration and processing.

 Requirements of space per carcass and distance between rails in hanging or chill
room

Carcass Space per Distance between Height of rails (mm)

carcass (mm) rails (mm)
Sheep and 300-400 300-400 2000-2200
Goats
Pigs
>70kg 450-600 450-600 2000-2200
<70kg 300-400 300-400 2000-2200
Large 450-600 800-1000 3200 for halves 2000-
animals 2200 for quarters
CIVIL CONSTRUCTION
Antemortem and pen area

 The area should be made of impervious material such as concrete non slippery
herring bone type to stand wear and tear, pitched to suitable drainage facilities.
 Curbs of impervious material 150-300 mm high should be provided around the
borders of livestock pen area which should be covered.

Plant building

 Material should be impervious, easily cleansable and resistant to wear and corrosion.
 Floor should be non absorbent and non slippery with rough finish, and shall have
suitable gradient for drainage.
 Coves with radii sufficient topromote sanitation installed at the juncture of floors
and walls not less than 100mm.
 Interior walls should be smooth and flat, provided with sanitary type bumpers to
prevent damage and constructed of impervious materials such as glazed brick, glazed
tile or other non toxic, non absorbent material. Walls should have washable upto the
height of 2m from the floor so that the splashes can be washed easily.
 Ceilings should be of good height (5m or more in work rooms), constructed of
portland cement plaster or asbestos boards or other impervious materials, finished to
minimize condensation. Walls above glazed portion and ceiling may be painted with
water resistant paint to maintain them clean.
 Window ledges should slope at 45° to promote sanitation. Window sills should be
1200mm above floor level. Proper ventilation through mechanical venting or through
working vents should be provided in roof structure.
 Doorways and Doors shall be atleast 1500mm wide, rust resistant, the juncture of
door and wall shall be sealed with a flexible sealing compound.
 All windows and door ways should be equipped with effective insect and rodent
screens. Fly chaser fans and ducts or air curtains provided over doorways in outside
wall of food handling areas.

Vehicular areas for trucks

 Concrete paved areas properly drained and exending atleast 6m from building,
loading docks or livestock platforms shall be provided.
 Pressure washing jets and disinfection facilities for trucks carrying animals are to be
provided.

Drainage

 One drainage inlet for each 37m2 of floor space with slope of about 20mm per metre
to drainage inlets should be provided.
 Floor drains should not be provided in freezer rooms or dry storage areas.
 Each floor drain should be equipped with a deep seal trap.
 Drainage lines shall be properly vented to the outside air and equipped with
 effective rodent screens.
 Sanitary drainage lines should not be connected with other drainage lines
 within the plant and may not discharge into a grease catch basin.
 All floor drains should be easily cleanable.
 U drains set with satisfactory covers, made fly and rodent proof should be used.
 Floor drainage valleys of 600 mm wide, slope of 10mm per metre to drain with the
valleys are essential under the dressing rails for hogs, calves and sheep.

LIGHT AND VENTILLATON

 Work rooms shall be provided with direct natural light and ventilation or artificial
light.
 Uncoloured glass with high transmissibility of light may be used in skylights and
windows.
 The glass area should be 1/4th the floor area of a work room.
 The ratio can be increased where there is interference to admittance of natural light.
 Sockets for the use of inspection lamps shall be provided at convenient places.
 Well distributed artificial light of an overall intensity of not less than 200 lux
throughout the slaughter hall and work rooms and at places where meat inspection is
carried out, the overall intensity shall be not less than 500 lux.
 Sufficient and suitable ventilation shall be provided to the outside.
 Construction of the slaughter hall should be so arranged that the dressed carcasses
are not exposed to direct sunlight.

WATER SUPPLY

 Sufficient, safe, potable and constant supply of fresh water of pressure 200 -300kPa-
floor cleaning and 1000-1700 kPa- washing of carcasses shall be available throughout
the premises.
 Floor washing points may be provided preferably for minimum 37m2 on slaughter
floor and working departments.
 Water distribution plant may be located at the load centre.
 A constant supply of clean hot water at not less than 82°C shall be available in the
slaughter hall and work rooms during work hours.
 Non potable water is used for fire control is carried in completely separate lines
identified by colour.

EQUIPMENT CONSTRUCTION

 Equipment should be constructed of rust-resisting metal such as stainless steel, easily

demountable and should be accessible for cleaning.
 Plastics which are abrasion and heat-resistant, non-toxic, shatter-proof may be used.
 Internal corners of equipment should have radius of minimum 6 mm, greater radius
required to facilitate easy drainage and cleaning.
 All welding with in the equipment should be continuous and smooth.
 All parts of the equipment shall be free of recesses, open teams and gaps, crevices,
protruding ledges, inside threads, inside shoulders, inside bolts or rivets and deal
ends.
 Metals like copper and alloys, cadmium in equipment should not used for edible
products, equipment painted surfaces should be avoided in product zone and lead in
the enamel containers are not desirable.
 The working table should be at waste height of the worker to work in standing
position.
 Working platform for on-the-rail operations should be of such height thatthe person
able to reach operation zone in his natural standing position.

INSTALLATION

 All permanently mounted equipment be installed sufficiently away from walls or

above the floor (minimum of 300 mm) for easy cleaning and inspection or it should
touch the wall or floor.
 Wall mounted cabinets and electrical connections shall be installed at 25mm from
equipment or walls or shall be completely sealed to the equipment or wall.
  Water washing equipments, sausage stuffing tables, can sterilizers and casing
preparation equipment shall be installed so that waste water from each unit is
delivered through an interrupted connection into the drainage system without
flowing over the floor.
 Soaking and cooking vats should be provided with overflow pipes atleast 50mm in
diameter.
 All tables or equipments having water on the working surface shall be provided with
turned up edges of less than 25mm.

PLANT WASTE WATER DISPOSAL

 Plant waste may be discharged into a municipal sewer system as permitted by local
bye-laws.
 Waste may be discharged into streams provided the sewage is free of organic material
and the flow of water is continuous to carry away from the plant.
 Catch basins for grease recovery should have inclined bottoms, without covers and
should be located away from edible products department.
 Grease is skimmed from the basins by mechanical or other means before disposal.
 A hose connection for carrying hot water for cleaning purpose may be provided near
the basin.
 The area surrounding an outside catch basin should be paved with impervious
materials like concrete and provided with suitable drainage facilities.
 A separate drain line for water containing manure should be provided, the waste
water may be pumped by wet pit or dry pit non clog pumps and manure screened out
and disposed of by mechanical means.

SAFETY REQUIREMENT

 Adequate fire fighting arrangement and portable first aid fire appliances shall be
fixed in accordance with IS: 2190-1971.

MODULE-5: PRE-SLAUGHTER CARE AND TRANSPORT OF

FOOD ANIMALS

Learning objectives

This module deals with,

 pre-slaughter care of food animals,

 transport of food animals,
 transport by foot,
 rest after transport,
 floor space for transporting different classes of animals,
 effects of transport and
 conditions that defers transportation of animals.

PRE-SLAUGHTER CARE OF FOOD ANIMALS

 Animals are to be handled with the minimum of disturbance and as quietly as up to

the point of slaughter to safegaurd meat quality.
 It is necessary to rest fatigued and excited animals before slaughter - because of the
complete development of acidity of the muscles and also the early invasion of the
 system by putrefaction bacteria from the intestinal tract. These bacteria cause of bone
taint in cattle and of ham taint in pigs.
 The meat of animals slaughtered while exhausted, appears dark fiery due
to decreased oxygenation of the blood haemoglobin and muscle myoglobin.
Allowances of molasses or sugar solution will reduce the incidence of PSE in pigs and
also it helps to maintain glycogen level. This glycogen is useful for better acidification
of the carcass for higher shelf life.
 A period of 6-24 hours with a maximum of 36 hours detention and rest in a lairage is
essential for such animals before slaughter.
 The actual duration of the resting period depends on many factors such as; species of
animals, age, sex, class and condition, time of year, length of journey, method of
transportation, etc.
 Check to ensure that there are no defects, which could cause bruising or even death.
V-race with catwalk arrangement should be provided for movement of food animals
from lairage to slaughterhall to avoid obstruction of the passage and minimize stress.
 The animals should be provided with adlibitum potable water which facilitates flaying
and reduction of intestinal microbes with chances of possible cross contamination.
 Aggressive animals and females in oestrus must beisolated likewise horned from
polled stock.
 Mixing of animals from different origins leads to fighting and injury.
 The use of fine sprays of water on pigs awaiting slaughter in lairages has a beneficial
effect in the prevention of fighting.
 Only physiologically normal animals should be slaughtered thereby preventing any
loss of body weight.
 Electrical goads should be used for movement of stock.
 Weight loss suffered during transit could be restored to some extent by
providing adequate rest.

WATERING

 Animal should receive ample drinking water during their detention in the lairage as
this serves to lower the bacterial load in the intestine and facilitates removal of the
hide or pelt during dressing of the carcass.
 If animals receive unlimited water during their rest period prior to slaughter
stunning of animals by electrical and gaseous means becomes more efficacious

FEEDING

 Withholding feed from animals prior to slaughter helps in better bleeding and the
carcass appear brighter.
 In cattle withholding feed for a period of 6 hours prior to slaughter minimizes the
emigration of bacteria from the intestinal tract during digestion.
 Very young calves cannot be induced to take feed in lairage pens and because of the
danger of cross infection they should be slaughtered forthwith on arrival at an
abattoir.

FASTING

Animals with full stomachs will cause

 excessive contamination of carcass and offal if accidentally cut during the dressing
procedure
 wet hides and fleeces encouraging the transfer of faecal material particularly to areas
such as the shanks brisket and hocks
 The withholding of feed begins at the time the animals leave the farm and causes loss
of body weight.
 It isimportant to know how long animals can be fasted before body weight losses
commence and the extent of these losses.
 Adult cattle lose no weight three days after removal from pasture but loss severely
after four days withdrawal of food.
 Adult sheep would not lose as much body weight as lambs in comparable periods.
 Younger the animals lose greater the live weight following fasting.
 Therefore, resting periods should be geared accordingly and stock for slaughter
should be drawn from production areas as close to slaughter points as possible.
 Cattle in good condition should not be held for too long a period before slaughter in
cold weather.

TRANSPORT OF FOOD ANIMALS

 Transport affects adversely the condition of the animal and the consistency of the
flesh.
 There are regulations in different countries, which govern the transport of animals by
rail and road and these should be strictly enforced.
 The careful handling of food animals before slaughtered has greatimportance .
 Unsuitable conditions of rail or road transport frequently lead to injury, lameness,
and suffocation or transit fever.
 The danger is great for fat animals than for lean and is accentuated, the more closely
animals are loaded, the higher the temperature and the longer the journey.
 Large and small cattle and animals of different species must be separated by
partitions.
 Animals undertaking a journey of 24 hours or more must be fed and watered before
hand.
 And if the journey is of 36 hours duration they must be fed and watered in transit.
 Water assists all animals to withstand heat.
 Fowls must only be transported in cages or other airy receptacles. Their transport in
sacks and also tying and carrying by their feet should be prohibited .
 Transportation may take place by driving, trucking, rail and by boat or ship.

DRIVING ON FOOT

 Transportation by driving affects animals to a great degreecorresponding to their

being accustomed to outdoor exercise and the temperature of the season.
 Sheep and cattle raised under range conditions are least affected but difficulty is
experienced with stabled cattle, calves and pigs.
 As driving of fattened animals affected them unfavourably in proportion to their
fleshiness; they are driven only over short distances. Travel for long distances should
be allowed, if they are accustomed to it.
 The voice, sticks and dogs are employed in driving the animals. While dogs can
scarcely be separated in driving as they cause considerable excitement among
animals of other species. Cruel treatment to animals during transport causing
injuries should be avoided.
 Animals always get excited and tired during transport and if slaughtered immediately
they bleed out incompletely and in most instances cause decrease in keeping quality
of meat.
  Pigs when driven should never be struck with a stick. Skin discolourations and
bruising become obvious especially after scalding of carcass with a resultant
depreciation in value. Driving is best done with a flat canvass strap.
 Only cattle, sheep and goats can be successfully moved on hoof, and here certain risks
are involved. The journey should be planned, paying attention to the distance to be
travelled, opportunities for grazing, watering and overnight rest.
 Animals should be walked during the cooler times of the day and, if moving some
distance to a railhead, they should arrive with sufficient time to be rested and
watered before loading. The maximum distances that these animals should be
trekked depend on various factors such as weather, body condition, age etc.
 It is illegal to make animals walk in heavy rain, thunderstorms or extremely dry or
sultry conditions.
 Animals who have not been given shoes cannot be made to walk on hard cement,
bitumen-coated or metalled roads, steep gradients or hilly and rocky terrain,
regardless of weather conditions.
 Every animal shall be given a break of 20 minutes after being given water and a break
of one hour after being given food.

Time of the day

 High environment temperatures will increase the risk of heat stress and mortality
during transportation.
 It isimportant to transport animals in vehicles during the cooler mornings and
evenings or even at night. This is particularly important for pigs.
 A combination of high humidity and high environment temperatures is especially
deadly to pigs.
 Heat can rapidly build up to lethal levels in a stationary vehicle. Wetting pigs with
water will help keep them cool.

 DISTANCE, TIME, REST INTERVAL AND TEMPERATURE

RESTRICTIONS DURING TRANSPORT

Species Maximum Maximum Number Period of Rest Temperature Range

Distance Covered of Hours of (Interval) Minimum/Maximum
Per Day/Hour Walking in One Day
Cow 30 km/day 8 hours Every 2 hours for 12°C to 30°C
4 km/hour water; 4 hours for
food
Buffalo 25 km/day 8 hours Every 2 hours for 12°C to 30°C
3 km/hour water; 4 hours for
food
Cow,Buffalo, 16 km/day 6 hours Every 1 hour for 15°C to 25°C
Calf 2.5 km/hour water; 3 hours for
food
Goat, Sheep 34 km/ hr 6 hours Every 1 hour for 12°C to 30°C
water; 4 hours for
0 km/day food
Kid, Lamb 16 km/day 6 hours Every 1_ hours for 15°C to 25°C
2.5 km/hour water; 3 hours for
 food
Pig 15 km/day 8 hours Every 1_ hours for 12°C to 25°C
2 km/hour water; 3 hours for
food
Piglet 10 km/day 6 hours Every 1_ hours for 15°C to 25°C
1.5 km/hour water; 3 hours for
food
TRUCKING

 Transport by trucks is no doubt comfortable but the vehicles should be suitably

constructed for carrying different species of animals and must permit a careful
loading and unloading of animals.
 Animals should be secured only to reasonable extent, so as not to allow them to jump
out of the truck.
 Forcible and painful tying of legs of calves and sheep especially with thin cutting
strings is unwarranted.
 Overcrowding of animals in small spaces should be condemned. In summer they
should be protected from sun.
 Pigs should be kept cool by sprinkling water over them or by transporting them
during night.
 Only four adult cattle or six calves may be carried per small truck. In any case, each
cow should be given 2 square metres and an attendant should be able to move freely
between the cattle.
 Only 40 sheep or goats may be carried per truck, and an attendant should be able to
move freely between the animals. The minimum space for poultry within cages is
1'x1'x1' (feet) for chickens and 2'x2'x2' (feet) for hens and cocks.
 All trucks carrying animals must be fitted with a ramp. Animals must be
accompanied by an attendant. Food and water must be provided during long
journeys.
 Animals must be accompanied by a veterinary certificate verifying that the animals
are free from disease. The name and address of the owner, the number of animals
being carried and the destination must be clearly marked on the truck.
 Vehicle floors should be matted or grooved to prevent slippage. The vehicle must
travel at a measured, uniform speed to avoid discomfort to the animals (PETA).

RAIL TRANSPORT

 This is the mostimportant means of transporting animals and is generally carried

out under specific regulations. Specially constructed wagons meant for transport of
animals are used. It is of prescribed size and is equipped with appropriate ventilation
along with contrivances for feeding and watering.
 Rail transport is advocated for distances above 500 km. Animals should be
provided ad lib water and feed at least for an hour before the journey commences.
 Arrangement can be made to unload the animals after about every 1000 km and offer
feed and water before reloading. This mode ensures comparatively less losses due to
shrinkage and death. In fact, shrinkage losses may come down to as low as 5 percent.
 The average space provided per cattle in Railway wagon or vehicle shall not be less
than two square meters.
 When cattle is to be transported by rail an ordinary goods wagon shall carry not more
than ten adult cattle or fifteen calves on broad gauge, not more than six adult cattle or
ten calves on meter gauge, or not more than four adult cattle or six calves on narrow
gauge.
 Every wagon carrying cattle shall have at least one attendant. Cattle wagons should
be attached in the middle of the train.
 Cattle shall be loaded parallel to the rails, facing each other. Rations for padding,
such as straw, shall be placed on the floor to avoid injury if a cattle lies down and this
shall not be less than 6 cm thick.
 Rations for the journey shall be carried in the middle of the wagon. To provide
adequate ventilation, upper door of one side of the wagon shall be kept open properly
fixed.
 Cooking shall not be allowed in the wagons nor hurricane lamps without chimneys.
 Two breast bars shall be provided on each side of the wagon, one at height of 60 to 80
cm and the other at 100 to 110 cm.
 As far as possible, cattle may be moved during the nights only. During day time, if
possible, they should be unloaded, fed, given water and rested and if in milk, milking
shall be carried out. When cattle are to be transported by goods vehicle the following
precautions are to be taken namely:
o Specially fitted goods vehicles with a special type of fail board and padding
around the sides should be used.
o Ordinary goods vehicles shall be provided with anti-slipping material, such as
coir matting or wooden board on the floor and the superstructure, if low,
should be raised.
o While transporting, the cattle, the goods vehicle shall not be loaded with any
other merchandise; and to prevent cattle being frightened or injured, they
should preferably, face the engine.
 First-aid equipment shall accompany the sheep or goats in transit. Suitable ramps
shall be provided for loading and unloading the sheep or goats.
 In the case of a railway wagon, when the loading or unloading is done on the platform
the dropped door of the wagon shall be used as a ramp.
 Sheep and goats shall be transported separately; but if the lots are small special
partition shall be provided to separate them. Rams and male young stock shall not be
mixed with female stock in the same compartment.
 Sufficient food and fodder shall be carried to last during the journey and watering
facility shall be provided at regular intervals.
 Material for padding, such as straw, shall be placed on the floor to avoid injury if an
animal lies down, and this shall be not less than 5 cm. thick.
 The animals shall not be fettered unless there is a risk of their jumping out and their
legs shall not be tied down.

AFFECTIONS INDUCED BY TRANSPORT

 Transit-fever or shipping fever is a catarrhal disease which affects

mainly cattle in poor condition that get fatigued due to long journey by rail or
sea without sufficiency of food. It develops due to Pasteurella and requires
proper treatment, otherwise virus may act as secondary invader and aggravate
the condition. It is common in colder months, on post-mortem lobar
pneumonia is noticed, the interlobular septa being some time thickened due
to serious infiltration. Acute enteritis is usually present, though spleen
appears normal. The affection does not respond well to treatment early
slaughter is advisable before the on-set septic lung changes.
 Transit-tetany or rail-road-sickness occurs under similar circumstances but
almost invariably in cows, particularly those in advanced pregnancy and in
warmer month of the year. It is a disease, which bears resemblance, to milk
fever and the affected animals usually respond to calcium therapy. There is no
 specific post-mortem lesion.
 Stress and fatigue conditions are inevitable sequel to transportation and do
have a bearing on meat quality.
 Loss of weight or shrinkage occur due to dehydration and depletion of muscle
glycogen during the period of journey. In general, it ranges from 3 to 10 %
depending on the conditions and duration of transport.
 Bruises, torn skin and broken bones are noticed due to transportation in most
of the species. The instances are particularly high in sheep and pigs. Muscular
bleeding may occur especially in pigs.
 Death may occur during long transportation. Sheep and pigs are particularly
susceptible if animals of unequal age and size are loaded in road trucks
without proper partitions due to suffocation. Sheep and goats could also die in
long distance transportation by ship due to non-inflammatory diarrhoea.

REST AFTER TRANSPORT

Rest after transport is desirable as an animal slaughtered without an adequate period of rest
shows a reduction in keeping quality of flesh due to

 Incomplete development of acidity in muscle,

 Early invasion of the system, by putrefactive bacteria from the intestinal tract.
 Stress and fatigue lower the quality of meat in several ruminant species due to
depletion of glycogen in muscle. Due to low acid production, the ultimate pH of the
muscle remains high causing a condition called dark cutting meat or dark, firm and
dry (DFD) meat in cattle. Thus, the keeping quality of meat is reduced and it looks
dark due to high water content. Such meat is unusually tender on cooking.
 In pigs, acute stress or excitement before slaughter causes another abnormal
condition wherein low ultimate pH is achieved within 45 minutes due to rapid
glycolysis even when the temperature of muscle is quite high. Such pale, soft and
exudative (PSE) pork has higher drip and cooking losses.
 Animals fasting atleast 24 hours before slaughter has beneficial effect on carcass
quality particularly in sheep.
 Animals, which are fasted bleed better, the carcass is easier to dress and has a
brighter appearance than when animal are allowed to feed up to the time of
slaughter.
 It is claimed that removal of hide is facilitated, if the animal has received plenty of
water during fasting period.
 A period of atleast 12 hours detention and rest in lairage is therefore, essential before
slaughter, except in the case of injured animals, which must slaughtered without
delay.
 Animals are frequently detained in lairage for 2-3 days and during this period they
should be subjected to routine ante-mortem examination

 EFFECTS OF TRANSPORT
(Click here to view the picture)

a. Stress Leading to DFD beef and PSE pork

 b. Bruising Perhaps the most insidious and significant production waste in
the meat industry
c. Trampling This occurs when animals go down due to slippery floors or
overcrowding
d. Suffocation This usually follows on trampling
e. Heart Occurs mostly in pigs when overfed prior to loading and
failure transportation
f. Heat stroke Pigs are susceptible to high environment temperatures and
humidity
g. Sun burn Exposure to sun affects pigs seriously
h. Bloat Restraining ruminants or tying their feet without turning them
will cause this
i. Poisoning Animals can die from plant poisoning during trekking on hoof
j. Predation Unguarded animals moving on the hoof may be attacked
k. Dehydration Animals subject to long distance travel without proper watering
will suffer weight loss and may die
l. Exhaustion May occur for many reasons including heavily pregnant animals
or weaklings
m. Injuries Broken legs, horns
n. Fighting This occurs mostly when a vehicle loaded with pig stops, or
amongst horned and polled cattle
MODULE-6: ANTE-MORTEM AND POST-MORTEM
INSPECTION

Learning objectives

This module deals with,

 historical approach of meat inspection,

 ante-mortem inspection of food animals,
 ante-mortem inspection procedure and
 post-mortem inspection.

HISTORICAL APPROACH OF MEAT INSPECTION

 Since long various civilizations developed through the world has attainedimportance
to the source of handling of his meat supply.
 As per the Old Testament it says,”And Ye Shall be Holy Men unto Me, neither Shall
Ye eat only Flesh that is torn of beast in the field, Ye Shall cast it is the dogs”.
 As per the Jewish Holy book “Talmud” there are definitions for “Terepha”- under or
 unfit meat and “Kosher” clean or fit meat.
 The inspection of meat was done everyday during the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries in the city of Florence. They insisted that all butchers should annually
renew their licences and pledge themselves to observe the law of the land. These laws
prohibited many kinds of fraudulent practices and unsanitary practices. These
pattern of meat control paved way for improvement in the science of meat and
hygiene.
 Gradually the system of meat inspection improved and enlarged to various aspects.
 Whenever there are epidemics in the country serious investigation are conducted
which in most of the time indicated that the etiology of these diseases are due to the
consumption of unwholesome meat and meat products.
 When public realised the reasons they also realised theimportance of wholesome
and hygienic production of meat for human consumption.

The meat inspection is done to produce

 Wholesome meat
 Meat from healthy animals,
 Meat by carrying outhumane slaughter and
 Meat with hygienic handling and its proper disposal.

The following factors have to be controlled for safeguarding a country‟s meat supply
and diligent implementation of legislation relating to meat inspection

 The use of chemical and pharmaceutical preparation on the farm.

 The promotion of high health standards in livestock and their general care during
transportation, at auction markets and in meat plant lairages.
 Ante–mortem examination to eliminate unfit animals and to make provision for
special post-mortem examination to eliminate unfit animals.
 Post-mortem of the carcass and offal immediately after slaughter including
laboratory testing where necessary.
 Removal of material unfit forhuman consumption and its efficient destruction at
processing plants located outside the meat plant.
 High standards of hygiene at all stages from the farm to the meat plant, meat
processingfactory , cold store, restaurant kitchen and the consumer‟s home.

Requisites for conducting efficient meat inspection

 For uniform set of rules throughout the country

 For uniform teaching of meat inspection
 For uniform practice
 To have well constructed slaughterhouse with all amenities
 To provide system of licensing for people who want to slaughter the animals.

OBJECTIVES OF MEAT INSPECTION

 To prevent diseased or otherwise unwholesome meat being marketed or being

offeredfor sale for human consumption.
 To detect outbreaks of animals plagues, such as Foot and Mouth disease,
Contagious Bovine Pleura Pneumonia, Rinderpest, Anthrax, Swine plague, etc.
  To assist the location of diseased flock.
 To assist in establishing and fostering large meat export trade by ensuring that all
meat shall be clean and wholesome and that the regulations of theimporting
countries are observed.
 To ensure that all meat intended forhuman consumption shall be prepared, stored
and marketed under hygienic conditions.
 To enforce humane methods of slaughter.
 To protect man and lower animals indirectly by interrupting the life cycle of certain
parasites, e.g. Echinococcus granulosus.
 To protect the honest butcher from unfair competition.
 To prevent fraudulent substitution.
 To ensure that flesh and organs which have been condemned shall be disposed off
in a harmless and when practicable in an economic manner.

NECESSITY FOR REGULATIONS

To fix a uniform system and standard of Meat Inspection in the country following salient
points are to be borne in mind.

 To lay down code by which the Meat Inspectors all over the country will be uniformly
guided in their judgement of diseased meat.
 To fix the requirements of those who aspire to become Meat Inspectors or their
assistants.
 To fix certainimportant requirements for the grant of licenses for the construction
of the slaughtering, packing, rendering and meat preparing establishments.
 The person having requisite background on animal diseases, its occurrence and
possible impact on human health should spearhead the total process of making
regulation and rules in this regard.
 To formulate the requirements of sanitation in meat establishments.

Essential requirements for the establishment of a satisfactory method of meat inspection in

any country

 The concentration of slaughter animals in all centers of population with special

arrangements for rural areas.
 An adequate number of qualified and or lay inspectors.
 A definite system of inspection.
 A recognized legal code of judgement to ensure uniformity of procedure.
 Special laws and regulations, which are not applicable to foods in general.
 An inspection to be satisfactory and as perfect as possible is to conduct ante-mortem
and post-mortem, the latter is more valuable of the two, but both are necessary.

ANTE-MORTEM INSPECTION OF FOOD ANIMALS

 Meat inspection may be defined as expert supervision of all meat products with the
object of providing wholesome meat forhuman consumption and preventing danger
to public.
 One of the aspects of meat inspection is examination of the live animals on entry to
the slaughterhouse known as ante-mortem inspection.
 This is animportant inspection as it can represent at least 50% of meat inspection,
for it is an adequate inspection of carcasses or meat, and makes the post-mortem
examination much more efficient and less laborious.
  This is done in the pens and alleys (lairage) of the official establishments or in large
slaughtering centers in the public stockyards.
 A proper meat inspection service consists of a veterinary examination of the carcass
and offal and where necessary, laboratory tests (pathological, microbiological and
chemical) of body tissues and fluids.

Definition

 Ante-mortem inspection is defined as the inspection of live animals done in the

lairage within 24 hours prior to slaughter by a qualified Veterinarian to produce
wholesome meat.

REASONS FOR CONDUCTING ANTE-MORTEM INSPECTION

 For the immediate detection andisolation of animals affected with infective diseases
such as Food and Mouth Disease, Black quarter, Rinderpest, Hemorrhagic
Septicemia, Contagious Bovine Pleura Pneumonia.
 To prevent the infection of those engaged in slaughter with diseases contagious to
man such as anthrax, rabies, ganders, etc.
 For the detection of intoxications and infective diseases in which viscera and flesh
shown only slight changes, e.g. tetanus. In order to simplify and render more easy the
examination after slaughter.
 Where any system of insurance exists, to detect those which are evidently or
presumably diseased so that they may be excluded from insurance.
 To defer the slaughter of the animals which are exhausted or overheated through
transportation.
 Ante-mortem Inspection facilitates Postmortem Inspection for e.g.FMD and Nervous
symptoms
 To prevent inhumane handling of livestock.
 To help inexport trade of meat.
 To produce wholesome meat to the consumer.
 Ante-mortem inspection is of special importance in the handling and examination of
casualty and emergency slaughter stock.

INSPECTION FACILITIES

 Adequate identification of the live animal is a legal requirement and is essential for
farm use for accurate disease information and for identifying the carcass after
slaughter for proper payment to the producers for the correct carcass, etc.
 Among the many recommendations is the need for care in the marking of animals,
and the avoidance of unnecessary pain and distress.
 Many different forms of identification exist including metal, plastic or nylon eartags
; ear tattoos; neck, tail and leg brands; freeze brands; and marking aerosols and
paints for cattle, some of which are also use for sheep and pigs.
 Now-a-days electronic identification and temperature monitoring of animals for the
purpose of herd management and disease control through improved trace-back are
also in practice.
 The system combines a substantially implanted transponder having a temperature
measuring capability, several digits of identification, an interrogator receiver and a
data-logging device and will eventually be linked with a computer to handle the large
volumes of information.
 Animals that are designated for slaughter must be accompanied by adequate
documentation, which along with individual identification, is utilized in the
elaboration of the slaughter programme.
  Ante-mortem facilities must also include properly designed and well-lighted large
pens, which must possess anisolation pen and a crush for examination of individual
animals.
 Assistant staff, competent in the handling of livestock, is also necessary components
of an efficient veterinary ante-mortem service.

ANTE-MORTEM INSPECTION PROCEDURE

 Livestock should be inspected while at rest and in motion.

 In case of sick or diseased animals and those in poor conditions, the species, class,
age, condition, colour and marking are recorded.
 Special attention must be paid to casualty and emergency slaughter, none of which
should escape ante-mortem.
 The general behavior of the animals, their level of nutrition, cleanliness obvious signs
of disease and any abnormalities should be observed.
 In addition to the segregation of diseased and suspected stock, females in estrus,
aggressive animals and horned and polled stock should beisolated .
 An effective reporting system should operate from the ante-mortem area giving
details of normal stock released for slaughter as well as those affected with a localized
condition or one not advanced enough to render them unfit for slaughter.
 Animals showing signs of systematic disturbance and an elevated temperature should
not be slaughtered but retained for treatment preferably outside the meat plant.
 The immediate purpose of ante-mortem inspection is to separate normal and
abnormal stock.
 Normal animals are sent forward for slaughter, abnormal animals being classified as
either unfit for slaughter or affected with a localized condition or one which will show
post-mortem lesions.

Stock unfit for slaughter

 These includes emaciated animals, those affected with certain diseases, such as
tetanus or a communicable disease, e.g. rabies and those know to be carrying toxic
residues, although these may be held until the residues are excreted.

Localized conditions

 Animals showing evidence of localized condition such as injuries, fractures, abscesses

benign tumors (e.g. papillomata) or condition which will show up lesions on post-
mortem inspection need to be segregated and given a detailed examination such
animals are passed forward for slaughter as part of the regular kill if the condition
proves to be a minor one or slaughtered separately and given a through post-mortem
examination.

Suspect

 Suspect animals sent for slaughter must be clearly marked and accompanied by a full
veterinary report not only for the information of the meat inspection staff but also to
inform operatives in lairage and slaughter line of the existence of any communicable
diseases.
 Ante-mortem signs, post-mortem findings and the results of any laboratory tests are
all considered in making final judgment on the carcass and offal.
 Recumbent animals should be given special attention, the nature and extent of the
disease involved will determine subsequent, action i.e. immediate condemnation,
passing for immediate slaughter or holding for further examination.
 In the handling slaughter and carcass dressing of animals, which may represent a
source of infection to plant, staff should be handled with the greatest care.
 Such animals should be handled separately from normal stock; staff should wash
hands and arms frequently; avoid cuts and contaminating of the eyes with body
fluids, etc.

MORIBUND CASES AND CONDEMNED CASES

 Those classified as "condemned" e.g. animals affected with tetanus and “moribund"
cases, should be identified with a "condemned"tag , and consigned to the inedible
by-products department, a detailed post-mortem examination if necessary, being
carried out before hand.
 On occasions, dead animals will be countered during ante-mortem inspection.
 Anthrax must be borne in mind, a blood smear taken, stained with anthrax is
polychrome ethylene blue and examined for B. anthracis.
 When Anthrax is eliminated, hypo-magnesium tetany to be considered in cows in
good condition held over night in wintertime.
 Observation of dead animals the nature and color of blood from the natural orifices is
of great value in determining Anthrax or otherwise the blood is dark and tarry in case
of Anthrax if it is light red & thin in nature it in unlikely to be Anthrax.
 The onus on the Veterinary Surgeon is to obtain a blood smear at the outset.
 Theimportance of ante-mortem inspection (AM) may well be further emphasized in
the future by the institution of pre-slaughter tests, e.g. the use of a modified enzyme -
labeled antibody (ELA) test in the detection of certain parasitic on other latent
conditions.
 Such procedures would change the nature of current post-mortem examination
techniques.
 The importance of ante-mortem inspection (AM) will be emphasized by the
institution of pre-slaughter tests, e.g. the use of a modified enzyme - labeled antibody
(ELA) test in the detection of certain parasitic on other latent conditions.
 Such procedures would change the nature of current post-mortem examination
techniques.

SIGNIFICANCE OF ANTE-MORTEM INSPECTION

S. Condition Symptoms Ante-mortem

No Significance
1. Anthrax: Fever, boldly U, D.
Forage diarrhea and red
poisoning dark blood
discharge from
natural orifices
2 Actinomycosis Lumpy jaw – a CU S.
chronic
granulomatous
disease
3. Actinobacillosis Wooden tongue – CU S.
fibrous tissue
 causing
enlargement and
hardening of tongue
4. Black Quarter Severe U.
inflammation of
muscles followed by
crepitating swelling
on shoulder, neck,
breast, loins or
thigh.
5. Foot and Mouth Dullness, depressed U
Disease appetite, lameness,
salivation
6. Listeriosis Stiffness of neck, U. P. S.
(Circling inco-ordinated
Disease) movement of limbs,
paralysis of muscles
of jaws and pharynx
7. Rabies Manifestation of U.
neurological
disorders
8. Salmonellosis Severe diarrhea U
with foul smell,
many contain blood,
fever, loss of
appetite, dullness,
dehydration
9. Swine Acute septicaemia, CU S.
Erysipelas skin lesions, chronic
arthritis and
vegetative
endocarditis
10. Selenium Peeling of skin U. P. S.
Poisoning
11. Swine fever Acute highly U
(Hog cholera) contagious disease
– septicaemia in the
form of multiple
haemorrhages
12. Tetanus Acute highly fatal U, D.
infective disease
characterized by
spasmodic
contraction of
 voluntary muscles
especially masseter
muscle often
causing lock jaw
condition
13. Tuberculosis Chronic Generalised Localised
inflammation of -U -S
lungs, swelling of
retropharyngeal
lymph gland
14. White Scour in Large abscess in the CU S.
Calves abdominal wall near
umbilicus which
becomes hard and
swollen

Note:

 U - Unfit for slaughter

 P - Postpone slaughter and treat
 S - Handle as suspect
 D - Destroy and dispose
 CU - Conditionally Unfit

POST-MORTEM INSPECTION

Post-mortem inspection is defined as examination of dressed carcass, their organs

including blood immediately after slaughter to produce wholesome meat, in a hygienic
manner under adequate amount of light by a qualified meat inspector.

Points do be followed while conducting post-mortem

 Slaughtering is limited to certain specified hours, which will be convenient to the

Inspector, butcher and purchasing public.
 There should be sufficient time and light for inspection after slaughter.
 Slaughtering should be done as far as possible in the presence of the Inspector by any
of the popular methods.
 The animal is bled, skinned (the preliminary portion only done in cattle), the feet
removed, the carcass is hauled up, off the ground and further skinning carried out
 The abdomen is then incised and the abdominal organs allowed falling in front for
the Inspector to inspect them.
 The organs are then received into a handcart and wheeled to a little distance on one
side.
 Uniform procedure to be followed. The outline of the total procedure should be
drawn and should be followed step by step.
 Never skip any step.
 Record the age, sex, and give a number to the animal (Carcass).
 While inspecting an organ, always look for the associated lymph nodes and look for
abnormalities.
  Post-mortem inspection is the examination of the carcass after dressing is completed
and done as early as possible.
 If the examination is delayed, particularly in beef and pork carcasses, which set
rapidly the examination of the carcass lymph nodes is more difficult.
 The main purpose of post-mortem examination is to detect and eliminate
abnormalities, including contamination, thus ensuring that only meat fit forhuman
consumption is passed for food.
 The other subsidiaryimportant aspects are checking the efficiency of slaughter and
carcass dressing techniques and diagnosis of disease conditions for disease control
purpose.
 Many abnormalities, which may not be evident on ante-mortem examination
affecting the animals, may be detected at post-mortem inspection.

FACILITIES FOR POST-MORTEM INSPECTION

 Each inspection point should have well distributed lighting, which does not distort
colours and at least 540-lux units (50-foot candles) in intensity.
 In addition to the above, the major facilities like structural and mechanical facilities,
which provide for good working conditions to enable carcasses and their parts to be
delivered for inspection in a satisfactory manner.
 There must be one or more hand-washing units (lavotories) with a supply of hot and
cold running water, a mixing faucet, liquid soap and towels or roller toweling.
 Sterilizers for the complete immersion of knives, saws, cleavers, etc., are essential.
 These requirements must extend to the routine inspection points on the slaughter
line and to the "detained" areas where further detailed examination is performed.
 It isimportant that there should be coordination between inspection points and that
those on the slaughter line be grouped to allow for correct identification of carcasses
and viscera and recording of disease data.

ROUTINE POST-MORTEM INSPECTION OF BOVINES -

ORGANS

Post-mortem inspection of a beef carcass and its organs should proceed in the following
order, which should always be adhered to:

Head

 The outer surfaces and eyes are to be examined initially. The gums, lips and tongue
for foot and mouth disease, necrotic and other forms of stomatitis, actinomycosis and
actinobacillosis are to be inspected. The tongue is palpated from dorsum to tip.
Incisions of internal and external masticatory muscles for cysticercus-bovis are made
parallel to the lower jaw.
 Retropharyngeal, submaxillary and parotid lymph nodes are incised for T.B. lesions.
Roaring in cattle is associated with enlargement of retropharyngeal lymph nodes and
about 50 per cent roaring is due to T.B. or encapsulated abscesses. The tonsils of
cattle and pigs frequently harbour T.B. bacilli and should always be examined and
removed as unfit for food, even though apparently normal.
 In young unthrifty cattle showing symptoms of cerebral disturbances or
incoordination of movements, the brain should be exposed and search made for
tuberculous meningitis, for evidence of tubercles in the brain substance or T.B. of the
spinal cord.

Lungs
  The bronchial and mediastinal lymph nodes are to be incised for T.B. and the lungs
substances should be exposed by a deep long incision from the base to the apex of
each lung. If there is an adhesion in the chest cavity it indicates some form of lung or
peritoneal disease. If the lung tissue is of a grayish or yellowish appearance and in
masses or nodules it indicates tuberculosis.
 A healthy lymphatic gland is of a pale brown colour throughout and tuberculosis
lymph glands contain small white nodules and or a semisolid cheese like grayish
white or yellowish mass.
 Visual examination followed by palpation should be carried out for pleurisy,
pneumonia, tuberculosis, fascioliasis, hydatid cysts, etc.

Heart

 Pericardium should be examined for traumatic or T.B. pericarditis.

 While incising the heart ventricles attention is to be paid to petechial haemorrhages
on the epicardium or endocardium or for cysticerci or hydatid cysts in the
myocardium is often associated with septic conditions in the cattle.

Liver

 A visual examination is to be made for fatty changes due to actinobacillosis, abscesses

and parasitic infections such as hydatid cysts, Cysticercus bovis, fascioliasis and the
larval stages of oesophagostomum.
 A routine incision should be made in the thin left lobe for fascioliasis. The portal
lymph nodes should be incised.

Stomach and intestines

 The serous membranes of these organs may show evidence of T.B. or Actinobacillosis.
 Anterior aspect of reticulum may show evidence of penetration by a foreign body.
 Mesenteric lymph nodes should be incised for T.B. (or Linguatulae nodules).

Spleen

 The surface and substances should be examined for T.B, anthrax, heamotomata or
the presence of infarcts.

Uterus

 Has to be opened and examined for septic conditions, evidence of pregnancy or of

recent parturition in a well bled and well-set carcass are of no significance.

Udder

 Should be carefully examined by multiple deep incisions about 2 inches apart, for
mastitis or abscesses, supramammary lymph nodes even in dry cow should be incised
for evidence of T.B.

CARCASS AND ORGANS- EXAMINATION

Carcass
  The carcass is examined externally for bruising on injuries especially to the angle of
the paunch and of the pelvic cavity.
 Inspection of thoracic and abdominal cavities should be made for inflammation,
abscesses and T.B. Diaphragm may be lifted and the T.B. lesion may be hidden
between the diaphragm and thoracic wall.
 Cut surface of the carcass bones should be examined. Kidneys loosened and visually
inspected and the renal lymph nodes incised.
 If the above routine examination reveals no abnormality the carcass may be passed
for food.
 When a disease or other abnormal condition is found during the routine postmortem
examination the carcass and its parts are retained for a final examination which is
more extensive then would otherwise be given to the carcass.
 In those cases where the abnormal condition is benign and localized the inspector
disposed off the localized condition summarily.
 If no other abnormal condition is found during the inspection the normal portion of
the carcass and its parts are passed for food without requiring it to be retained for
final examination.
 Carcasses, parts of carcasses and accompanying viscera, are found to be unfit for food
are condemned by inspector and placed in condemned meat room to be properly
disposed off under his own supervision.
 Where T.B. has been found on routine examination it is customary to in incise the
following carcass lymph nodes; prepectoral, nodes of upper and lower thoracic wall,
prescapular, lumbar, precrural, external and internal iliacs, superficial inguinal and
the popliteal.
 Inspection of the mesenteric lymph nodes by making longitudinal incisions through
them for Tuberculosis especially and also for the general conditions of the lymph
nodes of the carcass.

Organs

 A rapid examination is made of the head, lungs, heart, liver, spleen, stomach and
intestines, (Uterus and Udder) if stamped healthy.
 These organs are wheeled off in a tray for the preparation of tripe etc. If there is an
evidence of Tuberculosis or some other affection, the abdominal content or contents
are marked for destruction.

CALVES, SHEEP AND GOATS AND PIGS

Post-mortem inspection of calves

 The detailed examination of lymph nodes of the head is not warranted; but a visual
examination of the mouth and tongue should be made for Foot and Mouth disease
and calf diphtheria.
 The abomasums has to be examined for peptic ulcers and the small intestines for
evidence of dysentery and white scour in.
 The portal lymph nodes have to be examined for evidence of congenital Tuberculosis.
 The umbilicus and joints are to be looked for evidence of septic omphalophlebitis.
 The lungs, kidney and spinal cord are to be examined for melanotic deposits.

Post-mortem inspection of sheep and goats

 These require a less detailed inspection than calves and pigs.

 Examination for satisfactory bleeding and setting the carcasses of sheep and goats.
  The lungs are examined for parasitic infections especially hydatid cysts or nematodes,
the liver for fascioliasis and the knee and stifle joints for arthritis.
 Fractured ribs and septic pleurisy may often be encountered.
 For accurate identification of carcasses and their relative organs and to provide
reliable information for any subsequent examination on the "detained" line
synchronization of conveyorised lines carrying carcasses and offals is absolutely
necessary.
 Systems for recording disease data vary according to the particular operation and the
type and rate of slaughter.
 While there is ample time to make good records on re-inspection, this is not the case
for rail inspection especially in plants with large throughputs, where a form of auto
link with a central recording office would seems to be the best system.

Post-mortem inspection of pigs

 Pig carcasses are examined as that for cattle.

 The skin has to be examined for swine erysipelas, swine fever, urticaria and for
„shotty eruption‟.
 The tail has to be examined necrosis, the feet for abscess formation and the udder for
mastitis or actinomycosis.
 The viscera has to be examined as for cattle and particular attention to be made to
pneumonia and secondary complications that develop in virus pneumonia, mainly
pleurisy, pericarditis and peritonitis.
 The submaxillary, bronchial and mesenteric lymph nodes have to be inspected for
T.B. Abscess in the submaxillary lymph caused by passage of sharp foreign bodies
through the wall of the pharynx.
 Liver is incised in case of cirrhosis and portal lymph nodes as a routine procedure.
The kidney surface should be examined.

CARCASS IDENTIFICATION

 Live animal identification has to be retained on the carcass until it is dispatched.

 A slaughter programme has to be compiled giving details of stock, their class, and
identification, name and address of owner, lot, pen and slaughter sequence, numbers,
etc., for the day's kill, or batches within this.
 Copies of these are to be made available to appropriate persons including the meat
inspection staff.
 It isimportant to have a reliable system of substituting dead for "live" identifications
so that accurate details of producer, ownership, carcass weight, grade classification
and disease information are maintained.
 Carcass meat are identified by different ways, clip or tie-on labels (paper or plastic)
stick on tickets, plastic strands, marking inks, knife marks in superficial muscles, etc.
 Unless offal is pooled it too will require individual identification.
 A recent innovation is an instrument, which injects a small plastic or cellulose
fastener holding a paper or plastic label into the meat.
 A system is being developed in Australia, which consists of gelatine strips preprinted
with appropriate details and stuck on the carcass fat.
 This form of identification is said to be edible, waterproof, non-smearing non-
dissolving and abrasion-resistant.
 If details can be added after the strips are applied, this could be a useful system of
carcass identification.
 Metal and hard rubber stamps with marking ink, are in common use for carcass
identification and roller script for indicating grades.
  The inks should be applied to a relatively dry meat surface to pressure legibility and
for event carcass disfiguration.
 Other forms of carcass meat identification include marking pencils and probel
measurements in pigs.
 Vegetable dye is used, since it is
 Easily available
 Causes no harm to the carcass
 Does not spread over
 Causes no harm to the users and
 Does not damage the slaughter
 In the Kosher method of identification a wire is pushed through the legs of sheep of
beef flank, a pair of pliers imprinting the joining lead seal with letter and numerals.
 Practically all the current forms of meat identification have drawbacks from the
standpoint of hygiene, legibility or practicability. For example, the commonly used
labels with copper-plated clips can cause discoloration of the surrounding meat due
to corrosion, necessitating trimming.
 A good system of carcass meat identification must be clearly legible easily applied,
cheap, non-toxic, non-corrosive and suitable for use with modern data retrieval
systems.
 The meat inspector will adopt one or more of the above forms of marking
meat "retained" "detained" and "condemned" in addition to appropriate labels
indicating any specific lesions.

EXAMINATION OF CARCASS

Every carcass should be examined for

 Its state of nutrition

o Healthy animals - muscle water, protein (75.5%; 22%) less than 4:1
o In emaciated animals - muscle water; protein (80%; 19%) over 4:1
 Any evidence of bruising, hemorrhage or discoloration
o Evidence of traumatism is usually discernible on the surface of the carcass.
o If severe - cut it into joints before serum infiltrates in between muscles.
 Any local or general oedema
o Oedema - localized - hydrothorax, ascites, oedema of brisket, traumatic
pericarditis.
o Oedema - generalized (Anasarca) - serious.
o In healthy cattle: bone marrow contains 25% of water.
o In Anasarca: Bone marrow contains 50% of water.
 Efficiency of bleeding
o Degree of bleeding of a carcass
o In beef carcass: Intercostal veins are always discernible in poorly bled
carcasses.
o In sheep carcass - examine prescapular lymph node: which in badly bled
carcasses is often deeply congested.
o Differentiate between imperfect bleeding, due to insufficiency of glycogen and
"black beef" and due to point of exhaustion proper to slaughter.
 Any swelling, deformities or other abnormality of bone joints, musculature or
umblicus
o May not be obvious always.
 Age and sex of the animal
o Age and sex is determined from the records
 Any abnormal odours
o May make completely unsaleable.
 o Consumption of strong smelling substance: fish meal, cod liver oil, for pigs
administration of drugs prior to slaughter.
o Sexual odour of male animals - boar odour, goat odour.
o Products of abnormal metabolism - acetone.
o Abnormal odour readily detected in large connective tissue sheaths, in the
kidney fat, and in muscular tissue.
 Condition of the pleura and peritoneum.
 Any other evidence of abnormality.

MODULE-7: SLAUGHTERING AND DRESSING OF CARCASSES

Learning objectives

This module deals with,

 stunning before slaughter –Humane method,

 stunning by means of gas,
 stunning by means of electricity,
 stunning by using mechanical devices,
 ritual methods of slaughter,
 slaughter and dressing of cattle,
 slaughter and dressing of pig,
 slaughter and dressing of sheep and goats,
 slaughter and dressing of poultry and
 methods of dressing.

INTRODUCTION- SLAUGHTER

The methods of slaughter vary greatly not only in different countries but in different
parts of the same country sometimes.

 Those in which the animal is rendered unconscious before being bled and
 Those in which they are bled without previous stunning.
 Slaughter implies putting an animal to death and subsequently preparing the carcass
and organs forhuman food.

HUMANE METHOD
Stunning by means of instrument, which render an animal unconscious

 These are known ashumane killers and there are two kinds
o those which discharge a free bullet and
o those which effect their purpose by means of a Captive bolt arrangement.
 In the latter, the animal is stunned by a bolt, which is shot into the skull by the
discharge of a cartridge and automatically withdrawn therefrom by means of recoil.

Prerequisites of stunning
The choice of a particular method of stunning depends on many different factors –

 class of animal intended,

 line speed,
 humane aspects,
 capital and maintenance costs,
 efficiency of equipment,
 ease of operation,
 safety of personnel,
 effects on carcass and brain,
 along with religious and legal requirements.

STUNNING INSTRUMENTS USING FREE BULLETS

 The one common objection to all such instruments is, should they be restive or
suddenly moves its head, the bullet may deviate from its course and injure some one
either by direct shot or miss hot.

Greener’shumane cattle killer: (Click here to view the picture)

 Has a short rifled barrel, chambered to receive a cartridge with steel pointed bullet.
 It is terminated by a bell shaped chamber, which serves to deaden the sound, protect
the operator from the flash of the explosion and to direct the bullet through the brain
into the spinal cord, thus avoiding the necessity of pitching.
 The animal is killed instantaneously and can be bled without danger.
 Animal sustains minimal suffering.
 The pin that explodes the cartridge is struck with a wooden mallet.
 The head of the animal must be in a suitable position and must be kept still.
 Both the hands of the operator are required, one to hold the instrument in position
and the other to strike the pin with the mallet.
 It is dangerous tohuman being and other animals, if proper care is not taken,
because it dislodges free bullets.
 Lot of sound is generated which will scare other animals. The cylinder gets heated up
quickly. So it cannot be used for many animals continuously

Swedish killer

 Similar to Greener‟s killer except that instead of a protecting cap, there is a spring on
the firing pin which acts as a safety device.

Spragg pistol

 A pistol firing a free bullet, which is discharged by pulling a trigger as in an ordinary

pistol.

R.S.P.C.A.humane killer and slaughtering pistol

 The slaughtering pistol consists of a revolver with a rounded, expander and which
enables it to be pressed correctly upon a chosen spot.
The large humane cattle killer

 It similar in principle, the revolver being mounted on a wooden shaft through which
runs a wire attached to the trigger.
 An advantage of the killer is that there is no risk of the animal falling against the
operator.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING GREENER'SHUMANE CATTLE

KILLER

Caution

 Never leave the instrument loaded. No one to stand at the side of animal's head.
 Never load until ready to operate.
 Keep the instrument higher than the middle of the Forehead rather than the lower.
 The point aimed at should be in a line with the spinal column.
 Load the instrument by unscrewing the breech piece and inserting the cartridge,
taking care that the Bell is pointing towards the ground.
 When loaded, place the instrument well up on the animal's forehead. Great care must
be taken to see that the notch and word "Top" on the instrument are pointing
upwards between the horns, so that the barrel is on a line with the pith, otherwise the
bullet may penetrate to the root of the tongue, or damage the neck.

 DESCRIPTION OF THE GREENER CATTLE KILLERS

Original model,humane cattle killer as

illustrated. Gun metal bell with safety loop,
complete in box with mallet, cleaning rod
and brush

Safti killer, black finish, suitable for sheep,

pig and small animals only, complete in box
with rod and brush

Pocket pattern for veterinary surgeons and

horse slaughters use with cleaning rod and
brush

STUNNING INSTRUMENTS WITH CAPTIVE BOLT

ARRANGEMENT
Captive Bolt Pistol – Percussive Stunning (Click here to see the picture)

 Many different types of captive bolt pistol/percussive stunning pistol are in use of
throughput the world, having been introduced at the end of the nineteenth century.
 They are generally operated by means of a blank cartridge, although some are
pneumatic in design.
 With the most common pistol, the captive bolt pistol, a bolt is propelled forward on
discharge of the blank cartridge and automatically recoils into the barrel.
 Ideally, the bolt should be recessed into the body of the pistol so that when the
muzzle is held firmly against the animal‟s head, the bolt can gain velocity before
penetration of the skull occurs.
 It is important when using captive bolt pistol to ensure that the correct strength of
cartridge is used for the different species.
 With the Cash instruments these range in strength from 1 grain for small animals
such as milk lambs, up to 3 and 4 grains for large cattle and mature bulls (1 grain =
0.065 grams).
 In most cases a 0.22 or 0.25 cartridge is used while in horses a 0.64 blank cartridge
may be required for certain guns.
 In this method three types of blank cartridges are used, viz.
o green topped cartridges are used for larger animals (cattle),
o black topped ones for medium sized animals and
o red topped ones for the small sized animals (sheep).
 Properly used, the captive bolt pistol is very effective in cattle, sheep and calves but
less so in bulls and pigs, especially sows and boars, in which the frontal bone
structure is very thick.
 This penetrative type of percussive stunner produces immediate and permanent
insensibility by destruction of the cortex and deeper parts of the brain, a rapid rise
and then fall in intracranial pressure and the sudden jerk due to the energy the bolt
imparts to the head, producing what is known as acceleration concussion.
 These effects result in depolarization of neurons in the brain, including those of the
cerebral cortex.
 The important force in producing unconsciousness with the captive bolt pistol is the
actual velocity of the bolt and the speed at which it strikes the brain, rather than the
penetration of the brain per se.
 A velocity of about 76-91 m/s is aimed at, this in practice being about 73 m/s.
 The strength of the cartridge must be matched with the robustness of the gun to
prevent metal fatigue and breaks in washers, etc.
 The captive bolt pistol is a very useful instrument but it cannot be used for slaughter
at rates of over 240-250 per hour owing to difficulties in reloading. In this case an
automatically resetting gun can be used.
 As for all forms of stunning it is vital that stunning-box design should be good. Very
deep stunning boxes where the operative has to bend very low to reach the animal's
head are unsuitable and require a percussion stunner with a long handle rather that
the smaller instrument.
 Pneumatic stunners, where the bolt is activated under high pressure of 80-120
psi, require somewhat complicated actions to fire them, and there may be occasions
when air pressure is inadequate. With proper pressure, however, a high bolt velocity
can be achieved.
 Non-penetrative percussion stunners using a mushroom head are sometimes
used in calves when brains are collected for edible use and are in regular use in the
USA.
 Properly used, this method is capable of producing immediate insensibility, which
lasts for more than 30 seconds in calves.
  It is probably not as useful in older cattle, but can be applied successfully in sheep. In
young calves with thin skulls intracranial hemorrhage may occur, but the occurrence
of blood splashing in muscle in sheep rarely happens.
 In older animals, especially cattle, the method probably does not produce an
adequate degree of insensibility.
 Much depends on the operative as to whether or not blood splashing results,
especially in the case of lambs.
 If the animals are handled properly and there is no long interval between stunning
and bleeding, blood splashing in muscle will be minimal.
 In any case, the period between stunning and sticking should not exceed 30s with
non-penetrative percussive stunning of cattle.
 This compares with a recommended stun-to-sticking interval of less than 60s with
penetrative percussive stunners in cattle, <15s for sheep and goats and <10s for
calves.

THE CONTACT-FIRING TYPES OF CAPTIVE BOLT PISTOL

 The contact-firing types of captive bolt pistol are much more satisfactory than the
trigger-operated ones, only a light tap on the animal‟s head being necessary to fire
them.
 They are quicker and easier to operate and can be loaded and fired 10-12 times a
minute.
 However, if they are dropped on the floor or struck against the stunning box wall, the
whole gun can become a dangerous missile.
 A defect of percussive stunning and the use of the free bullet is noise.
 Most of the really serious defects, however, arise from misuse or from instruments in
poor state of repair, as is the case with all forms of stunning.
 The European Directive on the Protection of Animals at the time of
slaughtering makes it a responsibility of the Official Veterinarian to ensure that the
instruments used for stunning, and for restraint, are in a good state of operation.
 Theimportance of regular maintenance if the pistols are to function correctly cannot
be overemphasized.
 The velocity of the bolt may be significantly reduced by a build-up of carbon or
corrosion on the pistol, which drives the bolt forward, or by excessive wear in any of
the moving parts. While some manufacturers recommend cleaning every 70 shots,
daily dismantling and thorough cleaning must be carried out.
 A common indication that a pistol requires cleaning is the tip of the bolt protruding
from cleaning from the muzzle more than the usual distance between shots.
 The tendency on the part of many operatives to stun a group of animals, especially
sheep, before bleeding, this obnoxious practice should be avoided which leads on
occasions, to recovery of consciousness and a high incidence of blood splashing.
 All forms of mechanical stunning devices should be fitted with safety levers to
minimize the chances of accidents and should be easily cleaned and maintained.
 It is vital that the impact end of the penetrating type be kept sharp.
 A back-up pistol should always be on hand in cases of emergency.

OTHER CAPTIVE BOLT PISTOLS

Cash captive bolt pistol

 This is a penetrative type captive bolt pistol produces immediate unconsciousness by

the velocity of the bolt and the speed (73 m/s) at which it strikes the brain.
 Brain is destructed physically.
  Changes in intra-cranial pressure and the sudden jerk produce acceleration
concussion
 The instrument has a captive bolt arrangement.
 The bolt is in the form of iron rod of about 6 inches in length and is capable of
moving in and out from the pistol.
 It automatically recoils upon firing a cartridge.
 The bolt is driven with great force into the skull of the animal penetrating to a depth
of 2.5 to 3 inches.
 In this instrument blank cartridge are used.
 Strength of the cartridge 1¼ to 7 grains.

Advantages

 It is quite safe as blank cartridges are used.

 Animal falls to the ground unconscious after the shot.
 No objectionable noise.
 Bolt becomes automatically free.
 Only one hand is required to operate the instrument and the other hand is free to
control the animal.
 Instrument never gets heated up even after stunning many animals.
 Easy and rapid working and hence can be used for many number of animals.
Instrument requires ordinary care.
 It can be cleaned rapidly and easily.

Schermer humane killer

 Same principle as captive bolt pistol.

 Greatly used on the European continent.
 Large sized ones for small animals.
 The instrument has the advantage of being almost noiseless when fired and easy for
operation.

Temple cox-universal pistol

 Same principle.
 The new universal model is popular.
 The bolt can be felt discharged by the firing of a Red or Green cartridge according to
the size of the animal to be slaughtered.
 Easy to handle, easy to clean and extremely quiet when fired.

Convoy captive bolt pistol

 Same principle as the other pistols.

 Used commonly in Danish countries.
 Here the same cartridges can be used for the larger and smaller animals.

Contact firing type captive bolt pistol

 It is much more satisfactory than the older trigger operated ones.

 A light tap on the head of the animal is necessary to fire it.
 They are quicker and easier to operate and can be loaded and fired 10 to 12 times per
minute.
 POINTS / SITES FOR PERCUSSIVE STUNNING

 With both types of percussive stunners, care must be taken to hold the
instrument reasonably firmly against the animal's head at the proper point
and direction.
 In adult cattle the correct point is in the middle of the forehead where two
lines taken from the medial canthus of each eye to the base of the opposite
horn or horn prominence cross.
 The gun is placed at right angles to the forehead and after firing is lifted away
from the falling animal.
 In calves the pistol should be placed slightly lower to the head than for adult
cattle,
 while for bulls and old cows the muzzle is placed 1.5 cm to the side o the ridge
running down the centre of the forehead.
 Cattle should never be shot in the poll position.
 In hornless sheep and goats the pistol is placed on the top of the head and
aimed towards the gullet,
 while for horned sheep and goats the muzzle is placed behind the ridge, which
runs between the horns, the direction of aim being the same.
 For bacon weight pigs the pistol is placed about 2.5 cm above the level of the
eyes and fired upwards into the cranial cavity.
 In older animals captive bolt stunning is less reliable owing to the massive
nature of the skulls and the large frontal sinuses of older pigs.
 The muzzle should be placed about 5 cm above the level of the eyes to the side
of the ridge, which is in the mid-line of the skull, and at right angles to the
frontal surface.
 The muzzle of the pistol is placed at right angles to the frontal surface ~ 1 cm
above the point where imaginary lines from eye to ear cross as the brain is in
the upper part of the head.

STUNNING BY MEANS OF GAS

Stunning by Carbon-di-oxide gas

 Carbon dioxide was first used to induce preslaughter anaesthesia in animals in 1904,
but not successfully on a commercial scale until 1950.
 Since then the method has been modified in several different ways and is now used
fairly widely throughout the world although not as extensively as it could be, probably
because of the high cost of installation and operation.
 Some authorities suggest that the struggling witnessed in pigs for a period of some
15-20s when they first come into contact with high concentrations of gas is due to the
very irritant properties of carbon dioxide.
 The others are of the opinion that the struggling is equivalent to the induction stages
of anaesthesia and that the pig is in the unconscious state during this period.
 The recommended concentration of CO2 should be at least 70%.
 Experiments have shown that nitrous oxide (NO2) may be an alternative anaesthetic
gas for stunning pigs.
 Its density is close to CO2 and so it can be used in similar equipment.
 The indications are that although meat quality may be improved the induction time is
unacceptably long.
  However, currently, CO2 is the only gas that is widely used for stunning animals
commercially.
 It is usually stored in cylinders or bulk tanks as a liquid under pressure.
 It is also available in solid form for which a converter is necessary.
 The gas is non-inflammable and has a higher specific gravity than air, sinking to the
bottom of any container, a fact that has to be borne in mind when it is being used for
anaesthesia or euthanasia purposes.
 When properly used it presents no hazard to the operative.
 A concentration of 80-95% CO2 in air is the most suitable for pre-slaughter
anaesthesia.
 If the concentration is too low the pigs will not be properly stunned and if it is too
high there is a tendency of the pigs to become stiff, show reflex muscular activity and
bleed poorly.
 If the exposure period is too long, superficial congestion of the skin occurs and when
pigs are scalded the skin is bluish in colour.
 Pigs subjected to CO2 anaesthesia will regain consciousness if they are not
subsequently bled, the recovery time varying with the concentration of the gas, but
averaging about 90%.
 It isimportant , therefore, that in addition to the concentration of gas, the period of
exposure should be 45s and bleeding should take place as soon as possible and
certainly within 30 seconds of the pigs leaving the gas chamber.
 It is possible that some adverse effects observed on occasions are due to incorrect
concentration of gas and air and/or inadequate or too long exposure times.

TYPES OF GAS STUNNING

The type of apparatus employed to administer the gas depends mainly upon the
required rate of slaughter. There are three main forms:

 The oval tunnel (Combi) system

o This is used for killing rates of up to 600 pigs per hour.
o The gas tunnel is in the form of an oval through which aslot conveyor carries
pigs, the actual tunnel sloping downward at an angle of 30˚ to the
anaesthetizing chamber.
o On exit the pigs are shackled, hoisted to an overhead rail and bled.
o The actual conveyor in the tunnel is divided into ten compartments, one pig
being accommodated in each compartment.
o Pigs up to 113 kg can be handled in this equipment, which is not suitable for
other species.
 The dip lift system
o This is suitable for any size of pig as well as calves and sheep.
o It consists of a cage 213 cm long, 68 cm high and 53 cm wide which, when the
animal enters it, descends vertically to the CO2 pit where it remains for the
pre-set time and then automatically returns to ground level, ejecting the
unconscious animal for shackling and bleeding.
o The greatest advantage of the system is that it allows several pigs to be
stunned simultaneously, assisting immediate per-slaughter handling.
o This is suitable for small meat plants.
 The compact CO2 immobiliser
o This is a horizontally-revolving apparatus divided into four to eight
compartments operating in such a way that, when one section is uppermost
for loading, the others are rotating to submerge in the gas chamber.
 o The unit usually has a capacity of up to 300 pigs per hour.
o In commonly used design the pigs are exposed to 10% CO2 at the first
position, 30% for 10s at the second, 60% for 10s at the third and over 90% for
20s at the fourth and fifth, after which the pigs are discharged from the unit.
o Pigs go into the machine quietly, become unconscious and remain as far one
to two minutes, allowing plenty of time for sticking, they bleed out well, heart
action is strong and their is no spasm to delay for continuous flow of blood,
very little distress.
o Concentration of Carbon-di-oxide approximately 65% first 15 seconds
apparently unaffected by Carbon di oxide.
o 15 seconds later state of excitement when they bend their heads backwards
and fall over on to their sides.
o 5 seconds later the sense of pain seems to have been lost.

 CO2 anaesthesia has been utilized for turkeys and domestic fowl, mostly on an
experimental basis.
 A concentration of 73-77% CO2 has been found to be most suitable for turkeys and
70% for chicken.
 Chickens lose consciousness in about 15 seconds and may retain it in 1.5 minutes;
with an exposure of 1 minute unconsciousness may extend for 4 minutes.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Advantages

The advantages claimed for CO2 anaesthesia include:

 Meat and offal are free from harmful residues.

 Carcasses are relaxed allowing easier dehairing and dressing.
 There are less noise and reduced labour requirements.
 It has also been contended that the yield of blood from pigs stunned by this method is
0.75% better because CO2 stimulates respiration and thus favours blood circulation
and consequent bleeding.
 Muscular haemorrhages are avoided.
 The pH of the meat is lower.
 The gas is non-inflammable
 The gas has a higher specific gravity than air sinking to the bottom of any container
 When properly used it presents no hazard to the operator
 The efficiency of this method is higher thus reduces costs.
 This method is not only humane but superior to the other forms of stunning.

Disadvantages

 It is questionable whether this system is labour saving. It needs more space.

 It is not more rapid than other methods although it does ensure a steady throughput.
 It causes convulsive struggling.
 Varying degrees of excitement and even cardiac arrest, especially if the exposure
period exceeds 45 seconds
 It is too expensive for smaller slaughterhouses.
 Only pigs are stunned by this method.

STUNNING BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY

  A low voltage alternating current is passed through the brain of animal, rendering it
instantaneously unconscious in which state, it remains for about 5 minutes during
which time it can be hoisted, removed to the bleeding section and bled.
 Different types of electrical stunning systems in use;
o manually operated and
o automatically operated, especially in pigs and poultry.
 The instrument that is most commonly employed resembles a pair of tongs.
 This is to make the animals unconscious before they are bled.
 Now mostly used for pigs, poultry, sheep and pigs.
 The great advantage of this method is that there is no squealing, struggling or kicking
and no sound of a shot.
 The current causes massive depolarization of neurons in the brain, resulting in an
epileptiform seizure.
 Electrical stunning was first introduced in the 1930s.
 But there is still a lack of knowledge on its efficiency in producing insensibility.
 It must be agreed that if certain requisites are not complied with the method may be
inhumane, for the electrical current may produce a condition known as ‘missed
shock’in which the animal, though paralysed, is fully conscious.
 The electrical stunning may be regarded as efficacious and humane method in as
much as it causes incoordination of the cerebral nerve cells and what may be aptly
defined as a confusional state of the brain.

DESIDERATA NECESSARY FOR THE PRODUCTION OF

GENUINE ANAESTHESIA

The following desiderata are necessary for the production of genuine anaesthesia:
The strength of the electric shock should be of sufficient magnitude; the strength of
the current should not be less than 250 milliamperes, and the voltage should not be
less than 75 volts.

 This strength ensures that the animal is killed outright by cardiac arrest or
remains insensible until death occurs by exsanguination. The time
recommended for a genuine electroplectic shock should be not less than 10
seconds.
 Every electric stunning apparatus should be fixed with indicators, which
provide a warning if the current drops due to fluctuation in mains voltage or
the time of application falls short of 10 seconds. The position of placing the
electrodes so that the current will pass through the thalamus and cortex, the
chief sensory centres in the fore-brain.
 The electrical resistance of the hair and skin may be lowered by ensuring that
the electrodes are kept moist by immersion in brine and the skin of the head
clean but dry.
 Passage of current is facilitated if the calorific intake of the animal is reduced
and its state of hydration increased.
 The animal should be bled immediately after unconsciousness has been
produced, otherwise it may regain consciousness though still remain
paralysed.
 The failure of operators to observe these criteria has been the cause of
criticism of electrical stunning methods.
 Firstly the method was not considered as humane and secondly haemorrhages
 were often observed in the muscular tissue of animals stunned by electrical
means.
 The production of a genuine electroplectic shock and unconsciousness may be
assumed if after application of the current the hind legs are stretched out
violently, the fore legs are stiff, the head is bent back and respiration has
ceased.
 In the absence of these manifestations it may be assumed that the animal has
not been effectively stunned.
 The production of haemorrhages in the muscular tissue and lungs of animals
stunned by electrical means has been unduly emphasised.
 These can be obviated or reduced considerably by prior resting, correct
stunning and immediate bleeding.
 Keeping the electrical apparatus in position on the head and maintaining
vaso-constriction until the moment the throat is cut, muscle haemorrhages
can be reduced.

ADVANTAGES OF ELECTRICAL STUNNING

 The bleeding is excellent after electrical stunning.This is due to:

o The continued function of the heart and maintenance of the arterial
blood pressure (at a higher level than when animals are stunned by
captive-bolt type instrument)
o The nature of the muscular contraction, which expels the maximum
amount of blood from the skeletal, muscles in a manner similar to the
squeezing of a sponge.
o The violent and incoordinated muscular contractions are noticeably
absent after electrical stunning and during the act of sticking.
o The efficacy of electrical anaesthesia is dependent on the total quantity
of electrical energy supplied, expressed in watt-seconds (watt seconds
= voltage x amperage x time) rather than the individual factors of
voltage, amperage or time.

ELECTRICAL STUNNING OF CATTLE AND SHEEP

 Electrical stunning of cattle

o Not proved entirely satisfactory anaesthesia, due to the insulating effect of the
fine hairs on the head of the animal, although continental authorities have
found it satisfactory.
 Electrical stunning of sheep
o Proper unconsciousness can be assumed if there is immediate flexion of all
four limbs, closing of the eyes followed by extension of the hind limbs in a few
seconds.
o After some 10 seconds this is followed by gradual muscle relaxation and then
vague walking movements of the hind limbs.
o The eyelids are usually opened at this stage and the eyes rotate upwards so
that the pupil cannot be seen.
 DIFFERENT EQUIPMENTS USED IN ELECTRICAL STUNNING

The higg’s electrolethaler

 This consists of a transformer from which an insulated lead connects it with

the electric current, from the transformer a second insulated lead conducts the
current to one handle of a pair of tongs; at the ends of which are fixed
electrodes or gripping devices rather like the ear phone of a wireless set, on
each of which are a number of short teeth.
 The operator grips the pig behind the ears with the electrodes and allows the
switch in the handle of the tongs.
 The current of low voltage of about 70-80 volts is applied for about 5-10
seconds (longer if the pig is large) and the pig slowly rolls unconscious.
 The period of unconsciousness lasts about 5 minutes during which time the
animal lies perfectly still and anaesthetized and can be hoisted and stuck
before consciousness returns.
 Bleeding is reported to be good and splashing (muscular hemorrhages in
various part of carcass) does not occur.

The elther apparatus

 The Elther apparatus can administer a large quantity of electrical energy over
a very short period.
 This method of stunning renders the animal instantaneously and completely
unconscious and it is significant that cattle stunned by this method exhibit the
same syndrome as animals stunned by the ordinary electrolethaler.
 It is claimed that the bleeding of animals stunned by the Elther apparatus is
very rapid and complete, that haemorrhages do not occur and that the method
is superior to the electrolethaler because there is built-in devices to control the
current and application time.

Ray’s electrical stunner

 It consists of a pair of tongs provided with a sponge and attached to a step-

down transformer.
 The operator grips the animal behind the ears with the electrodes and allows
the current to pass into the animal by operating the switch in the handle of the
tongs.
 The electrodes are furnished with a sponge dipped in salt solution to enable
the current to pass more easily through hair and hide.

Modified electrical stunner

 Apart from the above said features in the Ray‟s electrical stunner, the tips of
the electrodes are modified to form metal cups with serrated edges and the
cups are fitted by absorbent pad.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF ELECTRICAL STUNNING SYSTEMS

Low voltage electrical stunning

 The voltage used is 75 volts.

 The time of application not less than 7 seconds
 In order to create a better contact, the electrodes are immersed in a saline solution
before use or possess in-built water jets.
 Since some doubt exists about the overall effectiveness of low-voltage stunning and
the length of time for which it should be applied, more use is currently being made of
high-voltage systems.

High voltage electrical stunning

 The voltage used is 300 volts or more and the application time must be atleast 2
seconds and usually 2-3 seconds.
 This system uses automatic restraints to ensure operators safety.
 Fractures (vertebrae and scapula) may occur in pigs stunned on the floor.
 High voltage electrical systems are available in a fully automatic form, which
incorporates two V-shaped restrainer-conveyors.
 These are placed in series and move at different speeds so that the pigs are separated
sufficiently to present their heads for stunning to a set of specially shaped electrodes
suspended on hinged metal plates which hang down inside the second conveyer and
contact the animal‟s head as it passes through.
 The stunning voltage is of the order 600-1000 V.
 Ninety per cent of the pigs are killed; the remaining 10% are only stunned.
 Difficulties may be encountered with this system in maintaining a consistently
correct positioning of the electrodes across the brain of the pig.
 It is particularlyimportant that a back-up stunner is always present to deal with any
animal, which suffers poor positioning of the electrodes, resulting in only partial
stunning.

Head to back or leg stunning

 Current is applied simultaneously to the head and the back or leg.

 High-voltage electrical stunning in addition to being used for head-only application,
may incorporate special tongs through which current is applied simultaneously to the
head and back/leg.
 In this system the brain is anaesthetized and the heart put into arrest, thus cutting off
the blood supply to the brain, which suffers death before the anaesthesia ends.
 Research work carried out at the Meat Research Institute in Bristol, UK, has shown
that brain function ceased 23s after this system of stunning, whereas this time was
extended to some 50s with head-only stunning.
 The animal is killed, thus improving animal welfare and making the stunning-to-
sticking interval lessimportant .
 Sticking is to be performed intrathoracically within 3 minutes for satisfactory
bleeding.
 A minimum current recommended for pigs is 1.3A applied with a minimum of 250
V and for lambs 1.0A at 375 V.
 In order to be fully effective, head-to-back/leg stunning must be combined with
automatic restraining systems which prevent adverse reflex muscular movements
and the possibility of fractures besides making the task of shackling and bleeding
easier for operatives.
 „Pelt-burn‟ in sheep occasionally occurs on the back with this method.
 Whatever type of electrical stunning is used, a back-up stunner, in the form of
portable captive bolt pistol should be available for use, not only in incorrectly
 stunned animals, but also for casualty animals in their transport vehicle or in the
lairage.
 It may be advisable to have an additional set of stunning tongs for use in several
electrical sockets positioned throughout the lairage and casualty accommodation.
 This is particularly useful if sows and boars, which are difficult to stun effectively with
a captive bolt, are to be slaughtered.

High-voltage head-to-brisket system

 This system operates in New Zealand for religious slaughter.

 Electrodes are applied to the animal in a purpose-built stunning pen following
capture in a neck yoke.
 On capture, a chin lift operates from which a nose contact plate is applied.
 A current of 25 A (at 550 V) is applied between the nose and neck yoke for 3 s to
stun the animal, with an additional current applied between the neck and a brisket
electrode to produce cardiac arrest.

Head-only system

 For Head-only electrical systems, a minimum electric current of 400 mA for pigs and
250 mA for sheep and lambs has been recommended to produce an effective stun
when the electrodes are placed in the ideal position.
 However, most experts set their recommendations considerably higher at 1.3A for
sheep. 0.6A for lambs, 1A for pigs and 1.5 A for cattle, having made the assumption
that tong placement on the head would frequently be far from ideal.

High-pressure water jet combined with electro immobilization

 A high pressure water jet (pressure of 3900 bar) applied via tubes to a fixed nozzle
which was positioned frontally about 2 cm from the skin of the head and had an
output opening of 1.0mm.
 During operation, 2 ml water is injected within 50ms for use in stunning slaughter
animals has been in development for a few years.
 A disadvantage is the occurrence of convulsions immediately after stunning.
 The convulsions cause danger to the operator and can prevent proper bleeding.
 To overcome the inexitable occurrence of convulsions the stunning method is
combined with an immobilizing electric current.

STUNNING BY USING MECHANICAL DEVICES

In course of newer inventions and sophistications in stunning devices, the following

methods which were in practice in early days were obsolete now-a-days. Moreover, to the
provisions of animal welfare some of the methods were considered to be more inhumane
and cannot be permitted as a part of humane slaughter in the form of animal stunning.

Hammer mallet or club

 In some cases a hammer does stunning.

 In the case of small animals, a mallet or club is used.
 These are not advocated for the following reasons.
 A hard blow on the head with a hammer may kill the animal outright but a clumsy
workman may require repeated blows to attain his purpose.

Pole axe
  This is extensively used in Scotland in the hands of really expert operator.
 It is astonishing to see how quickly the animal is killed and how seldom the aims
missed.
 That part of the weapon, which is the actual killing structure, is an elongated iron bar
at the back of the axe, which is fixed in a strong wooden handle.
 When properly used the instrument never fails to produce immediate
unconsciousness in the animal.
 The bore made by the penetrating portion is sufficiently large to admit the pithing
rod and which is applied directly after the axe is withdrawn.
 The head is secured and immovably fixed by after the rope to an iron ring in the wall.
 After the pitching the animal is perfectly still and is immediately ready for bleeding.
 Killing depends upon the accuracy of the arm.

The Gothenburg's swine killer

 It is the most satisfactory method of rapidly dealing with the animal.

 This is only a method of securing in a position where struggling is eliminated and the
actual method of killing is not part of this invention.
 It contains of an oblong iron chamber into which the pig enter directly from the yard
through the wall, which is then closed from behind.
 At the other end in the front wall, the pig puts its head and is then enable to withdraw
when the chamber is closed.

The dutch pig trap

 It is equally satisfactory for the same purpose, used in the principal abattoirs in
Holland.
 The principal is the same.

Neck stabbing

 This is one method of slaughter largely used in Africa, India and Australia.
 It consists essentially in dividing the spinal cord with a long sharp point knife, which
is thrust into the neck of the animal between the first cervical vertebrae and the
occipital.
 This immediately renders the animal paralyzed, but does not immediately destroy
consciousness.
 Bleeding is done as soon as the animal falls down.

TYPICAL SIGNS OF UNCONCONSCIOUSNESS DUE TO

STUNNING

 In the act of slaughter it is essential that a state of unconsciousness or insensibility be

instantaneously produced to ensure total freedom from suffering, this being further
ensured by immediate exsanguination.
 Where cardiac arrest has been created there is an almost immediate insensibility,
which is permanent.
 The discovery that adequate bleeding ensues despite cardiac dysfunction in this
method makes this a mostimportant development in the slaughter of animals.
 It has been always thought that a beating heart was necessary for proper bleeding,
but this has been discounted provided sticking is performed soon afterwards.
 The time taken to reach insensibility due to exsanguination depends upon the
technique utilised in sticking, the species, the age of the animal, whether the carcass
is suspended or method of pre-stunning used.
  Based on electroencephalographic data, sheep have been shown to become insensible
in 2-7 seconds, pig in 12-30s (average 18s) and cattle in 20-120s (average 55 s).
 The species differences are due to differences in the arteries, which supply the blood
to the brain via the Circle of Willis.
 In all cases, in the interests of the animal, it should be assumed that the upper limit
applies.

The typical signs of effective stunning by electricity

 The immediate collapse of the animal with flexion, followed by rigid extension of the
limbs, ophisthotonus (extreme arching back of the neck and spine), down ward
rolling of the eyeballs with tonic (continuous) muscular spasm changing into clonic
(repeated violent) spasms and eventual muscle flaccidity.
 The term electroplectic fit has been used to describe these signs of an effective stun.
 The tonic spasms last for some 10-25s, and the clonic phase 15-45s, in both pigs and
sheep.

The typical signs of an effective stun using percussive methods

 Cattle are immediately collapsed followed by tonic spasm lasting about 10-15s, and
then slow clonic movements of the hindlegs and eventually vigorous hindleg
movements.
 In pigs the tonic phase lasts 3-5 s.
 Normal rhythmic breathing must cease, and the eyeball should face outwards with a
fixed gaze and not be rotated inwards.

The typical signs of effective stunning by carbon dioxide

 In pigs the effects are those of a chemical anaesthetic, with the eventual onset of
insensibility.
 A period of increased respiratory rate follows slow respiratory movements and final
dyspnoea (difficult breathing).
 Corneal and palpebral reflexes are absent and extreme muscle flaccidity supervenes.
 The limbs and jaw are consequently relaxed.
 The use of palpebral, corneal or papillary reflexes to ascertain the effectiveness of
stunning is inappropriate for most methods of stunning.
 Palpebral and corneal reflexes are not under cortical control and may therefore be
present in an animal or bird, which has been rendered insensible.
 Conversely, the palpebral reflex may be absent in an animal, which has been
ineffectively electrically stunned.
 Although complete papillary dilatation a reliable sign of total insensibility of an
animal nearing the point of death, it is of little practical use since, for example, it has
been demonstrated that while sensibility as measured by electrical activity occurs 8s
after the decapitation of a sheep‟s head, complete papillary dilatation does not occur
until 87s.
 The most reliable objective sign of loss of sensibility is the absence of respiratory
activity.
 The return of regular respiratory movement after stunning, but not irregular
respiratory gasps, should always be a cause of concern.
 „Gagging‟ - respiratory movements are generally signs of imminent brain death.

RITUAL METHODS OF SLAUGHTER

 Ritual method of slaughter as opposed to humane slaughter is slaughtering of
animals while they are conscious.
 Ritual method of slaughter as the name suggests is bas on religious tenets of a
particular religion.
 The most commonly adopted ritual methods of slaughtered globally are
o Kosher method, as per the Judaism followed by Jews.
o Halal method, as per Islam followed by Muslims.
o There are a few more traditional methods adopted which are less common
and adopted in confined areas, for instance,
o The Evernazione method followed in Spain, parts of Italy, Mexico and some
South American countries.
o It is also called as neck – stab method.
o Cattle are slaughtered by the neck-stab or evernazione method, in which a
short double edged knife (puntilla) is plunged into the occipito-atlantal space
at the nape of the neck, severing the medulla oblongata in this method.
o The Jatkha method of slaughter as per Sikhism is followed by Sikhs.
 This method is followed in India albeit in few pockets only.
 Sheep and goats are decapitated by one stroke with a sword.
 In parts of northern India skilled operators can decapitate buffaloes by
a single stroke with a special sword.
o In the Arcitc, reindeer are killed by a curved single-edged knife, which, after
being inserted into the occipito-atlantal space, is directed forwards to destroy
the brain.
 In India Halal method is practiced extensively.

JEWISH METHOD

 The Jewish method of slaughter is controlled by the Jewish Board of Schechita and
Jewish slaughter man have to undergo several years of training before being licensed
by the Rabbinical Commission.
 They must also conform to British law that the slaughterhouse act of 1974 specifies
that slaughter by either the Jewish or Muslim method must not inflict unnecessary
pain.
 Animals must be slaughtered and dressed according to ritual methods specified in the
Talmud, the body of the Jewish law and legend based on the Torah in order for meat
to be kosher i.e. right fulfilling the requirements of Jewish law.
 Talmud prescribes that the animal must be alive and healthy at slaughter and must
not have suffered any injury.
 Prior stunning is forbidden.
 The act of killing for food is known as Schechita.
 Animals that do not conform to these ideals and any defects at slaughter in the form
of faults in schechita or disease lesions discovered in the carcass render the meat
terepha, unfit for consumption by Jews.
 Animals that lie quietly and cannot be made to rise must not be slaughtered
according to Jewish ritual.
 Schechita is performed by a Shochet who slaughters the fully conscious animals with
a single, deliberate, swift action of a razor-sharp knife, roughly twice the width of the
animal‟s neck and which is devoid of any notch or flaw, and has been examined
before the slaughter of each animal.
 All the soft structures anterior to the cervical spine are served, including the carotid
arteries and jugular veins.
 It is essential that the neck be fully extended in order to keep the edges of the wound
open and thereby prevent any pain.
 The five rules of Jewish ritual slaughter, in their traditional order, are that the neck
incision shall be without pause, pressure, stabbing, slanting and tearing.
 The Shochet (cutter) is normally assisted by Shomer (sealer) who is responsible for
putting the kosher mark on the brisket and on edible offal.
 Besides performing the act of slaughter, the shochet offers prayers and carries out a
post-mortem examination by making an incision posterior to the xiphoid process and
inserting the arm to detect any adhesions in the thoracic cavity (searching).
 Full meat inspection may be performed by a shochet or by the government or local
authority inspector.
 If the carcass should be held in the chill room for more than 24 hours it must be
washed in order to remove blood, further washing and curing (meliha) or broiling
being carried out in the home.
 Carcasses found fit for consumption must have the meat porged by removing the
large blood vessels in the forequarter prior to retail sale.
 Only forequarters are normally used, since the hind quarters, which are said to
contain over 50 blood vessels, can only be porged by highly skilled kosher butchers
and are therefore rarely eaten.
 It is claimed that the Jewish method of slaughter does not involve any act of cruelty
because the knife is particularly sharp, the cut is made dexterously by a trained
person, and the severance of the carotid vessels is followed by a very rapid fall in
blood pressure within the cephalic arteries.
 It is therefore contended that the anoxia from the diminished blood supply to the
brain tissues brings about almost immediate unconsciousness.
 But the opponents contended that blood via the cerebral artery may still reach the
brain of the cattle and prolong the period of consciousness.

HALAL OR MUSLIM METHOD OF SLAUGHTER

 Halal slaughter is carried out as per the tenets laid down in the Quran.
 Many of the practices adopted in the slaughter of animals and consumption of
meat are the same for both Jews and Muslims.
 The actual act of slaughter is virtually the same for Jewish and Muslim
methods.
 The Quran describes the procedure of severing both the carotid arteries and
jugular veins to drain blood.
 The welfare of the animal is the major consideration in Halal slaughter too
and the eating of dead animals, consumption of blood and of swine is
forbidden.
 The act of cutting the skin with a sharp knife is regarded as painless or almost
so, and the rapid loss of blood is said to produce instantaneous insensibility.
 It is believed that the brain and the skin of animals are less sensitive than that
of man.
 Islamic law demands that the animal is alive at the time of slaughter and that
it is slaughtered in the most humane manner.
 Animals must not be slaughtered in the sight of other beasts and those to be
killed are to be fed and watered beforehand.
 Unlike Schechita the Muslim method of slaughter is not controlled by a
central board but is overseen by the local Islamic authority (Muftis) who
decide whether or not particular acts and thoughts conform to the tenets of
Islamic law (Shariah).
 Muslim ritual permits stunning of animal prior to bleeding provided the
stunning instruments had never been used on pigs.
 SLAUGHTER AND DRESSING OF CATTLE

Equipment

 Halter, stunning hammer, shackle, hoist, sticking or skinning knife, itch or cradle,
beef spreader, beef trolleys, splitting saw, scribble saw, neck pins shrouds, shrouding
pins.

Steps

 Animal is held off feed 24 hours prior to slaughter, but provided ample drinking
water.

Stunning

 A stunning instrument is usually used to stun at the point where the diagonal lines
from the horn pit to the opposite eye cross will usually prove adequate. It is not
necessary to crush the skull.
 Stunning may be done in a stunning pen or the animal may be stubbed to ring in the
floor. The electric stunner may be used, instead of a stunning pistol.

Sticking

 Sticking may be done on the floor, but most cattle are hoisted by shackling both hind
legs and raising to a convenient height, or dropped on to a striking rail.
 An incision is made in the hide just below the point of the brisket and extended it 12
to 18 inches toward the anterior end of the jaw then the carotid artery and jugular
vein are cut in a manner similar to that in hogs except that the incision will be much
deeper (6-8 inches). Bleeding is allowed out completely.

Heading

 The head and neck are skinned out and the head removed at the atlas joint. The
esophagus should be tied off immediately above the larynx before severing.
 Head is placed on a bench or a rack, washed thoroughly, and tongue, cheek meat and
brain are removed.
 The animal is lowered on to the floor. Usually a killing bed with pitch plates will be
available. If not, a cradle is used to hold the cattle securely on its back.
 The shanks are dropped and are sometimes called shanking or legging.

Fore shank

 The tendons are cut on the posterior surface close to the hoof head and again about
nine inches further up the leg. This will leave the leg limp. The hide is opened around
the coronet and holding the knife flat, an incision is made from the hoof head to the
point of the arm. The shank is skinned out and removed at the flat joint.

Hind shank

 The tendons are cut in manner similar to that of the fore shank. The hide is opened
around the coronet, and holding the knife flat, an incision is made from the heel to
the point of the hock. The shank is skinned out and removed at the flat joint.
  The hide is opened from the point of the original incision made when sticking, over
the brisket and lung the midline to the rectum. The flesh over the brisket to the bone
is cut, the thymus removed, and the trachea and esophagus are loosened.
 The hide is skinned over the brisket and down the sides. The hide should be held tight
over the knife and the pressure of the knife should be against the hide. Endeavored to
use long smooth strokes and short jerky strokes with the knife are avoided. Hide is
split from about the midpoint of the brisket on the lower point of the shank, and from
the flank to the side of the hock. The beef is sided down as far as possible.
 The penis is loosened in case of steers and bulls.
 The breastbone is saw.
 The midline is opened from the posterior end of the brisket on the aitchbone, from
this point the white connective tissue to the aitch is followed. The aitchbone is split.
In most cattle this can be done with a knife, but in older cattle it may be necessary to
saw the aitchbone. With steers, heifers, and dry cows, the split is to made through the
middle of the cod or udder but with cows the udder, but with wet cows the udder
should be removed before opening down the middle.
 The caul fat (Paunch fat) is removed.
 The tendons are split at the hock and spreader or trolley hooks are inserted.
 The carcass is hoisted until tail is about waist high.
 The bung is cut around and dropped into the body cavity.
 The hide is split down the under side of the tail and hide is stripped from the tail. The
tail may be removed at this time or later.
 The flanks and rump are skinned out and the carcass raised as required for
convenience of skinner.
 The intestines and stomachs are pulled out, leaving kidney fat in the carcass. Liver is
removed, the gall bladder pulled off, then liver washed, weighed and hung on a hook.
Stomachs and intestines are weighed and ruffle fat from intestines stripped.
 The diaphragm membrane is removed and pulled. The lungs, heart, trachea and
esophagus are removed.
 Heart is removed from thoracic entrails, washed and weighed. Pluck is also weighed.
 Skinning is completed over the shoulders and neck. The hide is pulled off, weighed,
salt applied and placed in hide room.
 The carcass is washed.
 The carcass is split down the center of the spinal column, endeavored to split all
processes beginning with the last lumber vertebrae.
 Hung on rail, neck pinned up, the flanks dropped and the featherbones (thoracic
processes) are scored with the scribe saw.
 Carcass is washed completely and weighed.

Shroud

 The shroud should be applied wet and hot, and must be pulled tight. Shrouding
improves the appearance of the carcass, smooth the fat on the outside, and also
bleaches the fat.
 Each side of carcass is tagged, indicating carcass number, hot weight and the date.
 Rolled into chill room to cool and set.
 First and second stomachs are cleaned for tripe if desired
 Intestines are cleaned if desired for casings.
 There are numerous variations in the above procedure, depending to some extent
upon the available equipment; however, each of the items mentioned must be done at
some point in the dressing procedure.
 During the process of dressing, some attention should be paid to the following items;
Thyroid gland, thymus gland, pancreas, liver, gall bladder stomach (nature of content
of each and type of living), small intestines, (length, diameter, nature of living, pH of
content) large intestine, (the same), adrenal glands, brain, pituitary, lymph nodes etc.
 SLAUGHTER AND DRESSING OF PIGS

Hog slaughter is carried out in a separate hall from that used for sheep or cattle as the
moist atmosphere due to the scalding of hog is not conducive to the setting and drying of
beef or mutton carcasses.

Equipment

 Shackles, Gambrel, Sticking knife, Scalding tank or vat, Bell scraper, Stunning
instrument, Hoist, Dressing knife, Splitting saw.

Procedure

 Hold hogs are off feed for 24 hours prior to slaughter, but ample water is available.
Some evidence indicates that hams will cure better and livers will weigh more if some
feed is available. Hogs should always be well rested before slaughter. Dirt and
manure are washed from hogs.
 After stunning the hog is hooked and shackled around one pastern and the hog
hoisted to a convenient height for sticking (hogs may be conveniently stuck by
holding the hog on its back on the floor).
 Using a sticking knife or skinning knife, small incision is made on the skin just
anterior to the point of the breastbone. Knife inserted above the breastbone at a
distance of 2 -1/4 inches, pointing the knife towards the rectum, then completed a
quarter circle with a downward motion. The motion will sever the carotid artery and
jugular vein providing a thorough bleeding. The knife should be kept on the centre
line otherwise a shoulder stick will result, and this will require unnecessary waste
when trimming the shoulder.
 Bleeding is allowed thoroughly (4-10 minutes). All blood is washed off and dropped
into the scalding vat.
 The scalding water should register (60–640C). This should be checked with the
thermometer and the finger test. Hog is kept moving in the scalding water until hair
gets pulled out easily, usually for 4-5 minutes, then removed and scraped with bell
scraper, or mechanical scraper. All dewclaws and toenails should be removed.
 Carcass is washed down with hot water and shaved off all remaining hair while on
cambering table.
 The tendons attached to the gambrel are loosened and hung on hog trolley.
 Singeing: This is done with blowtorch, blowgun or blowlamp but if neither is
available, any remaining hair around the eyes, ears, etc., should be shaven off with
the knife.
 Washed thoroughly with hot water, then with cold water, and scraped up - the hog is
now ready for dressing.

Dressing of hogs

The following outline includes all the steps that must be taken in a manner

 The pig should be thoroughly scraped and cleaned. The mid-line of the ventral side
form the rectum to the point of the jaw is opened down.
 The breastbone is split.
 The bung loosened and pulled out several inches to be sure that it is free. Then tied
with string.
 Body cavity is opened (be careful to avoid cutting entrails). If a barrow or boar, the
penis must be loosened.
 The intestines are loosened. The kidney and Kidney fat are left intact.
  Intestines, liver and stomach are lifted out.
o Hands are slipped down the inside of the body cavity, then forward along the
diaphragm, lifting out all abdominal entrails with an upward motion.
o Oesophagus is cut.
o Liver is removed - gal bladder stripped off - liver washed and weighed.
o All abdominal entrails are weighed.
 Diaphragm removed. Membrane only has to be cut out, leaving muscle intact.
 With a downward motion, lungs and heart are pulled out, including the aorta. These
are known as the thoracic entrails, sometimes called the pluck.
 Inside of each jawbone is cut down, then along the dorsal side of the tongue to loosen,
and then the pluck is to be pulled out.
o Heart and tongue are removed - washed, weighed and plattered.
 Head at the atlas joint is removed, leaving the jowls on the carcass. The head is
weighed.
o Cheek meat and other head trimmings including brain are removed.
 The inside of the carcass is washed.
 An incision is made down the median line of the back, all the way from the tail to the
anterior end. (The fat layer should not be cut cleared through)
 The carcass is split down the middle of the backbone using splitting saw.
 Endeavoured to split each vertebral process evenly.
 Flesh or back fat are left attached near the anterior end. (This will prevent carcass
from slipping off the gambrel)
 Carcass is washed again with cold water, both outside and inside.
 The carcass is weighed and tagged. Tag should show the number of hog, date and hot
dressed weight.
 The carcass is chilled as rapidly as possible. A cooler temperature of (-10C) when hot
carcasses are rolled into the cooler will produce an internal temperature of (4.40C) or
lower in the ham within 24 hours.
 The carcass and all entrails should be examined to determine whether carcass and all
edible offal are fit for human consumption.

BACK FAT THICKNESS

 The back fat of the carcass is assessed by measuring the thickness of the back fat at
three places with the help of back fat measuring gauge. Viz.
o At the level of first rib
o At the level of last rib
o At the level of last lumbar vertebra.
o The average of the three measurements will be equal to the m ensure taken at
the level of 7th rib.
o This is of considerableimportance in grading of pig carcasses along with
other factors such as carcass weight and carcass length.

STYLES OF DRESSING AND YIELD

Shipper’s style

 Unsplit carcass with head on and leaf fat in.

 Yield -74 to 76%

Packers’ style

 Two sides with jowl attached, but head removed and leaf fat out.
 Yield -68 to 70%.
Farmers’ style

 Carcass split on either side of the back bone making two sides and back bone.

SLAUGHTER AND DRESSING OF SHEEP AND GOATS

 The animal is weighed on a platform scale.

Equipment

 Skinning knife, Shackles, Trollies, Cradle, Stunning instrument, Procedure

Stunning

 Mechanical or electro narcosis.

Sticking

 The animal is elevated off the floor on a box or sheep cradle. (In federally
inspected plant in USA, sheep are dressed on the rail).
 Sheep is t held with back towards the sticker and head to the left.
 The neck is stretched with the left hand and with the knife in the right hand
the jugular vein is to be cut. Then pierced through the pelt at the base of the
ear or at the angle formed by the jawbone and the neck vertebrae and then is
cut out.
 Bleeding out is allowed completely.

Skinning

 Sheep or goat is laid on its back on a platform or cradle.

Fore legs

 The pelt is opened down the front stripped from knee to coronet of hoof and
removed by holding the knife flat in order to avoid cutting through the pelt.
Pelt from the knee to the point of the brisket is opened. The shank is skinned
out and hoof at the break joint (The flat articulation at distal end of shank, or
meta-carpal) is removed (in the case of lamb). One leg is done first and then
the other.
 The pelt is opened from point of brisket to head and the neck and head are
skinned out.

Hind legs

 The pelt is opened down the rear of the hind leg from the bung (Caution - the
knife should be held flat and the point elevated in order to avoid cutting
through the pelt).
 Foot at the round joint is removed immediately above the heel (First
phalangeal bone). This will leave the tendons intact. The other leg is done in
 the same manner.

Fisting

 The triangular flap of pelt over the brisket is pulled up and by using the fist,
burrowed or fisted a channel down the midline and over the udder or cod (in
case of a wether or ram detoured around each side of the penis). Begun at
rectum the channel starting from anterior end is met. When fisting the hands
should be clean. A pail of lukewarm water with soap and towel should be
available. Care to be taken to avoid breaking the while fisting.
 The carcass is hung on a hook (or hooks) by the tendons of the rear legs or by
tying the hind legs together and hung on a hook.
 With a knife the fisted channel from posterior to anterior end is opened.
 Beginning at the midpoint, the pelt is fisted free. Fisted from the navel
towards the back and then upward. It is sure to fist over the flank from the
rear, then upwards over the leg. One side is fisted and then the other side is
done. From the midpoint, fisted down and out over the fore flank and pulled
from the fore shank.
 When pelt is fisted free, knife is used to remove the pelt from the tail. Then the
pelt is pulled free to the neck. Fisted down the back of the neck and the pelt is
pulled off. The pelt is weighed later.
 The head at the atlas is removed. Tongue, cheek meat, and brain from the
head are then removed.
 The outside of the carcass is washed.
 The trachea and the esophagus are loosened.
 The bung is cut around, pulled out about 6 inches to be sure that it is free and
tied with a string.
 The penis is loosened.
 Underline form point of the cod or udder to the brisket is opened, and then
the brisket or breastbone is split.
 The caul fat is removed
 The large intestines are pulled down (Carefully the kidney and kidney fats are
left in the carcass). The intestines and stomach are lifted out. The liver and
gall bladder from the liver are removed. The liver is washed and weighed.
Then the intestine and stomach are weighed.
 The membrane of the diaphragm is cut away and the pluck pulled out
(Thoracic entrails). The heart is removed, washed and weighed.
 The carcass is washed thoroughly then inspected carefully and weighed. Fore
shanks are pinned up and locked.
 The carcass is tagged showing animal number, date and dressed weight and
rolled into the chill room.
 Liver is inspected for "Spots" and parasites; also the intestines examined for
nodules and the fourth stomach for stomach worms.
 Sheep entrails make an excellent specimen for examinations of the compound
stomach, large and small intestines and mesentery colon.
 During the season of long wool, it will prove advisable and economical to
shear sheep before slaughter. The shorn wool is usually of much greater value
than the woolen pelt, and dressing will be much easier.

SLAUGHTER AND DRESSING OF POULTRY

Slaughtering involves stunning and bleeding

Stunning

 Stunning prevents struggling and relaxes the muscles holding the feathers.
 However, it is generally not practiced in case of chicken.
 A low voltage electric stunning of 50 volts AC for 1 minute has been found to be
satisfactory.

Bleeding

 This process is carried out in an inverted cone shaped equipment to rest the body of
the bird and keep the head out and down.
 There are several techniques of slaughtering poultry in order to seek proper bleeding.
 The technique most commonly used these days is “modified Kosher Method” in
which jugular vein is severed just below the jowl taking care not to cut trachea and
oesophagus.
 Another technique for slaughtering the birds is decapitation, which is not so
common.
 Still another method, which involves piercing knife through the brain, has become
obsolete.
 In general, a bleeding time of 1.5 to 2.0 minutes is allowed. Incomplete bleeding

Scalding

 Scalding refers to immersion of birds in hot water for loosening the feathers. It
should be done when all reflexes have ceased.
 The birds are transferred into scalding tank.
 Broiler and young birds are scalded at 55°C for 15 minutes whereas culled birds and
spent hens are scalded at 60°C for 2 minutes.

Defeathering

 The process is carried out in a feather plucker consisting of two drums with rubber
fingers, which revolve in opposite directions pulling of feathers from the carcass. Any
remaining feathers are picked up manually.

Singeing

 The carcasses are now singed over a blue flame for 5 to 10 seconds to remove hair like
appendages called filoplumes.

Washing

 The singed carcasses are washed with spray water to remove dirt and reduce the
microbial load.

Removal of feet and oil gland

 The next step involves cutting of feet from tarso-metatarsal joint with a sharp knife
and removal of oil gland.

Evisceration
  The carcasses are hung by hooks to the shackles for evisceration.
 By a slit opening from the tip of breastbone, abdominal cavity is opened by means of
a transverse cut.
 A circular cut is made around the vent.
 The viscera is drawn outside but allowed to remain attached to the carcass for
postmortem inspection.
 Meanwhile, a slit is made in the skin of the neck for easy removal of crop and neck.
 After postmortem inspection, inedible offals, including trachea, lungs, oesophagus,
crop, intestines, gall bladder and kidneys are removed whereas giblet consisting of
heart, liver and gizzard should be collected, cleaned and packed in a wrapper.

Chilling and draining

 After washing, the dressed birds are chilled in a chilling tank containing slush ice or
crushed ice for 30-45 minutes in order to cool the carcasses to an internal
temperature of about 4°C.
 The chilled birds are kept on the draining rack for 10 minutes to remove the excess
water.

Washing

 Dressed birds are thoroughly washed again with clean spray water preferably
maintained at 15±5°C.
 Special care should be taken to wash the interior and sides.

Grading

 Dressed chickens are graded on the basis of conformation, degree of fleshing, bruises,
cuts and other quality attributes.
 Indian Standards for dressed chicken are given in the table below.

Packaging

 Before packaging, dressed chickens having gizzard without mucosal layer, heart
without pericardium and liver without gall bladder are placed in the abdominal cavity
of the carcass and packed in polyethylene bags (200 gauge).
 Shrink packaging may be adopted if dressed chickens are to be stored in a frozen
condition.

Storage

 Dressed chicken can be stored in a refrigerator at 2°C for 7 days and deep freezer at –
18 to –20°C for a period of 4-6 months.

Indian standards for dressed chicken

Sl. Quality Grade 1 Grade 2

No. attributes
1. Conformation  Free of deformities  Slight abnormalities such
that detract from its as dented, curved or
appearance or that crooked back or mis-
affect the normal shapen legs or wings which
 distribution of flesh. do not materially affect the
 Slight deformities distribution of flesh or the
such as slightly appearance of the carcass
curved or dented or part.
breast bones and
slightly curved backs
may be present.

2. Fleshing  The breast is  The breast has a

moderately long and substantial covering of
deep and has flesh with the carrying upto
sufficient flesh to the crest of the breast bone
give it a round sufficiently to prevent a
appearance with the thin appearance.
flesh carrying well
upto the crest of the
breast bone along
with its entire
length.

3. Fat covering  The fat is well  The fat under the skin is
distributed so that sufficient to prevent a
there is a noticeable distinct appearance of the
amount of fat in the flesh through the skin,
skin in the areas especially on the breast and
between the heavy legs.
feathers tracts.

4. Defeathering  Free of pin feathers,  Not more than an

diminutive feathers occasiona protruding pin
and hair which are feather or diminutive
visible to the feathers shall be in
inspector or grader. evidence under a careful
examination.

5. Cuts and tears  Free of cuts and  The carcass may have very
tears on the breast few cuts and tears.
and legs.

6. Discoloration  Free from  Discoloration due to

discoloration due to bruising; free of clots;
bruising, free of moderate areas of
clots; flesh bruises discoloration due bruising
and discoloration of in the skin or flesh.
the skin such as
“blue back” are not
permitted on the
 breast or legs.

7. Freezer burn  May have an  May have a few pock marks

occasional pock due to drying of the inner
marks due to drying layer of skin (derma),
of the inner layer of provided that no single
skin (derma), area exceeds that of a circle
provided that none 1.5 cm in diameter.
exceeded the area of
a circle 0.5 cm in
diameter on
chickens.

METHODS OF DRESSING

I. Line or On-the-rail Dressing

 This type of dressing is adopted in the American Continent, which was

originally emanated from Canada. This method consists of conveying the
carcass by gravity or power through an overhead rail to various places after
stunning and sticking. The process of dressing is divided up into various
stages. Men will be standing at various places and carcass will reach them and
they will attend to their allotted work. In this system manual labor saving
devices such as brisket saw, hock cutter, hide puller, aitchbone cutter, etc., are
used in the dressing process. This helps in complete dressing at a higher rate
of slaughter. Besides reducing the labour load, this arrangement also makes
for better job satisfaction. In modern meat plants, which may be as high as
5,000 cattle, 10,000 sheep and 3,500 pigs every 10 hours the line method of
slaughter is highly essential to reach the high production.
 Several systems of line dressing are in operation, the type depending mainly
on the level of throughput, equipment design and species, being most
 complicated in cattle. Constant research is undertaken with a view to effecting
more efficient methods of line dressing.
 A line system of slaughter with a rate of 60-75 cattle/h needs approximately
nine meat inspectors and one veterinarian for initial and final inspection.
Correspondingly smaller numbers are necessary for pigs and sheep inspection.
Adequate space and facilities for inspection must always be provided. Indeed
all-too-common tendency to over-save on space when installing line slaughter
systems must be resisted.

In this line system there are four types.

 Gravity rail system

o In this method, carcass will be suspended from a spreader and single-
wheel trolley or runner, gravitated to each station and stopped by a
manually-operated stop on the overhead rail.
o The system is used for lower slaughter rates of 10 to 40 cattle/h. Among
the systems this is probably the most compact and economical. Here
generally no mechanical means are used. Since the design is the
simplest there isles chance of serious breakdowns with consequent loss
of production. Various items of equipment may be used with the gravity
rail, e.g. a moving-top viscera inspection table or a paunch truck, but,
because throughput is small, a mechanical hide-puller is rarely used.
Adequate ceiling height is necessary because of the pitch of the rail to
gravitate the carcass.
 Intermittent powered system
o In this system carcass is suspended on a spreader (gambrel) and
trolley, and moved mechanically on a level rails at intervals by means of
variable timing device which can be pre-set to suit the slaughter rate.
Here slaughter rate is 10-75 cattle/h.
 Continuous power system
o In this system the dressing line will be in continuous motion. More
sophisticated instruments are used in the slaughter line (mechanical
hide puller moving top inspection table, etc.). In this system carcass
can be revolved to a full 3600. So, while on the rail allowing the
operator can work on all sides from one place.
o The work platform may be fixed or movable, elevated or lowered, which
enables the operator to work easily. Rate of slaughter will be about 40-
120 animals/h.
 Canpak system
o This is a continuous conveyorised method in which heavy beef trolleys
or runners suspend the carcasses from the overhead rail; no gambrels
or spreaders are used as in other methods. Here everything is done
systematically and most of the work is done by mechanical means. Rate
of slaughter is 50-150 animals/h.
o It is probably the most common form of line system now used in large
modern meat plants. In this system from the time of arrival of animals
till it is completely dressed the work is divided into 32 divisions. Each
work carried out by one man specifically stationed at one place along
the moving rail system. When the carcass reaches to his place he will
attend to only his allotted work.
 o So in this system for one labour operative force will be not less than 32
persons. This system is developed and patented by the Canada Packers
Ltd., Canada; hence it is called Canpak system.

II. Booth System

 In this system one man does all work in one place. No individual allotment of
work. If a worker starts sticking cattle and he will finish all the operations of
dressing completely and then he will go for the next animal.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Advantages of line system over booth system

 Since carcasses are conveyed to each dressing station there is no need for operation
to be idle while carcasses are being hoisted. Thus time is saved. Compared to
traditional system of slaughter the line system is said to be safer for operation.
 Because the carcasses do not touch the floor the dressing is more conveniently
carried on the rail and it is hygienic.
 Elimination of handling of heavy shackles trolleys, spreaders, unnatural stooping by
the personnel and use of mechanical tools reduces the tedious labour operation being
carried out by the operatives. A comfortable operative position either at floor level or
on stationary or elevating platform is provided.
 The reduction of loss of motion and unnecessary movement of the carcass enhances
the saving of space.
 The use of efficient line system makes for increased output and enhances the value of
the carcass, hide and offal because of the superior workmanship.

Disadvantages

 Since, line system is mechanically complex high standard of engineering

maintenance is needed and when breakdowns do occur production ceases
completely. The repetitive nature of the work can be largely offset by job rotation if
personnel are so trained.
 Meat inspection is sometimes made more difficult and possibly less efficient.
 Proper carcass and offal conveyor synchronization, a good identification system,
adequate, efficient and conscientious inspection staff, proper inspection points with
ability to coordinate findings, an efficient recording setup and adequate time for the
examination of each carcass are to be essential to have an efficient meat inspection.
 Since higher rates of slaughter are involved, separate recording staff particularly for
detailed information should be utilised.
 A system of audio links should be used for communication between inspectors and
recorders, one of whom is required for each line.

NEW METHOD OF DRESSING

 The New Zealand Meat Industry Research Institute (MIRINZ) has developed a
superior method of automatic pelt removal to produce blemish-free and
hygienic carcasses with the minimum of labour.
 The valuable hindquarter is completely untouched and there is no stretching
 of the pelt.

The inverted method

 The carcass is suspended by the forelegs or in a near-horizontal position on

twin conveyors.
 A „Y‟ cut is made from forelegs to throat releasing the „vee‟ flap, is split by
hand.
 The head is removed and discarded.
 The pelt is further prepared for automatic removal by skinning the belly and
groin.
 The carcass is now ready fir the operation of two pelting machines – the
shoulder puller and final puller, the former drawing the shoulder flaps in a
downward/backward direction while the latter (a hydraulically-operated arm
and clamp) grips the fleece centrally and strips it downwards off the
hindquarter and shanks.
 The fleece is then released through a floor chute to the pelt room.

MODULE-8: EVALUATION, GRADING AND FABRICATION OF

DRESSED CARCASSES INCLUDING POULTRY

Learning objectives

This module deals with,

 importance of grading,
 grading of cattle,
 grading of veal and calf,
 grading of sheep and hogs,
 fabrication of carcasses,
 fabrication of beef, pork, lamb, rabbit and chicken carcasses.

INTRODUCTION- GRADING

 Grading is defined as categorization and segregation of some items on the basis of

stipulated norms. It is generally of two types 1) Quality grading 2) Yield grading. In
case of live animal grading, grading of carcasses and grading of meat and meat
products.
 Usually in animal grading traits of maturity (age), conformation and marbling are
primarily considered.
 Different countries have their own grading pattern and detailed specifications to suit
their market and consumer requirements. Most of them have been adopted from
USDA and modified as per the local needs.
 Live grading is a guide to quality grading and quality grading is guide to preparation.
 Grading is a guide to selection.
 Grading is a guide to improve plans.
 In general the grade of an animal is determined on the basis of three grades factors.
 Conformation - Morphology of animal
 Quality - Neat
 Finish - Fatness of animal
Conformation

 It is the build, shape and outline (contour) of animal and its different primal
cuts wholesale cuts).
 It is largely due to shape and size of the bones and muscles and the fat covering.
 It is otherwise attributable to breeding, and care of the animal.

Quality

 It is the character of the muscle or the lean meat (without bone) of the animal and of
the intermuscular and intramuscular fat (marbling) contained in the meat.
 It refers to firmness of the texture, freedom from coarseness to a certain extent.
 External evidence of quality is found in the refinement of head, hide, hair, bone.
 It isimportant as it is related to eating desirability i.e., tenderness palatability,
colour, juiciness, odour, water holding capacity, etc.

Finish

 Refers to the fatness of an animal.

 This includes
 The fat on the outer surface of the carcass and
 Inside of abdominal and thoracic cavities and also,
 Inter and intramuscular fat.
 It involves the quality, quantity and inherited factors, breeding and to a large extent
on
 Kind and quality of the animal,
 Age and sex of the animal,
 Methods of handling.

IMPORTANCE OF GRADING

 Grading helps the producer through authorized agencies to certify animal and
carcasses for class, quality and condition.
 Grading helps the producer to recognise the quality he produced and paves ways for
better planning to improve breeding programme and to produce high-grade animals
and carcasses.
 Grading helps the producer to select the required types according to the needs of the
market and consumer.
 Grading helps the processor to adopt or decide methods and procedures for disposing
animals and carcasses.
 Grading helps the consumers to purchase assured quality of meat and gives
satisfaction over the money spent on purchasing the meat.
 Grading enables the consumer to utilise meat most efficiently by preparing it in the
manner for which it is best suited.

GRADING OF CATTLE

 In live cattle the traits of maturity or conformation are rather easily recognised
after some training and experience.
 It is very difficult to estimate marbling on a live animal.
  The use of supplemental information or details such as length of time on feed,
composition of ration, genetic background may be at times help in estimating
marbling on live animal.
 Some characteristics on live animals such as fullness of fore and rear flanks,
fullness of twist, the fleshing between the hindlegs may relate to overall firmness
and therefore indirectly the marbling.

QUALITY POINT OF BEEF ANIMALS

When viewed from the side the following features are noticed:

 A straight back and underline with a good depth,

 Body generally rectangular in form with the head short and broad between
eyes.

On viewing from the back

 The rump should appear long and broad,

 The ribs well barrelled and thighs thickly fleshed,
 Legs should be straight and short,
 Meat will extend down to the hock and the bone fine.
 A coarse tail frequently indicates a big boned animal,
 Skin should be mellow and the hairs fine.

Handling points of beef animals

 Flank: Grading a double fold in the flank region can have a general idea of the
quality of fat laid down. In poor animals a little more than a double layer of
the skin can to be grasped.
 Degree of fat on barrel: By placing the thumb and fingers on either side of the
last rib fat can be felt.
 Rump: The rump is to be felt for smoothness.
 Cod fat: By holding the tail with the left hand and passing the right hand
between the back legs the cod fat can be felt. Fat deposition can be handled
and felt at the two pockets on either side of the base of the tail.

SUGGESTED SCALE OF POINTS FOR JUDGING BEEF ANIMALS

a. General 40 marks
1. Form Straight top line and underline; deep, low and well 10 marks
sprung ribs
2. Conditions Development of muscle and degree of fattening 10 marks
3. Weight According to age and trade requirements 10 marks
4. Quality Fine hair, mellow skin, uniform finish, sufficient 10 marks
firmness to indicate large ratio of muscle
b. Hind quarters 36 marks
1. Back Straight, smooth and even 10 marks
2. Loin Thick and broad 8 marks
3. Thigh Full and well finished 4 marks
4. Hip bones Smooth and well covered 2 marks
5. Rump Long, wide, even and smooth 3 marks
6. Pin bones Well apart, not too prominent 2 marks
7. Flank Fuller level with underline 2 marks
8. Legs Fine bone, straight and short 2 marks
c. Fore quarters 22 marks
1. Ribs Well barreled, thickly fleshed 8 marks
2. Chest Large girth and full crop 4 marks
3. Shoulders Well fleshed, meat and smooth 3 marks
4. Shoulder Full 2 marks
vein
5. Neck Short and thick 2 marks
6. Brisket Well forwarded and side 1 marks
7. Legs Straight and fine shank 2 marks
d. Head 5 marks
1. Muzzle Broad, wide jaw and large 2 marks
2. Face Short and broad 1 mark
3. Horns Fine 1 mark
4. Ears Medium sized ears 1 mark
Total 100
marks
DIFFERENT GRADES OF CATTLE

There are six to eight grades used to cover range in quality of cattle and calves in USA.

Prime cattle

 Slaughter steers are fed into prime grade.

 A 500 kg steer of prime grade when viewed from the side should present fullness in
the brisket region and fore and rear flanks as an evidence of intense feeding.
 Fullness represents fat.
 When viewed from the rear prime cattle must have enough width through the middle
and fullness of twist, again as an indication of good feeding, well fattening and
potential to marbling.
 These cattle have excess fat as a result of low feeding.
  Feeding of prime cattle is very expensive and the daily gain of weight is also slow.
 These cattle will dress from 63 to 67%.
 The highest reported dressing percent to date is 76.6% made by a spayed Angus
heifer shown in the Smith Field Fat Stock Show in England.

Choice cattle

 Choice grade cattle have most of the characteristics of the prime grade in moderation.
 A 475 kg choice steer when viewed from the side should appear to be more up
standing, but the brisket and fore shank must be moderately full indicating some
fatness.
 When viewed from the rear choice cattle may appear to be firm in the twist and lower
round but may show evidence of some fatness over the edge of the loin.
 They dress from 59 to 61%.

Good grade cattle

 Good grade cattle carry less finish than choice cattle and lack uniform beef
conformation of that grade.
 They are uneven on the top, slightly higher up the ground and do not show uniform
depth of the body nor the muscling characteristics of the choice grade.
 They dress between 54 to 60%.
 Dairy breed steers fed on concentrate ration for a period of time may qualify for this
grade.
 A 450 kg good steer will have lightweight, trimmers about brisket and flanks as well
as behind the shoulder indicating the short time on feed.
 A good steer is narrow behind lacking muscling and bulge to the round, which will
lower the conformation grade.

Standard cattle

 Young soft bone lightweight, unfinished cattle of either sex, deficient in conformation
belong to this grade, especially young dairy bred steers weighing 500 kg.
 Many dairy steers on the other hand move upto good grade, some even move upto
choice grade, conformation being the factor, which holds them back.
 The standard steer is narrow and up standing behind and shows little evidence of
external finish.
 The yield is from 52-58%.

Commercial cattle

 Cattle showing advanced maturity and consisting in the main of breeding calves make
up this grade.
 These cattle have angular conformation, fullness in brisket and behind the shoulders.
 When viewed from the rear the angular conformation is most obvious.
 Commercial cow has sufficient thickness to qualify to commercial grade.
 The yield is from 52 to 56 %.

Utility cattle

 Cattle are ranging, angular and thinly fleshed and vary considerable with age.
 A 450 kg utility cow when viewed from the side shows an extreme angularity from
front to rear and is obvious.
 The ribs are protruding indicating practically a complete void of cover.
  From the rear concave rounds and sunken sirloin indicate utility conformation.
 Utility cows are normally dry before going for markets.
 They dress in the low 50s.

Cutter and canner cattle

 These grades are represented mainly by old cattle having the characteristics of dairy
breeds, which lack in the inherent qualities of beef animals.

GRADING OF VEAL AND CALF

Prime grade

 Vealers of this grade are usually crossbred or high-grade animals of beef type or
exceptional individuals of the dairy breeds.
 They are smooth, deep, thick, and compact, and the udder or scrotum shows a
marked fullness, indicating good condition.
 Vealers of this grade range from 4 to 8 weeks of age, weigh between 20 and 40 kgs
and dress from 62% and 67%.
 They are rather scarce on the market.

Choice grade

 They are similar to prime veal in every respect except finish.

 They are more plentiful on the market than prime veal and are usually slightly
younger.
 They range in weight from 25 to 30 kgs and dress around 60%.
 Some beef breeding is represented in this grade, although animals of dairy breeding
predominate.

Good grade

 Vealers of this grade posses a moderately high degree of the quantities of the higher
grades
 They carry less finish and show more bone and less uniformity.
 They range between 3 to 6 weeks of age, usually weigh from 25 to 27 kgs
 They dress from 55% to 60%.
 They show mostly dairy breeding.

Standard grade

 Vealers of this grade are of dairy type or scrub breeding.

 They lack finish, are rather leggy and hippy, rough in the shoulder, and light in the
round.
 The market supply is greatest during April, May, and June.
 They are relatively young, weigh from 20 to 25 kgs, and dress from 50% to 55%.

Utility grade

 This grade is deficient in every respect, the vealers being thin, rangy, and angular.
 They include a rather wide range of weights (20 to 40 kgs) and individuals may be
very fine boned and small, or large boned and coarse.
 The breeding is very plain and the dressed yield averages 50%.
Immature veal

 Many dairy farms calves are allowed to suckle the dams for several days to remove
the colostrum milk and are sold to adealer for slaughter or it may be sold to a
farmer or dealer who keeps some cows for the purpose of vealing calves.
 The carcasses of these immature vealers are usually designated as bob veal.
 Vealer calves refer to the feeding of young calves either by hand or by letting them
suckle strange cows and supplementing the milk ration with a grain gruel.

Market classes of slaughter calves

 Market class of calves is selected on age, sex, size and weight for slaughter or further
feeding purposes.

GRADING OF SHEEP

 In live animals conformation can readily be determined and mouthing can check up
maturity. However, the quality traits must be estimated in live animals by evaluation
of overall finish of or packing.
 Sight alone is always misleading especially in wool lamb evaluation. So most buyer
wade through the group making spot check of fatness over the rump, croup and back
on a number of lambs.

Prime

 Lambs to grade prime must have the wide, deep, smooth, compact conformation
characteristic of animals of the meat type.
 Shoulders should be thick and neat, back broad and thick, and the legs exceptionally
plump.
 The finish must be sufficient to cover the backbone so that the backbone is not
noticeable to the touch.
 The finish must be firm and evenly distributed. Only a small percent (8.7%) of the
total lamb population is graded U. S. Prime.

Choice

 Eighty-seven percent of the lambs graded qualify for the U. S. Choice grade. Thus, it
is almost „all-inclusive‟.
 Lambs of this grade are slightly deficient to prime lambs in conformation and differ
primarily in a more moderate amount of finish.
 Choice lambs have sufficient quality to satisfy consumer requirements.

Good

 Less than 1% of lambs graded qualify for U.S. Good. This grade includes lambs that
are somewhat deficient in meatiness and finish and includes a number of the better
animals of the fine wool breed.
 It represents a grade that produces carcasses that are in demand because of their
lacking of trimming fat.

Utility
  Approximately ¼ of 1% lambs graded, grade Utility. Lambs that are narrow and
somewhat rangy, with long legs, high twist, and unsymmetrical conformation come in
this grade.
 The backs of these lambs will show a decided prominence of bone, have rough,
prominent shoulders, bare ribs and loins, and show inferior breeding.

Cull

 Representatives of the Cull grade are practically non-existent.

 Thin, unsymmetrical, gaunt, leggy, rangy, narrow, long necked, and low quality lambs
make up this grade.

GRADING OF HOGS

 To assure that the U. S. grades for swine and pork are of maximum benefit to the
industry, the grades for slaughter hogs are correlated directly with the grades for pork
carcasses.
 Similarly, the grades for feeder pigs are also correlated with the grades for slaughter
hogs.
 Thus a U. S. No. 1 slaughter hog, which in turn should produce a U. S. No. 1 carcass.
 Since sex condition has exerted little if any on secondary physical characteristics,
barrows and gilts are treated as a single class, and the grade standards are equally
applicable to both.
 The standards have not been made applicable to stags and boars, but a separate
measurement standard has been made for sows.

BIS GRADES FOR BUFFALO AND BEEF CARCASSES

 According to Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) –IS:2537, six are there for beef and
buffalo carcasses based on conformation, finish and quality.

Prime

 Prime beef or buffalo meat is the top quality, produced form young and well fed
bovine animals. Prime grade beef carcasses andwholesale cuts are thick fleshed,
blocky and compact.
 The fat covering of the carcass varies depending on the age of the animal, from
slightly thin in young animal to moderately thick in mature animals.
 The colour of meat usually ranges from light red to slightly dark red. It is usually
uniform in colour but may be slightly two toned or shady.
 The chine bones are soft and vary in colour from red to tinged with white.

Choice

 Choice grade beef is of high quality but usually has less fat than prime beef. Choice
grade beef carcasses andwholesale cuts are moderately thick fleshed, blocky and
compact.
 The fat covering of the carcass varies moderately abundant depending on the age of
the animal. The colour of the meat is usually ranges from a light red to slightly dark
red. It is usually uniform in colour buit may be slightly two toned or shady.
 Chine bones vary from soft red in colour to tinged with white.

Good
  Good grade beef or buffalo meat carcasses andwholesale cuts are moderately thick
fleshed, slightly compact and blocky in appearance.
 The fat covering of the carcass may be somewhat soft or slightly oily and varies from
thin in young animals to slightly thick in more mature animals.
 The colour of meat varies from light red to slightly dark red but may be two toned or
slightly shady.
 The chine bones are soft and vary in colour from red to tinged with white.

Commercial

 Commercial grade beef or buffalo meat carcasses vary over a fairly wide range, in
conformation, finish and quality. Young animals are angular and slightly thin fleshed,
mature animals are slightly thick fleshed but irregular in contour.
 Fat covering varies from thin in young animals to moderately thick in mature animals
and may be patchy or wasty.
 It is moderately soft or oily in young animals and usually firm in mature animals. The
rib eye muscle or young animals is soft and watery, whereas in mature animals it is
coarse.
 The colour of the meat varies form light dark red to dark red but may be two toned or
shady. Chine bones in the young animals are red and in mature animals are hard and
white.

Utility

 Utility grade beef is produced mostly from cattle advanced in age and is usually
lacking in natural tenderness and juiciness.
 Utility grade beef carcasses andwholesale cuts may be rangy, angular and irregular
in confoirmation. They are thinly fleshed and the fat covering varies from very thin in
young animals to maderate in mature animals and is ususlly soft.
 The cut surface of the lean muscle is usually soft and watery in younger animals,
fairly firm but coarse in mature animals and shows practically no marbling.
 Colour varies from light red to very dark red and may be two toned or shady. Bones
are usually hard and white.

Cutter and Canner

 These are the lowest grades of beef or buffalo meat.

 The meat is less tender but nutritious and wholesome.
 It is generally cured, canned or used in making sausages and other meat specialties.

GRADING OF POULTRY CARCASSES

Grading

 Dressed chickens are graded on the basis of conformation, degree of fleshing, bruises,
cuts and other quality attributes.
 Indian Standards for dressed chicken are given in the table below.

Indian standards for dressed chicken

Sl. Quality Grade 1 Grade 2

No. attributes
1. Conformation  Free of deformities  Slight abnormalities such
that detract from its as dented, curved or
appearance or that crooked back or mis-
affect the normal shapen legs or wings
distribution of flesh. which do not materially
Slight deformities affect the distribution of
such as slightly flesh or the appearance of
curved or dented the carcass or part.
breast bones and
slightly curved
backs may be
present.

2. Fleshing  The breast is  The breast has a

moderately long substantial covering of
and deep and has flesh with the carrying
sufficient flesh to upto the crest of the
give it a round breast bone sufficiently to
appearance with the prevent a thin
flesh carrying well appearance.
upto the crest of the
breast bone along
with its entire
length.

3. Fat covering  The fat is well  The fat under the skin is
distributed so that sufficient to prevent a
there is a noticeable distinct appearance of the
amount of fat in the flesh through the skin,
skin in the areas especially on the breast
between the heavy and legs.
feathers tracts

4. Defeathering  Free of pin feathers,  Not more than an

diminutive feathers occasiona protruding pin
and hair which are feather or diminutive
visible to the feathers shall be in
inspector or grader evidence under a careful
examination.

5. Cuts and tears  Free of cuts and  The carcass may have
tears on the breast very few cuts and tears.
and legs.

6. Discoloration  Free from  Discoloration due to

discoloration due to bruising; free of clots;
bruising, free of moderate areas of
 clots; flesh bruises discoloration due
and discoloration of bruising in the skin or
the skin such as flesh.
“blue back” are not
permitted on the
breast or legs.

7. Freezer burn  May have an  May have a few pock

occasional pock
marks due to drying
of the inner layer of
skin (derma),
provided that none
exceeded the area of
a circle 0.5 cm in
diameter on
chickens.
marks due to drying of
the inner layer of skin
(derma), provided that no
single area exceeds that
of a circle 1.5 cm in
diameter.

BIS GRADES FOR SHEEP AND GOAT CARCASS

 According to BIS, IS2536: 1995, sheep and goat carcasses are divided into the main
classes based largely upon age. They are
 Lamb (12 months or below)
 Yearling mutton (12 to 20 months)
 Mature mutton (above 20 months)
 The above three classes are divided into six grades based on
conformation, finish and quality of the carcasses or cuts.
 Prime
o Prime grade carcasses are practically ideal in conformation, finish and
quality.
o The general outlines of the carcasses of this grade are specially attractive,
being symmetrical to a marked degree owing to an abundance of highest
grade palatable flesh.
o They are compact and blocky; have short, thick and plump legs; broad backs;
thick, well fleshed loins, ribs and chucks; well proportioned breasts; and full
thick flanks.
o All fats are firm and of excellent quality.
o The outer covering of fat is smooth, moderate depth and evenly distributed
over the back and sides.
o The fat covering is interspersed with strips of pink flesh. Interior fats are
plentiful but not excessive or wasty.
o The lean flesh is firm in all parts, fine grained, and the cut surfaces feel
smooth and velvety to touch.
 Choice
o Choice grade carcasses have good conformation, finish and quality, but are
usually slightly deficient in one or more aspects as compared with prime
grade carcasses.
o They have relatively short, stocky legs, thick loins and ribs, full fleshy
shoulders and thick breasts.
o The outer covering of fat is smooth and well distributed over loins, ribs and
shoulders.
 o All fats are of good quality and the flesh is moderately fine grained, firm and
of proper colour.
 Good
o Good grade carcasses have good to excellent conformation, finish and quality,
but are deficient in one or more respects as compared with prime grade
carcasses.
o Carcasses of this grade are well proportioned and reasonably plump, but may
be slightly deficient in breadth or depth across the backs, hips or shoulders.
o There may be slight indications of paunchiness or a slight tendency towards
the rangy type, indicated by long tapering shanks and somewhat longer body.
o The outer covering of fat is smooth and even over the back and hips,
diminishing sharply towards the shanks and flanks. Interior fats may be
plentiful but they are not evenly distributed.
o All fats are of good quality. The flesh is moderately firm and fine grained.
 Commercial
o Commercial grade lamb and mutton carcasses have fair conformation, finish
and quality.
o They are usually somewhat angular or rangy in conformation with moderately
long thin necks and shanks and relatively narrow hips, back and shoulders.
o They have moderately long tapering legs and they lack the plumpness of the
better grades.
o Ribs and loins are lacking somewhat in depth of flesh.
o Carcasses of this grade usually have a moderately thin outer covering of fat
but it is not evenly distributed.
o Some carcasses in this grade have excessive quantities of fat which disqualify
them for higher grades.
o Interior fats are relatively scarce, the kidneys being only partially covered.
o The flesh is inclined to be soft, spongy and moderately fine grained.
 Utility
o Utility grade carcasses are low grade carcasses which are distinguished by the
marked lack of quality and finish and the high percentage of bone to flesh.
o They have poor conformation and the contour of the back bone is plainly
visible form neck to tail.
o There is hardly any exterior fat and the interior fat is also lacking.
o The flesh is generally moist, soft and flabby and dark red in colour.
o They are angular and all bones are prominent.
o Such carcasses are disproportionately long and narrow.
o The fat may have a bluish tinge. Flesh is also coarse and fibrous.
 Cull
o Cull grade carcasses are of the lowest grade.
o Such carcasses are usually from poorly developed or old animals, with all
bones markedly prominent and with total deficiency of exterior and interior
fats.
o The flesh is dark, coarse, soft and watery.
o The proportion of bone to flesh is very high, and the appearance is
unattractive.

FABRICATION OF CARCASSES OF FOOD ANIMALS

The term meat cutting may aptly be defined as the art, skill or craft of separation of
carcasswholesale primal cuts into different portions as to suit various needs in the meat
trade and to facilitate easy handling by the butchers.

 There are few primary objectives in cutting all kind soft meat.
 o Separate thick from thin thick muscles which are better adapted for certain
methods of preparations than the thin muscles, therefore, they should be
separated when breaking down a carcass.
o Separate fat from lean cuts with a high degree of fat should be separated from
these cuts more muscular in nature, and with a lesser degree of fat.
o Always cut at right angles to the grain. When in doubt as to how a piece of
meat should be cut, study the grain and cut at right angles to the grain of the
dominant muscle.
o Always use knives for cutting meat and saw for bones.
 The specialized operation of cutting the carcass requires besides, good deal of
expertise on the part of the butcher-acquired over considerable length of experience
at job, a thorough understanding of the carcass types, anatomy, consumer‟s diet
habits and a sound knowledge of human psychology.
 The procedure of cutting varies in different geographical areas and as it is there are
different methods practiced in different countries. “British cutting”, “American
cutting”, “French cutting”, “Australian cutting”, etc., are the terms used to signify
cutting procedures in different countries.
 Even in the same country, slight variations are being noticed from region to region
and these are not generally of majorimportance . Whichever system is adopted, the
underlying principle is separation of more valued cuts from the lesser-valued
counterparts.
 In India we have cuts recommended by the ICAR, New Delhi and cuts performed for
academic purpose in the Department of Meat Science and Technology, Madras
Veterinary College, Chennai.

Factors in meat cutting

 Carcass
o A neat job of cutting and trimming can be done only in a thoroughly chilled
carcass and it is essential that the chilled carcass should possess an internal
temperature of 1-20 C.
 Butcher
o Must be adequately trained at the job and should possess + 3% dexterity or
accuracy in cutting techniques.
o By this, it is meant, that a given cut should be identical in all the carcasses and
variations in its size and shape is permitted only to the extent of + 3%.
o This factor has got profound impact on the economics of meat merchandising
as examplified

Loin Flank

Accurate cutting might give 75% 25%

Value ratio 9:5

o In terms of cost, the above ratio represents (75x9) + (25x5) = 800 money
units.
o Inaccurate cutting (5% error) results in (70x9) + (30x5) = 780 money units
o Loss = 20 money units
o The loss of 5% error in cutting is 20/800 money units or 2.5% i.e. a loss of 2½
rupees for every 100 rupees in the cost of meat.
 Cutting procedure
 o Must be an approved one and in line with a standard procedure and steps
mentioned in it should be scrupulously followed.
 Cutting room
o The cutting operation should be carried out only in a specialized meat cutting
room with a temperature at 4.40C and 70 to 80% relative humidity.
o The environment helps to maintain the wholesomeness of the meat.
o Besides, the room should have enough sanitary and cleaning facilities.
 Equipment and machinery
o All the required equipment like different kinds of knives and saws, stainless
steel top meat cutting tables and machinery, like electrically operated meat
cutting saws, should be available in the meat cutting room and they should be
sufficient sharp and in good working condition.
 Cutting principles
o Three basic principles of cutting techniques are to be adopted.
 The muscular portion must be cut with knife,
 The bone structures must be severed with saw, and
 Whenever joints are involved, “breaking” or “disjointing” with far less
physical effort must deal them with.
 Outlets for cuts and trimmings
o There should be organized outlets for all the cuts and trimmings and the meat
cutting room should present a synchronized working atmosphere.
o For example, the fresh cuts must be immediately packed properly and sent to
the trade or chilling room, fats must be transferred to the fat rendering unit,
and trimmings may be taken to mincing or processing hall: certain primal
cuts such as ham, shoulder and side and spare ribs should be sent to the
curing room.
o In many of the developing countries a recent trend is to have a half in the
slaughter hoist itself for the centralized preparation of cuts rather than
transport of chilled carcasses to the retail butchers.
o In the assembly line operation the cuts are cryovaced for extended shelf life
and are transported to retail stalls or super bazaars.

BEEF CUTTING/ FABRICATION OF BEEF CARCASSES

 Beef carcass before cutting, it is split into two halves or sides of beef carcass.
 The side of beef carcass consists of one fore and one hind quarter from each side
equally matched.
 Separating the sides between the 12th and 13th rib, where the 13th rib remains on the
hindquarter – this is also known as ribbing/quartering, produces the fore and
hindquarters.
 The thymus, mediastinal tissue and heart fat are usually removed from the beef
carcass when shipped.
 The diaphragm may be removed, if not, the tendinous portion is trimmed down to
the lean muscle tissue.
 The lamb or mutton carcass is the entire un-split dressed carcass with the heart, liver
and lungs (Pluck), spleen and caul fat removed.
 The diaphragmatic muscles and gullet may or may not be removed from the carcass.
 A veal carcass is an unsplit dressed carcass without hide. The heart fat is usually
trimmed. The diaphragmatic muscles and gullet may or may not be removed from the
carcass.
 The hog carcasses when dressed by Packer Style the head, liver, heart, lungs and
kidneys are removed. The leaf fat is removed along with the most of the lumbar,
pelvic and heart fat. The jowl remains intact with the carcass.
  The process of dividing of chilled carcass into various commercial parts is referred
to as the cutting operation or fabrication of carcasses of food animals.

Steps for makingwholesale cuts of beef carcass

 The right side of beef carcass is known as in CLOSED OR TIGHT SIDE (Kidney
close) and the left side as the OPEN SIDE (Kidney free).
 Each side is made into different cuts as outlined below.

Step 1: Ribbing or quartering

 The beef side is separated into forequarter and hind quarter by making cut between
the 12th and 13th rib, leaving the last rib on the hindquarter (Chicago style).
 This procedure is known as “Ribbing” or “Quartering”.

Step 2:Wholesale cuts of forequarter

 The posterior RIB and PLATE portion is separated from the anterior CHUCK,
BRISKET and SHANK complex by cutting between 5th and 6th ribs.
 The upper RIB is separated from the lower PLATE by a straight and parallel cut to
the backbone by joining the two points at the loin and chuck ends. These points are
located at a distance of 8 inches from their respective protruding edges of chine.
 The chunk, brisket and shank complex are placed on the table with rib side down.
The SHANK is removed by cutting parallel to the underline and just dorsal to the
prominence (lateral condyle of the humerus) on the lower extremity of the humerus.
 The cutting is continued through the breastbone and lower ends of ribs from
the point of shank and parallel to back bone and BRISKET is removed. This can also
be separated by a cut that is perpendicular to the 4th rib at a point about 4 cm
proximal to the olecranon process of the elbow.
 The large thick square cut remaining is CHUCK.

Step 3:Wholesale cuts of hindquarters

 The kidneys along with their adjoining fat are removed leaving very little fat on the
tenderloin and it is known as “KIDNEY KNOB‟.
 The FLANK is removed by cutting from a point immediately ventral to
the aitchbone and following the natural seam until the thick muscle of the flank is
reached and then making a straight cut to a point about one and a half inches below
eye muscle.
 The ROUND is separated from the LOIN by cutting at a point about one and half
inches anterior to the aitch bone and parallel to the rib end of loin. This cut
usually removes asection from the half of the femur, about the size of a silver dollar.
 If desired, the RUMP can be divided from the ROUND by making a cut
immediately parallel and ventral to aitchbone.
 The cut left out is the LOIN.
 The loin is usually divided into anterior and posterior section at the anterior tip of the
hip and between the lumbar and sacral vertebrae. The posterior third portion
containing the hip bone (ilium) is known as the SIR LOIN and the anterior portion
containing five lumbar and one thoracic vertebrae is known as SHORTLION.

Percentage ofwholesale cuts of beef carcass

 Forequarter ( 51%) Hindquarter (49%)

Rib 9.0% Kidney Knob 4.0%

Plate 9.5% Flank 4.0%

Shank 4.0% Loin 17.5%

Brisket 4.5% Round 23.5%

Chuck 24.0%

 In the U.S. in order to provide the traditional cuts demanded by the public there are
different methods of cutting of beef.
 The latest standardisation in cutting beef exists through Middle West, West and
South West where the method is Western or Chicago style of cutting the beef.
 The Eastern Sea bound states use a method known as Eastern or New York style of
cutting the beef.
 In Chicago method of cutting the quartering is done by dividing between 12th and
13th ribs and leaving one rib in hindquarter.
 In New York method of cutting also the quartering is done by leaving one rib in the
hindquarter.
 In Boston method of cutting the quartering allows three ribs on the hindquarter.
 In Philadelphia method of cutting all the ribs are left in the forequarter.

FABRICATION OF PORK CARCASSES

Steps for makingwholesale cuts of pork carcass

Each side of pork carcass is subjected to the following cutting procedure:

Step 1

 The feet are removed in the case of the front feet at about 1” above the knee and for
the hind feet at the lower edge of hock.

Step 2

 The anterior “ROUGH SHOULDER” is separated from the posterior “ROUGH

MIDDLE” and “ROUGH HAM” portion by cutting between second and third ribs.
 Thus “ROUGH SHOULDER” is made into threewholesale cuts as described below
 The JOWL is trimmed by cutting close to the neck line.
 The BOSTON BUTT is the upper one third of the skinned shoulder and
is separated by cutting parallel to the back from a point just vertical to the exposed
section of theshoulder blade. The lower two third portion is known as PICNIC
SHOULDER.

Step 3
  The “ROUGH HAM” is separated from the rough middle by cutting between second
and third sacral vertebrae at right angles to the line of the leg and a REGULAR
HAM is made form this rough ham by suitably trimming the fat and lean on the
exposed surface of the ham.

Step 4

 The “ROUGH MIDDLE” is separated into upper LOIN and lower SIDE & SPARE
RIBS or BACON by a parallel cut to the backbone, made at a point 3 fingers width
below the vertebral column at the shoulder end and extending it up to the leg end in
a manner just to miss the tender lion muscle.
 The wholesale cuts obtained from each side will be Jowl, Boston Butt, Picnic
Shoulder, Loin, Side and Spare Ribs and Ham.

FABRICATION OF LAMB CARCASSES

Steps for makingwholesale cuts of lamb carcass

 The carcass is divided into FORE-SADDLE and HIND-SADDLE by cutting between

the last 2 ribs. The left and right sides are not separated in case of beef carcass.
 The thin meat is taken off from the natural seam between flank and leg. Cut is made
forward to the last rib at a point midway of the last rib. This cut is continued forward
to apoint 1/2” above the elbow joint. The SHANK & the ROUGH BREAST are
obtained.
 The NECK is removed at a point where it blends with the shoulder.
 A cut is made between the fifth and sixth ribs to remove the SHOULDER
 The portion left behind from the sixth rib to the twelfth rib is the RACK.
 The LOIN is removed from the hindquarters by sawing just in front of the hipbone
and the last two lumbar vertebrae.
 The remaining portion is the LEGS.
 From the rough breast the FORE SHANK (TURKEY LEG) is removed.

The final cuts are

 Fore-saddle 53%
o Rack Rib 10 %, Shoulder 25%, Neck 4%, Shank 6 % and Breast 8 %
 Hind-saddle 47%
o Leg 32%, Loin 10%, Flanks 3% and Suet and Kidney 2%

FABRICATION OF RABBIT CARCASSES

Steps for makingwholesale cuts of rabbits

 There is an increase in the consumption of rabbit meat.

 Hence the popularity of wholesale cuts of rabbit carcasses is also increasing.
 They invariably realize more per pound of meat thanwholesale carcass.
 In USA, the small rabbit carcass weighing about 800 – 900 gm is referred to as
FRYERS.
 This lends itself to be cut off and easily preferred for marketing.
 It is normally practiced to cut the carcass into seven jointed pieces consisting of two
hind legs, two fore legs, two pieces of chest and back and one loin piece.
  The larger carcass is cut into more portions depending upon the weight of the
carcass, which may vary from 9 to 12 pieces where the hind legs are divided into two
pieces.
 The loin and back portion of rib are cut into 5 pieces and front portion of
the ribs and each foreleg into one piece.
 The intermediate (medium) sized carcass is cut into lesser cuts so as to form
individual cuts.
 The small carcasses can be prepared and pre-packed and sold as jointed whole
rabbit with larger joint may be individually prepacked or combined to make up
certain weight ranges depending upon the local demand.

FABRICATION OF CHICKEN CARCASSES

Steps for making cutup parts of chicken carcass

 The carcass is divided into front/anterior portion and rear/posterior portion by

cutting between the 6th and 7th ribs.
 Anterior/front quarter - A longitudinal cut is made beginning at the first thoracic
vertebra and extending posteriorly through the sixth thoracic vertebra cutting the
keel in half. The Wings are removed by a cut through the shoulder joint at the
proximal end of the humerus.
o Breast with back cut - The Breast is split by a longitudinal cut beginning at
the first vertebra and extending posteriorly through the sixth thoracic
vertebrae column and sternum.
o The Keel cut breast is made at the distal end (or tip of the sternal crest) and
continued dorsally across the fifth and sixth vertebral ribs until the pectoralis
muscles are separated from the whole breast. The remaining breast portion is
then split in the manner of the split breast with back.
o The Wishbone or Clavicle cut is removed from the carcass by a cut beginning
at the anterior end of the sternum and extending dorsally along the coracoid.
This piece is separated from the breast at the junction of the clavicle and
coracoid. The remainder of the breast was split as previously described for the
split as previously described for the split breast with back.
o Quartered breast – Breasts are quartered using two cuts – (1) a longitudinal
cut to yield two halves as in the breast with back cut; (2) a cut through each
half beginning at the point of the sternal ribs and across the fifth and sixth
vertebral ribs, severing the spine at approximately the seventh lumber
vertebra.
o Split breast – This piece is obtained by cutting on each side of the vertebral
column beginning at the mid-point of the sternal ribs until breast is
completely severed from the back. The last cut split the whole breast through
the mid-point of the sternum. A portion of the back is removed.
o Breast with ribs – A cut is made on each side of the vertebral column
beginning at the position posterior to the seventh rib and extending anteriorly
to a point where the breast with ribs and scapula were completely separated
from the back. The breast is then split down the centre of the sternum.
o Stripped breast with scapula – By placing a knife in the body cavity at the
anterior end of the vertebral column, a cut is made in the ventral posterior
direction to split the breast through the centre of the sternum. The skin is
then cut along the entire length of the vertebral column and around the last
thoracic rib in such a fashion as to loosen the skin from the carcass. Manual
pressure is applied on the breast portion and split breast with the scapula are
pulled away from the remaining ribs.
o Wings with breast portion These are cut by removing approximately 2.5 cm
of pectorals major with the shoulder joint.
 o Wing segments The wing tip is removed at the distal end of the forearm; the
forearm is removed by cutting the joint at the distal end of the humerus. And
the proximal wing portion by cutting through the shoulder joint. The distal by
a cut through the shoulder joint at the proximal end of the humerus.
 Posterior portion cuts
o Rear quarter - The rear quarter is obtained by cutting at the seventh thoracic
vertebra and extending posteriorly splitting the lumbar-sacral vertebra in
half.
o Drumstick - The drumstick is separated from the thigh by a cut through the
joint formed by the femur, fibula and tibia.
o Three piece leg - The entire leg with back is cut into three pieces employing a
band saw. Each leg is cut at a point 2.5 cm above and 2.5 cm below the joint
formed by the femur, fibula and tibia. The remaining portion consisting of the
back and the upper portion of the two thighs is then cut longitudinally
beginning at the seventh thoracic vertebra and extending posteriorly splitting
the lumbar-sacral vertebra
o Thigh with back portion - A longitudinal cut of the thigh-back portion was
then made beginning at the seventh vertebra and extending posteriorly on
either side of the lumbar and sacral vertebra completely removing this portion
of the back bone.
o „Strip cut thigh‟ - This piece was obtained by a cut through the junction of the
thigh muscles with the pelvic girdle to the hip joints disjointing the femur.
The leg was then separated from the back by pulling the loin or „oyster‟ muscle
off with the thigh. The thigh and drumstick were separated at the joints as
previously described. Notice that a portion of the back was removed.
(Common name: thigh with connecting fat and skin).
o „Square cut thigh‟ - The square cut thigh was made as in the strip cut thigh
except the loin oyster muscle was left on the remaining back. The thigh and
drumstick were separated at the joint as previously described. (Common
name: thigh).
o „Drumstick with thigh portion‟ - The drumstick with thigh portion cut was
made by cutting the femur 2.5 cm above the joint formed by the femur, fibula
and tibia. The resulting portion contained the fibula and tibia and
approximately 2.5 cm of the femur. (Common name: drumstick with thigh
portion).
o „Thigh thigh back‟. The initial cut was made as described w/back in the three
piece leg section.
 In 1986 the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) of the USDA published guidelines
for specified cuts of poultry (FSIS, 1986). These guidelines are to clarify and assure
compliance with the provisions of regulations regarding cut-up poultry parts,
especially for labeling purposes. These guidelines are:
o Proper cut of thighs, drumsticks and wings. Thighs, drumsticks, and wings
should be separated from other parts with clean cuts through connecting
joints. These parts may still be considered properly cut if the medullar cavity
(marrow) of the bone shaft is not exposed. If the part is improperly cut, both
ends shall be labeled portions of drumstick, thigh, or wing, unless the parts
are acceptable for, and identified with, an official USDA Grade Mark. For
example, if the bone of a part is cut short (i.e., medullary cavity exposed), but
the entire meat yield associated with that part is not materially affected, then
the part may qualify for a grade other than „A‟ grade.
o Patella (knee bone). The patella (knee bone) may be included on either the
drumstick or thigh.
o Skin and Fat. Skin or fat not ordinarily associated with a part may not be
included unless stated on the label.
 o Thighs. The regulation states that thighs may include pelvic meat but shall not
include the pelvic bones. Thighs may also include abdominal meat (flank
meat) but shall not include rib bones.
o Legs. The regulation states that legs may include pelvic meat but shall not
include the pelvic bones. Legs ma also include abdominal meat (flank meat)
but shall not include rib bones.
o Halves. The regulations states that a poultry carcass is cut so as to produce
approximately equal right and left sides. The cut must be made so that
portions of the backbone remain on both halves, and the cut may be no more
than one-fourth inch from the sternum (breastbone).
o Leg quarter. The regulation states that a leg quarter consists of a poultry thigh
and drumstick with approximately one-half of the associated back portion
attached. A leg quarter may also include attached abdominal fat and up to two
ribs.
o Leg quarter with back portion. This is a leg quarter with a complete or entire
rear back portion must have all associated meat and skin. If the meat and skin
are missing, this cut should be labeled as leg quarter with striped back
portion.
o Breasts. Abdominal muscle (flank meat) shall not be included except for
occasional small pieces. Skin or fat from other parts may not be included. The
end of bone shaft is not exposed. If the medullary cavity of the humerus is
exposed, then a portion of wing bone is attached and this cut must be labeled
as breast with ribs with portion of wing bone.
o Breast with ribs. Abdominal muscle (flank meat) remaining on the breast
shall not extend beyond the midline of the internal side of the sternum
(breastbone) when folded inward from its natural attachment to the breast. If
this abdominal muscle has been partially cut at its natural attachment to the
breast, then the cut edge is to be approximated before folding. Skin or fat
from other parts is not allowed. The end of the humerus may be included on
the breast if the medullary cavity (marrow) of the bone shaft is not exposed. If
the medullary cavity of the humerus is exposed, then a portion of wing bone is
attached and this cut must be labeled as breast with ribs with portion of wing
bone.

MODULE-9: ABATTOIR BY-PRODUCTS - BLOOD AND BONES

Learning objectives

This module deals with,

 definition and classification of by-products,

 benefits of by-products,
 processing and preparation of blood meal,
 preparation of bones from abattoirs and
 preparation of bone meal.

INTRODUCTION, DEFINITIONS AND CLASSIFICATION

 Basically the term by-products and offals are used to denote the part or particles,
which is not included in the dressed carcasses.
 So, by-products may be defined as, “everything from the abattoir or butcher‟s shop
that is not sold directly as food”.
  Some of the by-products are organs, such as kidney, brain, liver, heart, lungs and
intestinal tract, gullets and sweet bread, stomach, blood, bones, hooves, horns, hair
and bristles, hide and skin, etc.
 Animals, which die at abattoir prior to slaughter, or those animals or parts of
animals, which have failed to pass meat inspection as, fit for human consumption,
are also included in the by-products.
 Ears, lips, snouts, teeth, foetus, gall bladder, trimmings, fleshing and dew claws are
also listed under by-products.
 Organs such as kidney, brain, liver, heart and tongue are classified as edible by-
products while the others are classified as inedible by-products.
 The basic factors making the deviation between edible and inedible products are
determined by the purchasing power of the consumer, his food habits, religious
taboos and customs.
 On the border line between these two extremes is a small group of organs which
depending upon the food customs and purchasing power of the consumer may be
considered either edible or inedible.
 Among these are organs such as uterus, spleen, testicle, lungs, intestines, stomach
and blood may be considered fit for human consumption provided, they are derived
from sound animals and were not contaminated during the process of slaughter and
dressing.
 These by-products can be further sub-divided into
o Principle by-products including hide and skin, blood, hooves and horn and
o Secondary class of by-products which includes a wide range of items
manufactured from the principle by-products for example, blood meal, fibrin,
haemoglobin, blood albumin, serum, plasma and so on from blood, Fat yields
glycerin and soap; bones yield gelatin and nitroglycerine, Hides yield leather
shoes, bags, belts, clothing, etc.
 Collection and utilization of by-products will be very difficult in small and widely
scattered slaughterhouses with smaller throughputs.

IMPORTANCE AND BENEFITS

Importance of utilization of by-products

 The need for efficient treatment of the by-products is based on

 The necessity for their rapid, hygienic disposal thus avoiding decomposition and
formation of obnoxious odours.
 If abattoir by-products are not removed and treated properly, then these will become
a serious source of contamination to fresh meat.
 The efficient process of abattoir by-products, which secure some economic return on
material, which would otherwise be wasted.
 Therefore, the efficient processing of by-products is agreed on both by the meat trade
and by public health authorities.
 So, it becomes the obligation of the local authority to see the unsound meat is
hygienically disposed off.

Benefits derived from the by-products

 Improvement of the environmental sanitation

o Blood, trimmings, fleshiness, condemned organs and all unused offals attract
flies, rats, dogs, vermin causing public health nuisance and even danger of
spreading diseases.
o Sanitary disposal of such offals often present great difficulties, as offals tend
to clot drains, decomposed rapidly and produce objective odours.
 o Meat slaughtered and kept in unsanitary surroundings created by undisposed
offals results in products not only of inferior keeping quality but also serving
as a potential vehicle for disease transmission.
 Healthier and more productive livestock
o Use of bones as bone meal, as mineral supplement for stock feed improves the
health of the Livestock.
o Meat, bone and carcass meals contribute as valuable sources of sterile protein
food supplement.
 Secondary rural industry
o The manufacture of by-products of animal origin leads to the establishment of
secondary rural industries.
o Examples are tanneries, tallow, soap, glue and bone meal manufacture, etc.
 Price structure
o By-products influence the price of meat and the price paid to the producer for
livestock.
 Creation of new employment
o The conversion of offals in to by-products creates new employment and skills
not only at the primary industry level but also at the secondary industry level.
 Better crops
o The offals converted into fertilizers will help in increasing the yield of crops.

PLAN AND LAYOUT OF BYPRODUCTS UTILIZATION PLANT

 Due to our vast livestock population, it is veryimportant to harvest animal

byproducts for their economic value as well as to provide employment to marginally
educated masses.
 In our country, livestock density demands the setting up of atleast one animal by
products processing plant at each 50 km range.
 Establishment of animal by products processing plant within or in the vicinity of each
abattoir will also alleviate the pollution problem.
 The biogas production unit for the mutual benefit could utilize the resultant waste
from both.
 Important considerations during the establishment of a byproducts utilization plant
are: In tropical and subtropical countries, a byproduct plant should be established
adjacent to the slaughterhouse or it may be a part of the same building connected
through chutes or gravity pipes. In earlier case, the passage between slaughterhouse
and by product plant must be constructed with concrete, stones or bricks and the
slope should be towards byproduct plant. The establishment should preferably be
away from inhabited area. As far as possible, there should be provision of overhead
rails from slaughterhouse to the byproduct plant. A byproduct plant should have its
own-screened drainage with a gully fitted with individual grease traps. The byproduct
plant should have clear clean and unclean sections. Charging platform or raw
materials inlets form a part of unclean sections whereas processed and sterilized
byproducts are prepared, stored and disposed of from clean section having separate
exit point.
 The floor, walls and ceiling should be made up of smooth and concrete material so
that these can be easily and frequently washed. A floor slope of ½” per ft. is generally
recommended.
 A byproduct plant should invariably have a hide/skin salting room, renderers,
tripery, boiler, manure bunker, store besides common amenities.
 The plant building should be open and ventilated to prevent humidity build up
leading to corrosion of equipment and building. It will also check the growth of
moulds and bacteria in the building. The roofing material may preferably be
corrugated asbestos sheeting. There should be provision of exhaust fans from each
 partition.
 The equipment to be installed should cope up with the byproduct or offal
accumulation expected each day. Renderer, fat settling tank, fat expeller, blood press,
grind mill etc., are essentially required. A boiler of suitable capacity is inevitable for
processing as well as cleaning operations. It should have a steam pressure of > 80 psi.
 At the initial stage, processing of one or two byproducts can be taken up. The
operations can be further extended in stages.
 A byproduct plant should have the following main sections:
 Hides and skins section with salt store.
 Tripery/Gut processing section with cleaning tables, water taps etc.,
 Carcass utilisation plant with renderer, bone digester, fat settling tank,
fat expeller and adjoining milling room and store.
 Besides boiler, worker lockers, amenities and adjacent manure pit are
otherimportant requirements.
 The boiler should be of suitable capacity keeping in view the
availability of raw material; and consumption of renderer.
 The requirement of steam has been worked out to be 1.25 lb per lb of
raw material to be processed.

BLOOD

 The processing of blood can yield both inedible products and products suitable for
animal feeding.
 Blood can also used as human food as it is very valuable source of protein.
 It is used in the preparation of black puddings and sausage making.
 Occasionally, slaughter does not lend itself to economical treatment of blood, as the
quantities are small.
 Only plants, whose daily kill is large, can make use of the blood fully by installation of
a suitable plant by which the liquid can be dried.
 The desirable feature in the construction of the abattoir is that the animals should be
bled at a central point by which arrangement a greater degree of hygiene and facilities
can be achieved.
 An animal body contains nearly 5-7% blood of its live weight.
 However, during slaughter blood is not fully recovered, where spilling, or faulty
management always loses some of it.
 Fresh blood must be processed at the earliest moment as otherwise it decomposes
rapidly with an appreciable loss in the nitrogen content.

AVERAGE YIELD OF BLOOD/ANIMAL

Species Yield Time of bleeding of different food
animals
Buffalo/cattle 10-12 kg
Goat/ sheep 1-1.5 kg Cattle 6 minutes

Pigs 2-3 kg Sheep 5 minutes

Poultry 30-50 g Calves 5 minutes

Calves 1.5 kg Pigs 6 minutes

 The amount of blood yielded

o The yield of blood meal is about 1/5th of the initial weight of blood.
 o It is an excellent source of essential amino acids, lysine being 6-8%.

USES

 Animal blood is used in several ways and its collection method also depends on the
specific end use.
 Some of the uses are listed below.
 As human food
o Only a small quantity of available blood is used as human food, such as for
preparation of black puddings and sausages.
o Blood used for human food must be of fresh and derived from animals, which
have been inspected and passed.
o It is very difficulty to collect clear blood from animals slaughtered according
to Jewish or Mohammedan rituals as such blood is often contaminated with
regurgitated food.
o The collection should be done in clear receptacles in such a manner as to
prevent contamination.
o Blood containers should be identified with the carcass, so that, if the carcass is
condemned, the blood may be destroyed.
o The blood after leaving the body clots quickly due to formation of fibrin,
which enmeshes most of the blood cells squeezing out the serum.
o Liquid blood is required for certain manufacturing purposes both for food and
industry.
o This can be achieved by defibrination and is done by stirring the blood, with a
wooden ladle or by whipping it with a wire whip.
o The fibrin will gradually settle on the blade or whip, which will be dark–red in
colour.
o It is a valuable food for man and poultry or can be used for the manufacture
of peptone or lecithin.
o The fibrin can be washed nearly white in water and dried and preserved until
required.
o Plasma is used as protein boosters in foods and used as binder or stabilizer in
meat products.
 For industrial use
o Preservation of blood by chemicals is necessary when the blood is used
in tanneries and other commercial use.
o But, however, because of the addition of chemicals, there is some loss of
quality.
o Chemical preservation may add some undesirable properties to the blood.
o The addition of chemicals should be done only after consultation with the
buyer.
o For industrial use when liquid blood is needed, anti-coagulants such as
oxalate or citrate is added.
o The blood is then centrifuged to separate the red and white corpuscles from
the serum.
o Plasma is used as waterproof adhesive in plywood industry.
o Used in lithographic coloured solution, this contains albumen and
ammonium dichromate.
o Used in textile dyeing, and as stabilizer for feed mixtures and pet foods.
o Used as foam compounds in fire extinguishers; as substitute for egg
albumen (blood albumen); in ceramics and is cosmetic base formations.
 As stock feed
o Only fraction of the blood available can usually be used for human food or
industrial use.
 o All the remainder should be utilized for stock feed production as blood meal,
mixed blood meal and lysine supplement.
 As fertilizer
o Used as compound fertilizer containing nitrogen and phosphates, seed
coating and soil pH stabilizer.
 As biochemical and pharmaceutical
o Amino acids – lysine, leucine, histidine and phenylalanine are used as
biochemical.
o Thrombin and prothrombin are used as blood clotting agents.
Immununoglobulins, serotonin, peptone and plasma extenders are used as
pharmaceuticals.
 As laboratory and biological media
o Blood agar, tissue culture media, albumin and globulin, sphingomyelin and
catalase are used as laboratory and biological media.

PROCESSING AND PREPARATION OF BLOOD MEAL

 Blood may be processed by heat treatment or without heat treatment.

 Processing of blood without heating will cause problems while feeding the meal to
livestock.
 Raw, unsterilized blood meal is not recommended for feeding purposes.
 But in small abattoirs provision of blood processing plant is a costly affair.

Heat-treated blood

 Although dried raw blood has not been sterilized during manufacture, it is possible to
sterilize the meal itself by heating it in a stove.
 Blood can be cooked together with offal and condemned carcasses.
 If blood only is available, this can be processed in the following manner.
 The blood is heated with constant stirring until it coagulates, care being taken to
avoid burning or charring.
 An equal amount of boiling water is then added to the blood and the mass boiled
together 4 to 5 lbs raw blood are equivalent to 1lbs of dried blood meal or 8 lbs of the
mass prepared by adding water.
 Bran, pollard or other finely ground vegetable mater can be; mixed with the blood to
add consistency.
 The feed prepared in this method has no keeping qualities whatever and efficient
arrangement must be made for daily collection and feeding to livestock.
 Apart from blood collection, a speedy collection and feeding to livestock, a speedy
collection without the addition of water and rapid elimination of moisture prior to
drying are essential in order to obtain a good product.
 This is achieved by coagulation and pressing.

PRINCIPLES IN MANUFACTURE OF BLOOD MEAL

The simple principle in the manufacture of blood meal is as follows:

 Blood collection
o Blood should be collected in such a way as to avoid floor washings, detergents,
insecticides or any other extraneous material.
 Storage and transport
o Whole blood may be properly mixed with equal amount of rice bran, which
will absorb it.
 o Such a mass can be transported in gunny bags in rainy or low sun season,
whereas it can be dried in summer or hot sun on a concrete platform to nearly
10-12 % moisture.
o To whole blood, 1% quick lime is added by weight, which will give it a black
rubber like consistency.
o This mass will not adhere to the transport containers, keep well for 24 hours
and it will not attract flies.
o Addition of lime also increases the calcium of the end product.
o Alternatively, common salt can be added @ 20% of the blood by weight to
increase its storage life and enable safe transport to the plant.
 Coagulation by heating
o The blood should not be charred.
o The blood will turn black. It should be boiled for 15 to 20 minutes to destroy
pathogenic organisms.
o Injecting live steam may coagulate the blood.
 Pressing
o Blood mass is collected in Hessian bags or any other porous bags, hung and
40 to 45% of moisture from blood can be squeezed out simply by pressing.
o This reduces the time and expense of drying.
 Drying
o Blood can be dried in the sun on concrete floors.
o Many methods of mechanical driers can be also employed.
o Up to this process it should be done quickly to avoid nutrient or quality loss.
Drying is done in two methods
o Sun drying
 In hot and dry climate, pressed blood mass can be dried by spreading
in shallow trays.
o Cabinet drying
 In pilot plant, a cabinet drier with steam coils at the bottom and
exhaust fan at the top can accommodate many trays at a time and
remove the moisture efficiently.
 Cooling
o Sun dried blood can be milled immediately. But blood dried by other methods
should be allowed to cool.
 Milling
o For preparing stock feed, the blood is milled. Any hammer mill can be used.
o If preservation is done, 3% salt is to be added. Rapid chilling is required.
 Fumigation
o Blood meal can be disinfected with methyl bromide, ethylene oxide, etc., for
long-term storage.
 Packaging
o Blood meal is packed in polyethylene bags or airtight containers.
o It is advised to avoid undue exposure to high temperature and moisture
during storage.
o Lime treated blood meal has a storage life of several months.

LARGE SCALE PROCESSING

 Blood can be spray dried or batch dried.

 Wet blood should be dried daily.
 Well-dried blood can be milled whenever convenient.
 Spray drying
o This is similar to (that of) milk powder manufacture and yields a very fine
water-soluble powder of light colour.
 o The defibrinated blood is blown through a fine nozzle into a heated chamber
and falls down in the form of powder.
o Installation is very costly and this is designed for larger production.
 Batch drying
o This is a blood drier, which is a matter similar to that of dry rendering of meat
offal, but with a very smooth inner shell.
o In this method, overcooking leads to over agitation and loss of fine particles in
the wastewater whereas, under cooking has the same effect, as some
uncoagulated blood will be lost.
o Blood after coagulation, should have moisture content of slightly over 70%.

DIFFERENT METHODS OF PROCESSING

Where equipment is available, blood can be processed in several ways, as follows:

 Dried without previous treatment

o Here blood is dried under steam pressure and by constant agitation. A blood
drier is a standard horizontal dry -rendering matter.
 With other offal
o Blood can be wet or dry–rendered together with inedible or condemned
matter and used for enriching the protein content of the whole material.
 Dried after coagulation and pressing
o The coagulated blood may be transferred either to draining tanks, with a
perforated bottom, which allows the liquid to drain off by gravity, or it can be
put into a press with a top fitted with handles for screwing down.
o The coagulated blood, which now contains only some 40% moisture, is fed in
to a dry-rendering matter, either alone or mixed with other offal.
 Speed
o Wet blood rapidly deteriorates and hence daily processing is essential.
o The thoroughly dried blood can be milled whenever abattoir supplies have
been accumulated.
 Test
o Moisture and ammonia content are the two factors determining the quality of
blood meal.
o Keeping quality is good only when the moisture is approximately 10 to 12%.
o The protein content of blood meal should be 75 to 85%.
o Low protein content indicates the presence of extraneous matter.
o It has a characteristic iron odour.

PLASMA AND SERUM

 Blood consists of plasma in which erythrocytes, leucocytes and thrombocytes

(platelets) are suspended.
 Plasma, in turn consists of serum and fibrinogen.
 Action of thrombin on fibrinogen separates out fibrin.
 Serum is rich in albumin and globulin.
 Thus, plasma is recovered from unclotted blood by centrifugation, whereas serum is
obtained from clotted blood.
 It may be noted that normal blood clotting time of most domestic animals is 3 to 6
minutes.
 Only from those abattoirs where slaughter is carried out on bleeding rails blood can
be collected for human use.
 Trocar knife (with hollow handle) and canula are used for hygienic recovery of blood,
which is collected in clean and sterile stainless containers.
  An ideal vessel should have a diameter of 45 cm and a depth of 15 cm.
 It can be washed with hypochlorite or steam sterilized.
 To prepare plasma
o blood collection is done quickly in an anticoagulant (trisodium citrate 4%, 1
ml for each 10 ml of blood, otherwise oxalate, EDTA or heparin is used).
o Blood is then centrifuged, which will separate plasma from cell mass.
o Plasma is stored in bottles or polyethylene bags in frozen conditions.
 To prepare serum
o blood is collected carefully and allowed to clot and subjected to further
processing in a cold room.
o Chilled clotted blood is cut into smaller lumps to bring about quick
contraction of clots.
o Serum collected in first 12 hours is generally clear except for some suspended
RBCs.
o It is centrifuged in a bucket centrifuge at 100 rpm and filtered through Seitz
filter.
o The yield of serum is about 10-12% of the weight of whole blood.
o It keeps well at 4-5oC for one month and at –20oC for six months.
o Dried blood serum is referred as blood albumen and is used as the cheapest
substitute for dried egg albumen powder in the industry.
 To prepare it, to clear yellow serum is added 0.05% phenol on weight
basis.
 It is sprayed or vacuum dried to soluble fine powder.
 The yield of albumen is 10-20% of the weight of the serum.
 It is stable in airtight containers in cool places for several months.

FIBRIN AND ITS PRODUCTS

Fibrinogen

 Blood collected with anticoagulant is centrifuged to obtain plasma.

 This plasma is buffered with sodium citrate acetic acid buffer with simultaneous
addition of aqueous ethanol until pH of the solution becomes 7.2 and ethanol
concentrates reaches 8%.
 Now fibrinogen is precipitated and removed by centrifugation.
 It is filtered, sterilized, freeze-dried and stored.

Fibrin foam

 Plasma is suitably treated with citrate buffer of pH 6.

 The solution is clarified by centrifugation and diluted to contain less than 2%
fibrinogen and pH is adjusted to 6.25.
 The solution is vigorously beaten to obtain fibrinogen foam.
 This is converted to fibrin by the addition of thrombin.
 The fibrin foam is frozen, cut into cubes and then freeze-dried.
 Fibrin foam is white to cream coloured spongy material.
 It can soak up liquid upto 30 times its weight and is very useful in nerve as well as
arterial surgery and prostate operations.
 It does not inhibit the action of antibiotics and eventually digested in the body
system.

Fibrin powder

 It is used to arrest bleeding where coagulation is delayed in skin injuries.

Fibrin bioplasts

 These are moulded materials resembling plastic, which are prepared from fibrin
powder.
 They can be moulded even as bone joints and need not be removed from the body.

FOAM COMPOUNDS

 From blood protein foam compounds are derived which are the cheapest foam type
fire extinguishers.
 These are quite effective in dealing with fire involving petrol, fat, naphtha, etc.,
although generally unsuitable for spirit or alcohol related fires.

ORGANIC FERTILIZER

 Split and soiled blood is collected in drums and transported in closed vehicles in 4-6
hrs for processing as fertilizers.
 This blood is preserved by treating with 2% formalin or 2% Lysol solution and dried
in sun.
 Dried blood contains about 12% nitrogen with traces of phosphorus, iron and copper.
 It is generally used as compound fertilizer after supplementing with super-
phosphates.
 Thus, animal blood can be subjected to multiple uses and the list is so varied.
 BONES

Yield

 Bone account for an average of 15% of the weight of a dressed carcass.

 This amount varies with breed, age, state of nutrition, etc.
 It may be as low as 12% in beasts of top condition, and as high as 30% in emaciated
cattle.
 The bones of sheep and goats average from 20 to 30% and of pigs from 12 to 30%.

Composition

 Bones contain 50% water, 15% red and yellow marrow, 12% organic matter and 23%
inorganic matter.
 Bone marrow (red and yellow) consists 96% fat.
 The defatted and dried bone contained organic matter and inorganic salts material in
a ration of 1: 2.
 Bone collagen is called ossein, which is the main constituent of the organic matter
and accounts to approximately 33 to 36% when boiled.
 This organic matter yields gelatine.
 The inorganic matter consists of approximately 32.6% calcium, 15.2% phosphorus,
small amount of sodium, potassium, magnesium, traces of copper, cobalt, zinc, iron,
manganese, sulphur, etc.

Uses of bones

 In the past, bones have had many uses, for example, in the manufacture of dice,
buttons and knife handles.
 Today plastic has replaced bones for these purposes and; this use for bone will not be
described here.
 Because of the complex nature of bones, different processes have been designed to
recover different components like fat, protein and inorganic material.
 Owing to its high calcium and phosphorus content, bone meal is used as a constituent
of poultry feeds and as a fertilizer.
 Calcined bone, obtained by roasting in air, is used in the manufacture of high-class
pottery and china, in the refining of silver and in copper smelting.

VARIOUS METHODS OF TREATING BONES

 The various methods of treating bones while recovering the fat can be summarized as
follows:
o Processing under pressure
 In this method the bones with all adhering meat and tendons together
with other offals are processed under pressure to obtain bone and
other meat meal.
o Boiling bones in open kettle
 In this method all adhering material is freed by dissolving a small part
of the ossein.
 The bones are then lifted from the boiling liquid and milled to produce
raw bone meal.
o Boiling bones under pressure
 In this method the ossein gets free and this protein is used in meat
meal production and milling the bones for steamed bone meal.
o Conserving the ossein for gelatine manufacture
  By subjecting the bones to prolonged cooking in open vats avoid
boiling by not exceeding 87.8°C (190°F).
 This results in the loss of the fat while preserving the ossein.
 Such weathered bones may be used for the manufacture of gelatin, raw
or steamed bone meal.

SOURCES OF BONES

 In the United State, Australia and Argentina, bones are left over as a by-product of
large establishments producing boneless meat and sausages or in canningfactories .
 Fresh bones from whole carcasses are rarely available in developing countries.
 The skull and feet are the bones, which usually considered, as abattoir offal.
 In poor countries, even these are sold as food.
 In such abattoirs negligible amounts of bone are recovered from the whole carcass.
 Sometimes only the jawbone is recovered from a whole carcass.
 The main source of bones is those remaining after they have been boiled for soups or
from animals, which have died in the field.

BY-PRODUCTS OF BONES

 Bones contain 33 to 36% of organic substance, bone collagen or ossein, which is the
mother substance for gelatine and glue.
 Gelatine
o Gelatine can be obtained by boiling ossein or by boiling degraded bones in
water acidified with Hydrochloric acid, which separates the gelatinous
substances.
o It is a derived protein of albuminoidal class, which has both – edible and
inedible (technical) uses.
o Edible gelatine is manufactured from fresh bones obtained from slaughtered
and inspected animals under strict hygienic conditions.
o Pure gelatine is an amorphous and transparent substance devoid of any
colour, taste and smell.
o It is brittle when dry, softens on heating and then decomposes with burnt hair
smell.
o It swells in cold water absorbing 5 to 10 times its weight and dissolves on
warming upto 30oC.
 Glue
o Glue is the inferior gelatine and is obtained in the same manner as gelatine.
o It is low-grade gelatine with comparatively dark colour and has only inedible
uses.
o Chemically there is no difference between gelatine and glue.
o Glue is used as animportant adhesive in plywood, furniture, sand paper,
gummed tape, etc.
 Ossein
o Ossein is obtained by breaking the bones in weak acids, which dissolves the
mineral components leaving the organic matter.
 Bones may by collected from
o Abattoirs where large quantities of bones are available.
o In the field where bones may be collected from eating houses, refuse dumps
or from carcasses.
o Skull and jawbones are non-gelatine-yielding bones.
o Gelatine manufacturers grade the bones in five different groups as Grade I, II,
III, IV and V.
o Only long bones are selected not the flat bones.
 PREPARATION OF BONES FROM ABATTOIRS

 The aim in preparation of bones is

o To select only those bones which contain gelatine
o To deprive the bones of all the adhering fat, tendons, meat, sinews and blood.
o To dry the bones.
 During all the above operations, care should be taken that gelatine-yielding material
is not lost through over heating.

SELECTION OF BONES

 This process involves selection of mainly six long bones-femur, tibia, metatarsus,
humerus, radius and ulna, metacarpus, etc.
 Cutting
o Only thighbones (tibia), buttock bones (femur), flat (meta-tarsus), and round
(meta-carpus) skin bones, blade (Radius and ulna) and cannon (humerus)
bones should be used.
o The first is to saw of the knuckles and kneecaps with a power driven circular
saw.
o The cutting is done through the line of the nerve hole, the aim being to expose
the marrow to the direct action of hot water.
 Heating
o A tank provided with perforated steam coils, which allows the injection of live
steam, can be used.
o When steam is unavailable cooking can be done in open tank. The tank is
filled with cold water and then charged with bones.
o Then the water is heated gradually.
o The temperature should not exceed 87.8°C (190°F) for about 6 hours, which is
sufficient to melt the fat and loosen all the adhering meat.
o The bones should not be boiled nor did the bones put into boiling water.
 Cooking
o Cooking may be taken for about 10 hours.
o After cooking the tank is allowed to cool.
o The fat will rise to the top and can be skimmed off.
o The bones are washed and then dried.
o Then the dried bones are crushed.
o These crushed bones are dispatched for preparation of gelatine.
o Gelatine is extracted under carefully controlled pressure.
o A strong solution is run off from the digester.
 Washing
o After removal of fat, the bones are washed with warm water.
 Drying
o These bones are dried in sun on wire netting.
o In wet weather, drying is done in hot room.
 Crushing
o The bones are crushed by a simple stone crusher to a size ranging from 1-2 cm
cubes.
o Crushed bone pieces, which pass through 0.2 cm mesh, are considered bone
meal.

MANUFACTURE OF GELATINE AND GLUE

 Principle
 o Gelatine is produced by the action of hot or boiling water on collagen or
ossein by the process of hydrolysis
 Procedure
o Washing
 Defatted and uniformly crushed bones to a size of 1-2 cm are washed
with water.
 Similarly, the glue stock is washed and soaked with water.
 It is decreased by prolonged exposure to sun or brined or limed
(saturated Ca(OH)2 solution, 10% by weight) for several weeks to
remove the non\collagenous material and fat.
o Demineralization
 Then it is washed and is demineralized by soaking in 4-10% HCl for 1-
2 days.
 It is washed with water to yield a clean, soft stock or ossein.
o Extraction or cooking
 60°C (140°F) highest quality glue
 It is done by controlled hydrolysis to recover different grades of
gelatine.
 Extraction is done in steam-jacketed pans and it takes place in several
runs of 3-5 hours at successively higher temperatures.
 No direct flame is used.
 The heat treatment yields glue as follows
 At At 65.5°C (150°F) medium quality glue
 At 80°C (176°F) low quality glue
 At boiling point the quality is the lowest.
 Residue is pressed and dried for use as livestock feed or fertilizer.
o Filtration
 The liquor or soup is drawn off from each cooking by pressure filtered
to increase clarity.
o Concentration
 The liquid extracts are vacuum evaporated to yield gelatine of 30-40%
concentration.
o Drying
 The concentrated gelatine is spread on a thin sheet of a large
drum, which is heated by steam (spray drying).
 Then the gelatine cut and removed in few minutes with the help of a
knife.

 PREPARATION OF GELATINE
 GENERAL INFORMATION AND USES OF GELATINE

 It is difficult to make gelatine or even glue of good quality under rural conditions and
therefore rural abattoirs are advised to collect the glue stock and sell the stock to glue
or gelatine manufacturers.
 So the fresh glue stocks have to be preserved before delivery.
 These can be dried in air or wet or dry salted.
 The gelatine may be sold in sheets, broken to flakes or powdered as per the
requirement of the user industry
 The rejected hides and skins, hide trimmings such as marks, snouts, ears, shanks,
skin from (slunk) unborn animals, tendons, sinews, horn pith, casings and loose
connective tissues are materials which can be used to produce glue or gelatine.
 These are known as glue stock.
  Zinc sulphate is used as preservative to extend its keeping quality.

Uses of gelatine

 Gelatine is used in food industry for making brown pies, ice cream, jellies and soft
chocolates making as foaming agent.
 As capsules in medicine
 As binder in tablets
 As plasma extender in blood transfusion
 As a sizing agent in textile and leather industry
 In photography
 As culture medium for bacteria
 Used in the manufacture of smokeless gunpowder.
 Now Gelatine is also manufactured from pig‟s skin in Germany.
 100 parts of beef bones yields 6 parts of gelatine.
 100 parts of veal bones yields 50 parts of gelatine.

BONE MEAL

 Bone pieces of les than 2 mm size constitute bone meal.

 Sterilized bone meal a good source of phosphate supplement in livestock feed.
 Animals deprived of adequate phosphorus in feed and fodders suffer from
osteophagia, osteoporosis, rickets, etc.
 Collection of desert bones and their conversion to bone meal is an economically
viable proposition.
 It is alsoimportant from sanitary point of view.
 It can provide employment to very poor and illiterate people with meager means at
their disposal.
 It will invariably bring about improvement in the livestock.
 It should be noted that sterilization of such bones is a must.
 The yield of bone meal is one third of that of raw bones (1:3).
 Quality of bone meal is determined by the presence of phosphorus and calcium that
should ideally be present in the ratio of 1:2.
 The average composition of bone meal is
o Calcium : 30.5%
o Phosphorus : 15.5%
o Protein : 7.0%
o Fat : 1.0%
 The bones are cooked under pressure to remove the remaining blood, fat, meat and
dirt.
 Then the bones are drained.
 The bones will be dry little and sterile.
 The bones are then milled in a disintegrator.

Uses of bone meal

 Used as mineral supplement in stock feeding or as phosphate fertilizer.

 PREPARATION OF BONE MEAL

 MODULE-10: ABATTOIR BY-PRODUCTS - INTESTINES AND
MEAT

Learning objectives

This module deals with,

 intestines casings,
 classification of casing
 preparation of casings,
 utilization of meat, offal and organs,
 meat fats

INTESTINES - CASINGS

 Intestines of food animals have many uses.

 When used as food containers, these are known as Casings.
 Casings serve the purpose of providing a container or the sausage material during the
subsequent cooking and smoking procedures.
 India has beenexporting salted sheep casings to many developed countries like
Japan, Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, etc., after due inspection from
Directorate of Marketing and Inspection under the Animal Casings and Marketing
Rules, 1964.
 This is due to the fact that many countries are not able to meet their demand for
casings of small caliber.
 Dried cattle casings are exported mainly to Gulf countries.
 During 200-2001, India exported 574 tonnes of animal casings fetching Rs. 12.30
crores.
 Casings can be classified as one of the general types.
o Natural
o Artificial and
o Reconstituted collagen…

NATURAL CASINGS
  Prior to the development of manufactured casings, only natural casings wereavailable
to meat processors.
 They are derived almost exclusively from the gastro-intestinal tracts of swine, cattle,
sheep and goats.
 The bladder is also used for products such as mortadella.
 It is of historical interest that skins from the neck of chicken are of the first casings
used for sausage.
 The small intestine, stomach, bladder, caecum and oesophagus are cleaned off their
contents, mucous linings and external fat, after which they are preserved using dry
salt.
 The casings are prepared from the sub mucous layer of the small intestines of cattle,
sheep, pigs or horses.
 The other three coats of intestines are removed.
 Casings are grouped and sorted on the basis of length, diameter and quality (holes,
workmanship, and strength).
 Natural casings have the advantages of being edible, allowing greater smoke
penetrations and conforming to the size of the sausage during cooking and drying.
 Some processed meat products have unique or characteristic shapes because of the
casings in which they are placed.

 EXAMPLES OF NATURAL CASINGS

Natural casings Sausages

Small intestine of cattle Knackwurst
Small intestine of cattle Ring Bologna
Small intestine of cattle Mettwurst
Large intestine of cattle Beef salami
Bung from cattle Bung bologna
Bladder from cattle Beef salami
Small intestine from swine Smoked pork sausage
Stomach from swine Pork headcheese
Caecum from swine Italian pork sausage
Bladder from swine Minced pork luncheon meat
COMMERCIAL TERMS
Rounds Animal casings derived from the small intestines of cattle,
calves, sheep, goats and hogs.
Middles Animal casings derived from large intestines of cattle and pigs.
Middle Cap or A casing prepared from the caecum of blind gut of the hog.
Cap
Bungs Made from the caecum (beef bung and hog bung) containing
approximately 5 to 6 feet (3 to 6 ft) of intestine starting from the
anus called the “Crown”.
Bladders Casings prepared from the urinary bladders of pigs and cattle
Weasands Made from the mucosa of oesophagus of cattle.
Pig Stomachs Casings prepared from stomach of pigs.
Runners Casings prepared from small intestines of Cattle.
Small casings Prepared from the small intestines of the hogs
Chitterlings or Casings prepared from a part of large intestines of hogs.
Black Guts
Sheep Casings Prepared from small intestines of sheep.
Goat Casings Prepared from the small intestines of goats.
Stomach Casings prepared from the cleaned and sealed hog stomach; also
called as “maws”.
INTESTINAL STRUCTURE

 There are five distinct layers of tissues, viz. the mucosa, the submucosa, the circular
muscular layer, the longitudinal muscular layer and the serosa, from the inside to
the outside inorder of appearance.

 The mucosa surrounds the intestinal lumen.

o It consists of the mucosal membrane, composed of epithelial cells, many of
which arespecialized into glands that perform various functions, including
digestion, secretion and absorption.
o Lymphatic tissues are also present near the basal portion of the mucosa in the
form of nodules and there are a number of blood vessels and nerve plexuses.
 The next layer, the submucosa consists mainly of collagenous and elastic fibres.
o This collagen-rich submucosa forms the main source for natural casings.
 The circular muscle layer contains smooth muscle cells, which are arranged with
their longer axis around the digestive tube.
o In hog this layer is thicker than the longitudinal layer.
 The longitudinal muscle layer has its cells oriented at right angles to those of the
circular layer and has a relatively high content of collagen.
o In living animals these two layers function in the peristaltic movement of the
intestine.
 The fifth layer is the serosa, which is relatively thin as compared to the other four
layers.
o It is composed of collagen and elastic fibres with some connective tissue cells.
o In hog intestine this layer is thinner than in cattle and much less tightly
bound to the other layers.

PREPARATION OF CASINGS

 The preparation of casings derived from different species of animals is basically

similar.
 The main difference is pig; sheep and goat casings being very fragile require more
careful treatment than that of beef‟s casings.
 Because of this removal of fat from the casings of the small animals must be
performed by hand, helped with a scrapping sticks while patting of beef casings
require harsh treatment.
  A beef casing has to be turned inside out, whereas sheep and goat casings are sold
unturned.
 Pig casings, if possible, should be turned after defattening.

CASING RECOVERY

 The removal of entrails should be done in such a way that the whole intestinal tract
comes out without being damaged by cuts or unnecessary contamination.
 The separation and division in to different parts should take place on a table with a
supply of running water.
 The casing should be detached and the ligature made so that the contents do not run
out.
 As soon as the different parts are separated they undergo further treatment.
 When the quantity is large, it is essential to have different casings treated separately.
 For example, the bladder and weasand that are to be dried should not be mixed with
those, which are to be salted.
 Sheep and goat casings are generallystored wet and salted whereas cattle casings
are generally dried in processing and sprinkled with insecticide to safeguard during
storage period.

APPROXIMATE LENGTH OF CASING FROM ANIMALS

Casings are measured in hanks

 1 hank = salted sheep and goat casings of 92 metres in length

 1 hank = dried cattle casings of 180 meters in case of runners or 90 meters in
case of middles.

Species Type Length

In meters In feet
Cattle Runner 25-40 90-135
Middle 5.5-7.5 20-25
Bung 1-1.5 4-4.5
Weasand 5.5 18-20
Bladder 20-35 cm wide 8-15 inches wide
Sheep Round 27 90
Goat Round 22 75

BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR GUT PROCESSING

 Casings should be manufactured from gut of healthy animals, which have been
properly slaughtered, inspected and passed.
 Intestines for processing should not have ulcers and heavy parasitic infestations with
nodules.
 Sanitary handling conditions should be maintained from slaughter to final packing.
  The product should be clean with good colour and without objectionable odour. It
should have proper length and be sufficiently cured. The casings be graded as per the
Indian Standards IS: 1981 (1962).

SMALL PROCESSING UNITS

Equipment

 Scrappers made up of wooden or plastic knives Gut cleaning table with a central
drainpipe.
 Two stainless vessels one for fermentation and the other with chilled water to collect
cleaned intestines.
 Table for grading and salting.
 Storage containers.

LARGE PROCESSING UNITS

Equipment

For salted sheep/goat casings

 Casings stripper with rubber rollers

 Casings crusher with rollers of bronze.
 Casings finisher with smooth and fine rollers
 Casings flushing table with tap
 Inspection and grading table.

For dried cattle casings

 Cattle casings stripper and fatters. Casings turning tank.

 Cattle casings crusher and slimmer.
 Cattle casings cleaner.

THE STEPS IN PREPARATION OF CASINGS

 The essential steps in prepartion of casings are associated with the removal of the
intestinal tract at the slaughtering plant are pulling, running, chilling, stripping, fat
removal, fermenting, turning sliming, measuring and inspection.
 Removal
o The intestinal tract should be removed carefully to avoid damage due to cuts.
o A ligature is made to check the escape of contents.
 Pulling
o Pulling is a term applied to the process of separating the mesentery and fat
from the sheep and goats or pigs intestinal tract and dividing into parts, which
require different treatment.
o It is done by hand without using any instruments as intestines from these
animals being very thin and fragile or easily removed.
 Running
o Running is the same process (of pulling) but, performed with a knife, which
cuts the intestines from the mesenteries and fat.
o The operator holds the knife vertically in his right hand pulls the intestines
with his left hand so that, the sharp edges of the knife cuts off the fat and
mesentery from the intestines itself.
 o Running is done only on cattle intestine, which are much thicker and
stronger.
 Chilling
o Whenever it is impossible to process casings at once the intestine should be
chilled (10oC) to as low temperature as possible to reduce changes due to
bacterial fermentation process.
o There are certain merits by chilling.
o Chilling is essential were casings are not manufactured at the abattoir but
arepurchased as green intestines and removed elsewhere for processing.
o Chilling is desirable as a routine after casings are finished and ready for
inspection, grading, salting and curing so that, all bacterial or fermentation
process are arrested and any excess of made visible and Chilling greatly
facilitates further handling.
 Stripping
o The intestinal contents are stripped from the intestines either by hand or by
machine under a spray of water, which washes away the contents as they are
expressed.
o The water spray also serves to clean the casing.
 Flushing
o Flushing is done by forcing tap water is through the gut inorder to remove
the remaining intestinal contents.
o All the operations up to this stage can be undertaken in the slaughterhouse
itself.
 Fat removal or fatting
o There are varying amounts of fat associated with the mesentery and its
attachment to the gut depending upon the nutritional status as well as the
species of the animals.
o Removal of the fat is usually by a manual knife operation and it is also
termed running.
o The fat must be removed as completely as possible because fatty residues left
on the casing will become rancid after a time and render them unfit for
human use.
o Greatest care should be taken that the casings should not be damaged during
this operation.
o Sheep and hog small intestines, which are called as runners, are generally
removed from the fat by hand pulling as opposed to using a knife.
 Fermenting
o In this process, the intestines are immersed in warm water, where enzymatic
and bacterial action will loosen the different layers so that the undesirable
parts can be removed easily.
o This is done only with sheep, goat or pig intestines, which have a very thin
muscular layer, which cannot otherwise be removed by knife.
o Cattle intestine having stronger muscular layer can be cleaned without
fermenting.
o Fermentation time depends on weather; sheep, goat and hog casings are
ready after one or two days.
o The ideal temperature for fermentation is 21°C (70°F).
o Temperature much higher than this may lead to “blown casings” due to over
fermentation, which is easily toned and have objectionable odour where
temperatures are below 21°C (70°F), the water should be warmed.
o Soda has been claimed to accelerate fermentation in these conditions.
 Turning
o It means turning the casings inside out, generally applied to beef casings only.
o Sheep goat, and pig casings being thin can be cleaned adequately during the
process of stripping and sliming, without turning.
 o While beef casings and hog bung having a hard muscular tissue must first be
turned before efficient sliming can take place.
o Turning is done in a tank of warm water.
 Sliming
o Sliming is the removal of the mucosa and the technique used depends on the
size and origin of the casing.
o Small hog and sheep runners are first crushed between rollers and then are
passed between successive rollers or strippers, which remove not only the
mucosa, but also the smooth muscle layers and the serosa associated with the
mucosa, leaving only the submucosa.
o A sliming stick or plastic knife or shell or wooden knife can also do the
process of sliming.
o The knife is placed at an angle of about 30o with mild scrapping movements.
o If the casings are dipped in a sliming solution consisting of 0.2% sodium
pyrophosphate and 1% sodium chloride for 10-15 minutes the process
becomes easier.
o The final cleaned casings are white and nearly transparent.
 Measuring
o The width is measured by letting the inflated (cattle) or water filled (sheep
and goat) casings rest against the walls of a calibrated casing gauge, which is
divided into compartments of different widths.
o The length is measured in hank.
 Inspection and grading
o Casings are inspected for cleanliness, odor, colour, parasites, blood spots,
ulcers, holes, scores and generally speaking or any defects which would either
prevent the casing from being used as an imperforated container or make it
objectionable to the consumer.
o Then the casings are graded in their respective calibrations.
 Salting and curing (Preservation)
o After inspection and measuring, casings are ready for salting and curing.
o Clean fresh salt of medium fineness should be used for this operation, which
is carried out by merely embedding the coiled casings in salt where they are
turned several times and then rubbed evenly by hand.
o Rock salt or coarse, crystalline salt should never be used in salting, as it would
damage the whole of the casing, even to such an extent as to perforate it in
many places.
o During the process of curing, the casings will loose moisture, thus absorbing
salt and improving in keeping quality.
o During the initial stages of curing, substantial amount of brine is formed.
o For this reason, curing is done in curing bins, which has a slatted bottom for
easy drainage.
 Packing
o Containers such as barrels or boxes preferably of hard wood should be used
with recommended insecticide for dried cattle casings.
o They should be leak-proof, so that brine, which may have accumulated, is kept
inside the container.
o For wet salted sheep casings metal tins, which are completely lined from
inside with food grade polyethylene are used for storage and transport.
 Resalting
o Properly prepared casings, well packed and kept under refrigerated
conditions will not deteriorate quickly.
o However, casings stored under tropical conditions or in transit from small
producers to the mainexporters , often undergo deteriorative changes.
o Sometimes, they become too dry, but often too much of moisture is absorbed
and they start to decompose.
 o To prevent deterioration, such consignments must be treated periodically.
o If they are too dry, sprinkling with a little brine is often sufficient.
o It is preferable, however, to take out the casings, check each bundle and soak
them for a brief period in strong brine, then hang to drain, re-salt and replace
in the barrel.

DEFECTS IN CASINGS

 Dull colour: (grayish or greenish instead of white or milky) due to defective cleaning .
 Nodules: due to oesophagostomum (a round worm) in the intestines of sheep, goat
and pigs
 Holes and lacerations: caused by negligence or rough handling of guts during
processing.
 Salt burns: due to long storage of guts in the salt or packed loosely leaving the air
inside. Such patches may also develop due to defective salt, which has calcium and
magnesium ions.
 Defective grading
 Cicatrices: caused by scars of healed up intestinal wounds
 Domestics: small grease spots in casings
 Kink: twisted loop in the casings
 Rust: black spot caused by putrefaction due to bacterial or fungal action

GRADING OF ANIMAL CASINGS

 According to the Bureau of Indian Standards IS: 1981-1962, adopted by

Agmark also, as Animal Casings Grading and Marking Rules. 1964, there are
three grades for sheep and goat casings while there are four grades for dried
cattle and buffalo casings.

Salted sheep and goat casings

 The calibration ranging from 12 to 26 mm in steps of 2mm e.g. 12 to 14 or 14

to 16 mm is indicated.

Dried cattle and buffalo casings (Runners and Middles)

 The calibrations in flat measurement ranging from 35 mm to 60 mm in steps

of 2 or 5 mm are indicated.

PRIME QUALITY (PQ)

Grade I

o The casings shall

 Be of natural colour throughout without any discoloration
 Be free from defects like holes, blisters, laceration, nodules and
cicatrices
 Be intact and not torn or lacerated
 Be free from salt burns, rust, domestics, black nodes, slime, mucous,
dung or mould infestations.
  Not burst when filled with air or water to its normal capacity and
slightly pressed.
 Be of uniform natural colour, lustrous throughout without any spot or
mark and be free of discoloration
 Be intact, free from any tear or laceration
 Be perfectly rolled.
 Be free from black nodes, lacerations or cicatrices.
o The rings or hanks shall have been cured properly with common salt.
o As per the Grade PQ except that a slight variation in colour and folds and a
few black nodes may be permitted.

Grade II

 As per the Grade PQ except that a slight deviation shall be allowed in respect of
colour and / or strength and wall. The material should be fit for use in the
preparation of sausages.

Grade III

 As per the Grade II, except that nodules will be permitted.

 (For exports only, an additional grade X exists under Agmark for agreed
requirements between the purchaser andexporter ).

FIBRIN AND ITS PRODUCTS

 Four classes of manufactured casing areavailable , namely:

o Cellulose
o Inedible collagen
o Edible collagens and
o Plastic.
 Artificial casings include:
o Plio form casings (synthetic rubber)
o Saran casings (synthetic resins)
o Hydrocellulose casings (regenerated cellulose derived from wood pulp).
o Collagen casings

CELLULOSE CASINGS

 Cellulose casings are usually classified into three types:

o Small cellulose,
o large cellulose and
o Fibrous (paper impregnated with cellulose).
 Cellulose casings are prepared from aspecial grade of cotton lintels, which are
solubilized, and regenerated into casings of any desired like.
 A clear cellulose casing is commonly used for sausage, which is not coloured or which
is to be coloured by adding dyes to the water in the cooker.
 Coloured cellulose casings, which impart the colour to the surface of the frankfurters,
are alsoavailable and used rather extensively where external colour is designed.
 Plain cellulose casings are available in a variety of sizes with stretch and shrink
characteristics (similar to those of natural casings) used for bologna and small
sausages.
 FIBROUS CASINGS

 Fibrous casings are those, which are re-inforced with cellulose fibres, which give
additional strength for stuffing out large sausages, low items and liver sausages.
 Fibrous casings are used to make either a round of a square product.
 All cellulose casings with the exception of those for frankfurters and their walled
casings used for pork sausage are soaked in water for 30 minutes or longer before
stuffing to provide proper stretch characteristics and for easy stuffing

NATURAL vs CELLULOSE CASINGS

 In comparing with the natural casings, cellulose casings are more uniform in size and
can be extended in any desired sizes.
 They are less subject to breakage and generally free of bacterial contamination than
are natural casings.
 Although cellulose casings must be placed before consumption of product the overall
cost of using this is less than that of natural casings.
 While being non-edible, cellulose casings can be manufactured into a variety of sizes
and shapes as well as being easy to handle, resistant to breakage and permeable to
smoke when moistened.

RECONSITUTED COLLAGEN CASINGS

 A recent development is the production of (edible and inedible) re-generated collagen

casings.
 This has some of the desirable features of the both natural and cellulose casings and
is quite often used for making dry sausage, where advantages are taken for their
permeability and shrink characteristics, which are similar to those of natural casings.
 They substitute natural casings because of the uniformity both in size and wall
thickness.
 Their primary shortcoming is fragility and poor abuse resistance.
 Another recent development is the edible synthetic casings (plastic tubes or bags),
which is widely used for pork sausages.
 It is produced from alginates.
 Product, which receives no smoke during processing, may be stuffed into an
impermeable film of casings known as “Saran”.

MEAT, OFFAL AND ORGANS

 Abattoir offal and organs can be utilized as stock feed simply by boiling, which
renders them safe to feed to livestock.
 This has to be done in the following way.
o All inedible offal, including the condemned parts, is put into a kettle or into
oil or petrol drums, which have been split along their longitudinal axis.
o If the intestinal tract is used, it must first be thoroughly cleaned and washed.
o Water, to one and a half time to the weight of the offal, is to be added.
o The contents are boiled for one hour.
o All the meats from the bones scraped.
o Bran, pollards or a similar product is added, equal in weight to the mass, and
rigorously stained in.
o The mixer after cooking for further half an hour should be of a thick porridge
consistency, and equivalent to 10% of meat meal.
 The disadvantages of processing of above method are:
 o The fat cannot be recovered and used separately.
o The foodstuff obtained has poor keeping quality and must be used on the day
of production or the following day.
 If a pressure cooker isavailable , it can be used to digest the offal.
 Bones present in the offal will yield up the gelatin but the bones must be removed
after treatment.
 The utilization of offal and/or condemned material is somewhat limited and
inefficient unless livestock are available at the site.
 So, a small abattoir might consider keeping pigs to utilize their processed offal.

SMALL - SCALE MEAT MEAL MANUFACTURE

 It is rarely possible to make immediate use of boiled offal or condemned

material.
 The direct conversion of raw, uncooked material into meat meal by sun drying
often attempted in very dry countries, is inadvisable because of the risk of
spreading disease.
 Such raw meat meal, is virtually impossible to mill since, the dried material
contains a substantial amount of fat, which will cause rancidity.
 Hence, the small, home production of meat meal may be, (it must) comply
with three general principles viz.
 Sterilizing and making the product safe for use as stock feed.
 Reducing the moisture to a minimum creates a condition unfavourable for
bacterial growth and therefore, prevents decomposition and economizing on
transport.
 Recovering the fat from the sterilized and dried meal, this would otherwise
cause rancidity.
 The above-mentioned requirements can be met by simple methods using
simple equipments.
 If carefully prepared, the final products should have a low fat and moisture
content a high protein percentage good keeping qualities and a pleasant
odour.
 The steps in production are
o Boiling
o Draining
o Pressing
o Drying and
o Milling

BOILING AND DRAINING

Boiling

 The purposes of boiling are

o Sterilization of the material, making it safe for use as stock feed.
o Partial removal of the moisture which is squeezed but during shrinkage and
o Separation of fat
 Fat is removed for two main reasons such as
o Economic
  Sold for industrial purposes (for soap-making or tannery use) and fat
realizes a higherprice than stock feed.
 As stock feed, sold on a protein basis,payment is made for proteins
only and not for fat or moisture (moisture should not exceed 5 to 6%).
o Keeping quality
 Fat causes rancidity thus rendering the product unpalatable, unsound
and therefore unsaleable.
 Boiling may be done in any kettle or oil or petrol drum on an open fire, as there is no
danger of burning.
 Before boiling starts, the meat is cut or mixed prior to rendering.
 Wherever possible, the meat should be minced or at least chopped.
 Bones should be boiled together with the meat to recover the fat and loose tendons,
cartilages or meat.
 First, water at the rate of twice the amount of material to be cooked is added and
brought to boil and then the offal are to be added.
 The meat is quickly removed from water leaving fat and water in the drum. The fat is
then drained off for refining.

Draining

 To remove further moisture, mass is drained the in a basket for 10 to 20 minutes.

PRESSING, DRYING AND MILLING

Pressing

 The drained meat is put into conical pockets made from ordinary jute or sisal bags.
 After the bags are filled, they are tied with string at the top and put on a sloping
wooden, stone or cement surface with the pointed end downward, covered with a
board and pressed down with a few heavy stones.
 After, about an hour, the water will have to be drained off and the mass can be
crumbled easily and laid out for drying.

Drying

 Natural drying (sun drying) on mats, concrete platform or boards, can be relied on
only if it can reduce the moisture before putrefaction, discoloration, rancidity or
contamination takes place.
 This is possible only under very dry and hot climatic conditions. So, artificial
methods of drying have to be devised.
 For this, trays made of galvanized iron sheets with reinforced by a few flat mild iron
strips are excellent.
 When sun is sufficiently strong the meat can be dried on these trays without fire.
 At other times, the tray is placed on 6” stones and fired from beneath.
 When fire is applied, it should be gently and gradually increased and the mass should
be turned continuously and broken upto achieve uniform drying.

Milling

 Although some manufacturers of stock feed willpurchase unmilled meat meal, a

better price and a standard product will be obtained by milling it.
o Any hammer mill grinder with a screen will do.
o Where large quantities of meal are produced, a grinding and sacking unit is
used.
 MEAT FATS

 Fat from animals has been used for many purposes - both edible and inedible.
 They may be obtained from all food animals and poultry.
 Greater quantities are obtained from beef and pork and lesser quantities from sheep,
goat and poultry.
 With the exception of hides and skins, fat is the mostimportant by-product of the
slaughterhouses.
 The term edible and inedible fat refers to human consumption.
o Inedible fats are widely used in the animal feeds.
o Edible fats from swine is called lard or rendered pork fat and from sheep and
cattle are known as Edible Tallow.

USES OF FAT

 Edible uses
o For household cooking, frying and soon and commercially for preparation of
pastry, cakes, breads and so on.
o In medicine, swine fats are used in Foot and mouth diseases along with
plantains.
 Inedible uses
o For manufacture of soap, lubricants, and animals feed and so on.
o Animal fats are cheaper as compared to other edible oils.
o They are generally used as adulterants for ghee.
o Bakeries also use animal fats for the preparation of cakes, pastry, biscuits, etc.
o But vanaspathi is gradually replacing them.
o Animal fat which are not used for human consumption are rendered and
utilized for industrial purposes such as soap, greases and candle making, for
stiffening leathers in the sports and in textile industries.
 Animal fats contains relatively simple mixture of component acids namely palmitic,
stearic and oleic acids with minor amounts of myristic and hexadecenoic acids and
traces of other acids.
 Fats differ in their properties and are mainly conditioned by relative amounts of oleic
and stearic acids present.
 Fats like carbohydrates contain the three elements, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen,
which are mainly utilized in the production of body energy or heat, but do not
contribute directly to the building up to tissues.
 Although to some extent, they are deposited in various parts of the body tissues as a
reservoir.
 Because of the larger proportion of carbon and hydrogen fats liberate more heat than
carbohydrates, when digested furnishing approximately 2.25 times as much heat or
energy on oxidation as do the carbohydrates.
 As regards the relative rapidity of assimilation and breakdown with release of heat
energy, unsaturated fats are more easily disposed of than saturated compounds.
 Fats also supply fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, which are essential for health and
vigour.

SOME LOCATION OF FATS

 Fats are obtained from the following localities

o Beef fats are obtained from the intestine and other internal organs.
o In pig carcasses fats are obtained from many regions, the best quality is
obtained from peritoneal lining (leaf fat).
o The next best fats are obtained from the back fat, mesentery and omentum.
 o A pig of 200 lbs. of live weight will yield about 14 lbs. of lard.

RENDERING OF FAT

 Animal fat occurs initially mixed with tissues or cellular structure making the raw fat,
a sort of fatty membrane.
o Rendering refers to the extraction of fat from animal tissues by the action of
heat, which causes the cells to burst and the melted fat run.
o Raw fat should be removed as quickly as possible after slaughter, as delayed
cause resolution of fat into the fatty acids and glycerol (rancidity) in the
presence of moisture and lipase especially with the aid of high temperature.
o In case, the fat is to be kept for a period extending a day, it may be chilled and
preserved at a low temperature under dry conditions.
o Normally, fat should not contain more than 1% of free fatty acids.
o Its higher content of free fatty acids indicates that there has been some delay
in rendering the raw fat after the slaughter of animals.

Procedure

 The raw fat is cut into small pieces topromote rapid and uniform rendering.
 The cut raw fat is spread on to the floor for about 2 to 3 hours or for a day to remove
the moisture.
 Edible ox fats are rendered down to yield premier jus, which is separated into oleo oil
and oleo stearin, but in wartime all edible ox fat isconverted into dripping.
 Fat which is unfit for use is suet, dripping or premier jus goes chiefly for soap
manufacturing, though some of the very low grades are used for the dressing of
leather.
 Rendering is carried out in steam-jacketed containers (double jacketed vats).
 The tissues begin to burst as the temperature of raises and the fat contained in the
tissues starts to melt.
 The whole mash has a milky appearance in the beginning but latter when about all
the moisture has evaporated fat becomes clear.
 The tissues become brown in colour and settle down.
 At this stage, the heating is stopped and allowed to cool for sometimes.
 It is then sieved through to an iron sieve or strained through muslin cloth to separate
the fat from the tissues and other impurities.
 The residual meat fibres left behind after all the fats have been extracted is
called Cracklings or Greaves, which is used in poultry feeds.
 The tissues, which are removed after straining, are pressed in a machine to extract
the lard or fat.
 During the entire period of heating, the fat is stained to prevent charring of the
tissues.
 Heating on an open fire reduces the value of the products due to over heating and
discoloration.
 After processing, the liquid fat is rapidly cooled to get a product, which is smooth,
white and uniform in appearance.
 Pig fat and mutton fat also can be rendered in the same manner, but generally raw
mutton fat is sold along with meat and only rarely rendered. If it is rendered it could
also rendered along with beef and pork fat.
 Fat occurs in many regions of the pig carcass, the best quality fat being obtained from
the peritoneal lining (leaf fat), the next best from the back fat, mesentery and
omentum.
 The surplus fat of pigs is worked up into various qualities of lard.
 A pig of 90 kg live weight yields about 6.3 kg of lard.
  Sheep fat is rendered in the same way as beef fat or lard and, though it is not conve
rted into oleo oil or oleo stearin on account of its strong flavour, it may be used as
dripping when blended with other fats.
 Mutton fat is firmer and contains more stearin than ox or pig fat, and is used as
preservative layer on the top ofglass jars of meat paste.
 Subsequent processing of these fats produces commercial glycerine, a valuable
commodity used in many commercial processes, including medicinal preparations,
nitroglycerine, gunpowder, cordite and dynamite.
 Fat is also obtained from bones.
o Fresh bones are processed under a steam pressure of 1.75 kg/sq. cm (25 lbs.
per square inch) for one hour is sufficient to render the fat which is allow to
trickle off.
o Fat extraction is done earlier to the gelatin extraction.

MODULE-11: ABATTOIR BY-PRODUCTS - HORNS AND

GLANDS

Learning objectives

This moduledeals with,

 horns,
 hoofs and
 glands.

HORNS AND HOOFS

 Horns vary in size, shape colour and curvature according to the breed, age, sex, etc.
 The term horn in everyday language is commonly applied to both the horn pith, the
inner part and the horn proper and these are used for different purposes.
 Horn pith is also called horn core and similar to bone.
o It contains more ossein.
o As a result it is a very valuable raw material for gelatin production.
o Alternatively may be used for the production of bone meal.
o The Horn, on the other hand, has as its main component keratin.
o It is unpalatable and indigestible as stock feed; horns should not be used in
the production of bone meal.
 After the animal is slaughtered, the horns are cut off with a saw or a cleaver at their
base.
 The horn pith can be removed by steaming for a few moments or by immersing the
horn in hot water at approximately 65.6°C (150°F).
 After this, a blow from a hammer will separate the pith from the horn.
o The horns are used for the manufacture of articles like buttons, knife handles,
combs, snuffboxes, toys and fancy articles.
 The most valuable part is the pith (its tip) and therefore any horn showing the
slightest damage to this part should be discarded.
 Hence, it is worthwhile, separating the good horns suitable for manufacture from
those, which are only good for grinding into meal.
o Hoofs (shine bones) are used for similar purposes to horns and are removed
from the feet in the same way that is by steaming and immersing in warm
water.
 The hoofs must be dried carefully without direct heat or sun.
Horn and hoof meal

o The horn and hoofs of cattle are steamed digested crushed and disintegrated
for preparation of horn and hoof meal.
o This contains from 16 to 17% nitrogen and isspecially used as manure in tea
gardens, coffee plantations.
o The horn and hoof meal should not be mixed with cattle feed bone meal
because it is partially indigestible to livestock and unpalatable but may be
mixed with bone meal, which is used as a fertilizer.
 Horns and hoofs of sheep and goats and hoofs from pigs are usually allowed to go
waste.
 It can also be profitably processed wherever facilities for the production of bone meal
exist, that is, either wet-or dry-rendering machinery.
o Horns and hoofs from cattle, sheep, goats and pigs are digested in the
renderer for 8 hours, dried and milled to a fine powder.
o This meal is not used as livestock feed supplement due to its unpalatablity and
very poor digestibility.
o However, horn and hoof meal enriches the fertility of the soil because of its
high nitrogen content.
o This fertilizer commands aprice approximately 50 percent higher than bone
meal.

GLANDS

Glands are utilized for human consumption and for medical purposes

 Human consumption
o Most of the glands are eaten along with the meat. In the case of cattle and
buffaloes ovaries and testes are thrown away and other glands are consumed.
o In the case of small animals all the glands are consumed except the ovaries,
which are thrown away.
o Liver is largely used for human consumption as it is highly nutritive and is
beneficial to those who suffer from anemia and poor vision which being rich
in vitamin „A‟ and „D‟.
 Medicinal uses
o Glands produce active principles of hormones, which are beneficial in the
treatment of anemia, diabetes and other ailments.
o They are also responsible for the development of male and female secondary
sexual characters.
o Glandular extracts are very useful for the health of people as they make up the
deficiency of hormones in the body.
o The utilization of animal glands for the manufacture of valuable
pharmaceutical products is one of the most notable triumphs of modern
scientific research.
o Considerable attention has been paid in Western Countries to the question of
proper collection and utilization of glands as they form a good source of
revenue to the slaughterhouses and meat packing industries.

SCOPE FOR UTILISATION OF GLANDS IN INDIA

In India proper collection and utilization of animal glands is neglected which is deplorable.

 The establishment of such a highly beneficial industry in this country should receive
nationalimportance .
 Considerable quantities of glandular products worth several lakhs of rupees are
imported annually into India from the United States of America, the United Kingdom
and other foreign countries.
 Unprocessed glands were alsoimported from abroad for the preparation of
glandular products in India, as the requisite facilities do not exist in the abattoirs for
collection and storage of glands.
 Utilization of glands is economically possible only in large cities such as Mumbai,
Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Baroda, etc., where large numbers of animals
are slaughtered.
 The economical used of glands such as pituitary and pancreas could be possible only
if they become available in much larger quantities than at present.
 The throughput is enough to warrant collection, whether there is a market for glands
at a price, which allows for a reasonable margin of profit then adequate equipment
could be installed.
 It is believed that, income from the sale of glands will offset the cost of building costly
installation in the abattoir or permit the employment of extra slaughterer and staff
perhaps, this was true at the beginning of the “gland era” but today many active
principles of the glands are produced synthetically.

COLLECTION OF GLANDS

 Glands should be collected from healthy animals.

 While removing the glands it is necessary to see that, the protective (serous)
membrane is not cut since otherwise some of the active principle will leak out and
will be lost.
 Cutting the membrane also opens the way for the entrance of bacteria always present
in the surroundings causing damage.
 The glands have to be removed within half -an–hour after slaughter, particularly in
the case of smaller glands such as suprarenal, parathyroid, pituitary.
 If they are not removed immediately, the hormones will deteriorate rapidly.
 Butchers, generally, do not remove the glands immediately but allow them to remain
in the carcass for an hour or so till flaying and other operations are over with the
result that almost all active principles of the glands are destroyed by autolysis.
 Glands after removal should not be washed but may be rinsed quickly with cold water
if absolutely necessary to remove blood and visceral contents.
 After removal, the gland should be frozen without any delay.
 Conditions under which animals are slaughtered and flayed in India render the
proper collection of glands difficult.
 Mainly abattoirs do not have facilities to freeze glands. It is therefore, suggested that,
in order to enable industry to undertake manufacture of glandular products, abattoirs
should be modernized so that, valuable glands could be extracted and prepared under
proper conditionsfor sale to pharmaceutical firms.
 The pharmaceutical companies should be situated near the abattoir to reduce the
fright.
 The conditions prevailing and the low number of animals slaughtered in municipal
and rural abattoirs in India makes it impossible for collection of glands.

PRESERVATION OF GLANDS

 The first method of preservation applicable to all glands is freezing and the
production of glands should therefore only be attempted when it is possible to freeze
them within an hour of collection and deliver them in a frozen condition to the
pharmaceutical producers.
  Some glands like pancreas, pituitary, thyroid, adrenal, etc., may be preserved
by chemical means as for instance by immersing one lbs of gland in 1 lb. of acetone.
 After 24 hours the glands must be removed and placed in fresh acetone.
 The used acetone is then purified and used again.
 In this process, the enzymes are inactivated and thus shelf-life is increased.
 Fatty material, which generally interferes with the extraction of most proteins, is also
eliminated.
 The desired protein from the acetone can be directly extracted with usual solvents.
The requirement of solvent is also minimized.
 Chemical methods of conserving glands should only be used after previous
consultation with the manufacturers who will indicate how to undertake the
preservations.
 Percent phenol or percent formalin is sometimes used.

IMPORTANT GLANDS

 Pancreas
o Insulin (Pharmaceutical) and other enzymes, which are used by tanneries
(industry), are obtained from pancreas.
o It is a mixed type of gland.
o It remains attached to liver and embedded in fat.
o Insulin is the main hormone, an antidiabetic, which is extracted from the b-
cells of this gland with the help of acidified methanol.
 One kg of fresh bovine or pig pancreas yields about 150 mg of crystalline insulin with
an activity of 254 IU/mg of insulin.
 Other biochemicals extracted from pancreas are:
o Pancreatin – (Extract of pancreas)
o Trypsin
o Chymotrypsin
o Amylase
o Glucagon (a-cells)
 Pancreas also contains several enzymes, which are used in the tannery or cleaner
industries.
 For this purpose, glands can be preserved for a week or so with some application of
salt. These are packed in drums with a cover of salt.

SUPRA RENAL, THYROID AND PITUITORY GLANDS

Supra renal or adrenal

 This gland is of two parts – outer cortex and inner medulla.

 Cortex of adrenal gland yields corticosteroids, which are used in the treatment of
Edison‟s disease, to overcome shock in surgery and as a non-specific treatment.
 Medulla of adrenal glands yields adrenaline (epinephrine) nor-
adrenaline hormones.
 Yield of adrenaline is 0.2% on fresh weight basis and 1% on dry weight basis. It is
extracted in water or alcohol.

Thyroid gland

 These are two maroon coloured bodies situated on either side of trachea.
 Acetone dried powder of this gland is used to extract thyroxin hormone with the help
of Barium hydroxide.
 Yield of the hormone is 0.08%.
Parathyroid gland

 These are located near thyroid gland.

 Parathromone is extracted from them.
 It is used in the prevention of tetany and increase to the rate of calcium excretion.

Pituitory gland

o It is a very small gland and has to be carefully collected.

o From the anterior lobe the following hormones can be prepared
o Growth hormone, FSH, LH, ACTH and MSH
o From the posterior lobe the following hormones can be extracted
o Oxytocin:
 This can be extracted in 2 % acetic acid.
 It initiates the uterine contraction and also milk-ejecting
factor.
o Vasopressin

Anterior lobe and Posterior lobe

 Posterior lobe is animportant vasoconstrictor and also an antidiuretic hormone.

OVARIES,TESTES, STOMACH GLANDS AND GALL BLADDER

Ovaries

 These are collected only from mature animals i.e. those having corpus lutea.
 Ovaries are irregular, lobulated in appearance with large follicles projecting like small
grapes.
 All ovaries with cysts are discarded.
 Sex hormones – estrogen and progesterone are extracted from ovaries.

Testes

 These are also collected from mature animals that have been passed in antemortem
examination and postmortem inspection.
 Testosterone a sex hormone is extracted from testes.
 Hyaluronidase enzyme is made from bull or rams testes.
 It is a very good spreading factor and used in several drugs to intensify their effect.

Stomach glands

 Rennin or rennet:
o This is an enzyme obtained from the lining of fourth stomach (abomasum) of
milkfed and unweaned buffalo or cow calf.
o The abomasum is cut out, packed and frozen without any washing.
 Pepsin:
o This is an enzyme obtained from the mucosal lining of the hog stomach.
o Pink-red colour wrinkles and folds distinguish this part of hog stomach.
o The glands are situated between the folds.
o The hog stomach is cut and the glandular linings are pulled away from the
stomach wall and frozen as quickly as possible.
 o These can be preserved in 1% H2SO4 or the acetone-dried powder of the
glands can bestored at room temperature but very low temperature is
required during its preparation.
o Peptone can be prepared from the remainder part of the hog stomach.

Gall bladder

 It is attached to liver and contains bile, a dark golden-greenish viscous fluid of bitter
taste.
 Bile is slightly alkaline (pH 7.15) and has a specific gravity of 1.025.
 It can be used as detergent in slaughter in slaughterhouses by dissolving in warm
water (1:5 v/v).
 Dried bile has medicinal use as a substitute in secretion deficiencies.
 One kg of bile can be obtained from the gall bladder of 6 buffaloes or 55
sheep/goats,stored frozen.

BILE PRODUCTION

 Bile is treated as follows for further use

INSULIN PRODUCTION FROM PANCREAS

HEPARIN PREPARATION
PREPARATION OF LIVER EXTRACT
 SOME EXTRACT FROM GLANDS

 Corpus luteum extract

 Liver extract
 Mammary gland extracts – source of substance, which stimulate the flow of milk and
helps to control menstrual disorders.
 Brain extract
 Pancreatic extract
 Whole pituitary extract
 Anterior pituitary extract and posterior pituitary extract
 Testicular extract
 Thyroid extract
 Insulin
 Heparin (from lungs and liver of ox)

FUTURE SCOPE

 Increased modernization of slaughterhouse is improving the scope of utilization of

glandular byproducts.
 Although many synthetic preparations have been evolved, products from natural
resources are still cheaper.
 Efforts are being made to create adequate facilities for the timely collection,
immediate freezing and create trained manpower for preliminary processing of these
glands in our country.
 Various research laboratories are equipping themselves to develop new processes and
improve the existing technologies.

NEATS FOOT OIL

  This is pale, golden yellow oil prepared from cattle feet.
 This oil does not solidify or gets dry even at freezing temperatures.
 The average yield is approximately 0.75 to 1 pint of oil from one animal.
 The oil is used fordressing leather, lubricant for delicate machineries in textile
industry and in aeroplane machinery, ships, costly watches, etc.
 The oil is also used widely in the preparation of ointments in pharmaceutical
laboratories and fetches higherprice .
 It fetches a very high price but yield per animal is only a few millimeters.
 The production of neats foot oil is economic only in places, which are adjacent to the
large abattoirs.
 The preparation of neats foot oil involves the following procedure.
 Collection and cleaning of the hoofs:
o The hoofs are cut off from the feet, fresh from the killing floor and washed to
free from blood, dirt, etc.
 Scalding:
o The hoofs are immersed in boiling water for sometime and shell is removed
with the help of a hammer.
o Thus, shin bones are fully exposed.
 Cooking or extraction:
o Shinbones are cooked in water at 85oC for about 8 hours in open tank or large
kettle.
o The oil will come floating on the top.
 Purification:
o Floating neats foot oil is taken in another kettle and again heated at 85oC for
8 hours.
o The impurities are allowed to settle for 2 hours and the oil is filtered out.
 Dehydration:
o The moisture is removed from neats foot oil by heating at 100oC for nearly 2
hours.
 Packaging:
o It is done in suitable containers.

RUMINAL CONTENT

 The undigested food material found in the rumen is wet, bulky and fibrous and so
present considerable problem in their disposal.
 Because of its rich content of crude protein, carbohydrates and vitamins, it can be
profitability used in poultry feeds.
 The Ruminal contents are composed and areconverted into valuable manure.

METHANE GAS, CATTLE LICK AND BONE ASH

Methane gas

 The slaughter waste, the ruminal contents, bedding used in the lairage, the dung and
other material could be used to produce methane gas in bio gas plants.
 The gas is used for production of heat and light and fetches moreprices .

Cattle lick

 Cattle lick is generally prepared from bone meal consisting of:

o Bone meal : 66 parts
o Red oxide salt : 33 parts
o Copper sulphate, Potassium or sodium iodide,
 o Cobalt nitrite, sulphate or chloride or other trace elements : 1 part

Bone ash or calcide bone

 In places where no other option isavailable , collected bones can be burnt on grills or
by trench firing to yield spongy and brittle bones and pieces, which can be ground to
ash.
 Being a good source of phosphorus, it serves as a fertilizer.
 In areas where soil is deficient in phosphorus, it enriches the soil resulting in better
crop production.

GLUE STOCK

 Both glue and gelatine are made from the same material, as there is no basic
difference between them, Gelatine is the term used for the highest quality glue.
 Gelatine is further divided into two classes namely edible and technical.
 The edible one being manufactured under sanitary conditions from fresh materials
derived from the slaughtered inspected and passed animals.
 Bones and horns, which contain a gelatine or glue yielding material called ossein
(bone collagen), a part from bones, some soft parts of animal‟s offal are also rich in
collagen.
 This is a protein, which is insoluble in cold water. In prolonged contact with warm
water collagen changes into gelatine or glue, which is soluble in water.

PREPARATION OF ACETONE DRIED POWDER OF GLAND

o The gland is collected within 15-20 minutes of slaughter

o The connective tissues, blood vessels, adhering fat, etc., should be removed
and immersed in 4 volumes of chilled acetone for 3 hours.
o The glands are cut into small pieces, immersed in 3 volumes of chilled acetone
for another 2-3 hours.
o The tissue is minced in a mincer and treated with 3 volumes of chilled
acetone.
o The minced tissues are dried and ground into a fine powder.
 The third method of preservation is by vacuum drying.
 Even glands, which have been dried under vacuum, must reach the manufacturer
quickly to avoid the fat becoming rancid which reduces the potency of the active
principles.
 Generally speaking the collection of glands is troublesome and requires skill, the
preservations are difficult and the income is often low.
 But, considering the health of the population on one hand and the need toimport
these principles at the cost of enormous foreign exchange, there is reason to bestow
more attention on the necessity to save as much glands as possible.

GENERAL INFORMATION

 Animal farm residues such as dung, droppings, urine, etc., have to be gainfully
utilized.
 It is required to also use slaughterhouse waste such as ruminal contents, blood, urine,
meat and fat trimmings to derive maximum advantage.
 It is necessary to devise ways and means for thorough and innovative utilization of all
the inedible parts of the animal.
  By utilizing the slaughterhouse waste the pollution problems and the light and
heating source to the slaughterhouse itself can be alleviated.
 Buffalo and cattle dung isconverted into dried cakes and used as a cooking fuel in
almost all the Indian villages and sub urban areas.
 The dung compost, when applied to soil, retains its humus content and maintains its
fertility.
 Of the total quantity of dung produced from buffaloes and cattle, almost 2/3 is used
as fuel and 1/3 as manure.
 Dung and urine are rich source of organic matter and nitrogen. Cattle dung is also
used to give a thin covering to the floor of the huts for ages.
 This cover serves as a temporary plaster and is repeatedly applied after a week or so.
 It is a practice in many parts of India that the sheep flock owners are paid for grazing
their stock on the fields after harvest for the value of manure.
 By grazing sheep faeces and urine deposited on the land will contribute to the soil
fertility and crop yield.
 The organic waste available through animal industry can be utilised in several
different ways.

Production of biogas for light and heat

 It involves the anaerobic fermentation of faeces, urine and slaughterhouse waste to

produce biogas (largely methane).
 This process also yields high quality manure as a byproduct.

A biogas producing plant comprises of three components

 Digester:
o It is a tank wherein fermentation causes production of gas.
 Gasometer:
o This is a gas storage tank
 Pipes:
o These are used for gas distribution at desired points.
 A digester is made up of bricks as a circular cylinder.
 In small plants, gasometer is an inverted iron movable cover of digester itself, which
rises or descends according to the gas it contains.
 The entire assembly has to be water and gas proof.
 The receptacle or inlet feeds the digester with animal blood, urine, dung, ruminal
contents, effluents, etc., at regular intervals.
 These organic and nitrogenous animal wastes undergo anaerobic fermentation.
 As a result, biogas consisting of nearly 60% methane, 30% carbon dioxide and traces
of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, etc., are produced.
 Methane burns with a blue alongwith traces of orange flame and does not form any
smoke.
 Impure methane as produced in this plant burns in a mixture of 93% air and 7% gas.
 During filling of digester with waste material, water is so added that it remains
almost 0.5 m above the waste.
 Some old sludge is also added for rapid fermentation.
 Gas production will start after a week.
 A discharge hole is provided near the bottom of the digester for periodic removal of
the digested or spent slurry, which is an excellent compost fertilizer.
 Biogas plants have a great potential in augmenting the development of rural
industries.

Production of compost manure

  In places where no better utilization of organic matter of animal origin is feasible, it
can be composted to yield manure of reasonably good quality.
 This manure contains nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and trace minerals essential
for plant growth and improved soil structure.
 Compost making units at some distance from the slaughterhouses will utilize the
blood, ruminal and intestinal contents, bedding waste from lairages, meat and fat
trimmings, floor washings, hair, feather, etc.
 Even condemned meat and offal, if reduced to chunks and spread out in the middle of
the heap, can be used in compost making.
 Compost pit or bunkers can be made up of bricks leaving enough open spaces in the
walls.
 Coarse materials such as maize or millet stalks or small twigs are laid at the bottom
for proper ventilation.
 Then alternate layers of ruminal and intestinal contents or vegetable matter and
slaughterhouse waste are laid upto 2 metres.
 The outer side and top of the heap is protected clean soil or grass.
 In tropical climate, the temperature inside the heap will go up to 75oC killing the
larvae and checking the entry of undesirable pests.
 In dry weather, it has to be wet periodically to allow aerobic bacterial decomposition.
 That is why proper ventilation of the heap is also essential.
 Some people use rejected pieces of corrugated sheets to ensure it.
 To achieve uniform decomposition, the material has to be turned atleast three times
after 20, 40 and 60 days.
 In about 90 days, the material is fully decomposed into compost manure.

Production of animal glue

 Hide trimmings and fleshing, pig skin, sinews, tendons scattered and weathered
bones and their pieces can be used for the production of glue.
 Horns and hoofs, ears, lips, snouts, tails, etc., can also be utilized for the same
purpose.
 It requires simple equipment and people with very little education can be trained to
produce this good value material.
 Glue is extensively used in match, paper and rug industries, plywood making, carpet
sizing and production of imitation leather.

Production of pig feed from paunch and intestinal contents

 The average weight of the paunch contents of cattle, sheep and lambs are 27, 2.7 and
1.7 kg, respectively.
 The liquid fraction of the material can be separated from the fibrous residue by using
a press.
 The fibrous fraction can be used as a fuel whereas the protein in the paunch contents
can be concentrated for utilization as pig feed.
 It has been suggested that this use will reduce the cost of disposal of paunch contents
by about 50%.
 Slaughterhouse waste posed a big disposal problem for a long time but it has now
been realized that with the advancement of technology, this waste can be recycled to
several different uses to derive financial and sanitary benefits.
 In this context, simple equipment should be designed andavailable manpower
within the country should be engaged.
 It will create new employment an dskill as well.

MODULE-12: SKIN AND HIDES

Learning objectives

This moduledeals with,

 classification and grading of hides and skins,

 structure, properties and utilities of hides and skins,
 flaying,
 defects of hides and skins and
 preservation of skins.

TERMINOLOGIES

 The skin from a fully–grown large animal is called as hide

 Those from small stock (i.e., sheep, goats and pigs) is called a skin.
 The terms skin is also applied to calves.
 The slunk is the term applied to the skin of an unborn calf, which is often used for
parchment, light suede or drumbeats.
 The skin from the older calf, which has not yet reached maturity, is called a kip.
 There are a number of terms in each country, which varies with terms of the
countries.
 The nomenclature of hides and skins expressed in green weight is as follows:

Calf skins 15 lb.

Overweight kip/heifer skin (heifer) 25 to 30 lbs.
Hides (cow) Over 30 lbs
Extremely light steers (steer) 30 to 48 lbs.
Light steers 48 to 58 lbs.
Light cow hide Less than 53 lbs.
Heavy cow hide Over 53 lbs
Heavy steers Over 58 lbs.
Bull hide (bull) 60 - 100 lbs.

 The United States has its own terminology.

 The term native is used to denote hides, which have not been branded.
 Colorado is one, which has one or several brands.
 Texas is referred to the compact, narrow and plump steer hide.
 Packer hide is a term reserved for hides originating in large meatpacking plants.
o These are usually of the finest quality because of the excellent conditions
under which they are flayed and preserved and also because of the high skill
of the operators.
 Frigorifico is the term used for the ones originated in South American meatpacking
plants, which are of even better material.
o These are prepared by a good method of brining prior to salting and hence
have an improved quality.
 Freezer is the term applied to goods produced by a meat-freezing establishment,
particularly in Australia or New Zealand.
 o They are of uniform high quality because; they are prepared from centralized
slaughter and supervision.
 Big packer hides – Hides obtained from highly skilled flayers.
 Small packer hides – Hides obtained from less skilled flayers.
 Big packer hides - Flayed by highly skilled workers.
 Small packer hides - Flayed by less skilled workers.

CLASSIFICATION AND GRADING OF HIDES AND SKINS

Classification of buffalo hides

 In India, buffalo hides are generally classified as

o Buffalo (buff) calf skin
o Buff heifer hide
o Buff hide
o Buff bull hide

Classification of goat and sheep skin

 In India, this is done on the basis of weight and length (Baba and Bhote, 1966)

Class Weight Length Region

(kg) (cm)
Big goat 1.3 96.5 and Punjab, Kashmir-Punjab border,
skin above Orissa, Uttar Pradesh
Medium 0.91 96.4 Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra
goat skin Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka
Small goat 0.86 76.2 Eastern part of India
skin

 It may be noted that sheepskins are mostly of medium size without much regional
variation.

Grading of hides and skins

 FAO Expert, Aten (1995) suggested a useful system of grading hides based on the
degree of faults

S. Grades Properties
No
1. First  Shape or pattern regular and symmetrical, Minor scores
grade and gouges may be over looked

2. Second  Good shape or pattern

grade  Reasonably free from knife damage i.e. upto 1/16th of area
may show concentrated scores or gouges or 1/8th of area
may show dispersed scores or gouges.
  One or two cuts may be allowed on the edges of belly

3. Third  Irregular shape or pattern

grade  Upto 1/2 of the area damaged by knife showing cuts, scores
or gouges.

4. Reject  Irregular shape or pattern

grade  Extensive damage of the back or butt.

LEATHER INDUSTRY IN INDIA

 In the past, India had been one of the largestexporters of hides and skins.
 However, a few decades back, the policy of exporting only value added material was
adopted and presently finished leather isexported to many countries.
 Interestingly, there is a marked difference in sources of hides and skins in our
country.

Source of hides

 20-25% of hides are obtained from slaughtered animals.

 75-80% of hides are obtained from fallen animals.

Source of skins

 80% of skins are obtained from slaughtered animals.

 75-80% of skins are obtained from fallen animals.
 Skin and hides are sold for use as raw material for leather making.
 The tannery is the ultimate destination.
 Skins from healthy animals without the slightest blemish properly removed,
preserved and delivered to the tannery without damage in transit is in great demand
and fetches moremoney .
 Tanning is the conversion of hide or skin in to a rot– and insect–resistant material,
leather.
 Leather must be durable, flexible and elastic.
 The tanning process is a combination of mechanical and chemical actions.
 The yield of hides and skins varies between species.
 In cattle, the average yield of hide is 7 percent of the live weight, whereas in sheep
and goat the average yield of skin is 11 percent of live weight.
 As per FAO estimates (2001), India produced the following quantities of fresh hides
and skins.

Hides and Skins Weight (MT)

Cattle hides 4,66,000.00
Buffalo hides 5,10,000.00
Goat skins 1,28,880.00
Sheep skins 52,380.00
Sheep skin with wool 524.00
 STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES

Structure of hide

 Epidermis
o This is the outer layer of the hide, consisting of an outer-pigmented surface
and tubular invaginations of hair follicles.
 Corium or dermis
o This layer has Elastin, reticulum and collagenous fibres.
o The inner portion of corium is interwoven with bundles of collagen. It is this
part, which makes up the leather.
 Subcutis
o This is a loose membrane network and contains fatty deposits.

Properties and utilities of leather

 It has an excellent flexibility due to high tensile strength over a wide range of
temperature and moisture.
 It has high tear and is puncture resistance due to in-built fibrous network.
 It has the ability to breath, which provides coolness in hot weather and insulation in
cold weather.
 It has the moulding ability.

FLAYING

 Flaying refers to the skinning operation performed by skilled workers following a

uniform pattern.
 Being a valuable byproduct, improper flaying will lower its value.
 In modern large animal abattoirs, skinning of buffalo and cattle is done on pritch
plates.
 These are steel plates of 20 cm diameter about 120 cm long and 60 cm wide,
anchored to the floor with bolts.
 The animal is lowered onto this plate for skinning and is held in position by a pritch
bar - a metal rod.
 On a smooth floor, skilled workers can very well accomplish this task.
 If this facility is notavailable , it can be efficiently done on a skinning cradle made up
of steel tubings or smooth round timber rods.

FLAYING OF BUFFALOES AND CATTLE

 The hide is first opened from the neck or slaughter incision with the help of a flaying
knife and continued straight along with the middle of dewlap and belly to the middle
of the tail.
 By making an encircling cut between knee and hot joint each leg is opened. The cut
on the foreleg is continued to the breastbone and that of the hind leg upto scrotum or
udder to meet the longitudinal cut as mentioned in the above step.
 The hide is then separated from the carcass by cutting from the lower part of the
breast towards the neck on one side and towards the navel on the other side. This is
done by careful use of the knife.
 Now with the help of tail grip and gambrel, which are connected to the hook of the
hoisting gear, the hind legs are hung and hide is removed from the tail.
 Carcass is further raised and hide is pulled off the back to the hump and then to the
shoulder and neck separating the thick subcutaneous tissue with the help of a knife.
  The hide is severed from the carcass by giving a cut behind the horns.
 A properly flayed hide has
o rounded rumps
o equal width from centre line of the back to the belly edge on each side
o Medium length in the shanks
o regular dewlap and
o square outline

CASE-ON FLAYING OF SHEEP AND GOAT SKINS

 This technique is quite popular in tropical and subtropical countries.

 It has the advantage of giving skins with minimum cuts and excellent keeping quality.

Procedure

 After bleeding the carcass, a small incision is made on the inner side of the hind leg
above the hock joint.
 A narrow steel rod or a smooth wooden rod is now inserted in this incision and
pushed under the skin towards the grain for about 45 cm. (This rod tears or loosens
some of the connective tissue between the skin and body, thus minimizing the use of
knife which could cause cuts, scores or gouge marks).
 After removing the rod, a hand cut is made around the incision hole and air is blown
inside with the help of bicycle pump orcar foot pump.
 Due to inflow of air, carcass is uniformly inflated like a balloon.
 Now, the carcass is lifted from the ground and hung up by the hind leg on the hook or
tripod.
 The skin is then removed from the carcass in a case form.

The following cuts are made in this technique:

 Circular cuts around the knee and hock joint.

 Cuts on the scrotum, udder, etc.
 A circular cut on the neck to severe the head skin.
 Now the fingers followed by fist are inserted into the incisions on the hind legs.
 The skin is pulled downward and the knife is used only when it is absolutely
necessary.
 When it reaches the chest, the skilled worker holds the skin with the both the hands
and rigorously pushes with his foot to remove it from the carcass.
 The only disadvantage in this method is that asymmetrical skins are obtained many a
time.
 Careful flaying a small part of the belly by knife can prevent this defect.

DEFECTS OF HIDES AND SKINS

Defects due to disease and insects

 The animals in tropics fall a prey to a number of parasitic, bacterial and viral
conditions affecting the hide and skin.
 The damage that results depends on the duration of the infection and its severity, and
may range from slight marring of the grain to destruction of the corium itself.
 Such damage is often attributable not so much to the disease itself, as to secondary
infection, rubbing and scratching because most skin diseases are accompanied by
severe itching.
 Starvation during excessive drought and lack of green fodder, combined with heavy
internal parasitic infestation, aggravate skin diseases.
 Tick damage and damage due to strong concentration of tick killing drugs are some of
the causes of defects of hides and skins due to disease and insects.
 Follicular or demodectic mange
o One of the most commonly seen disease defects is made by a mite
called Demodex folliculorum, a parasite burrowing deep into the hair follicle,
where it establishes its nest; this disease is called follicular or demodectic
mange.
o The damage is clearly visible on the flesh side of the hide or skin, in the form
of raised whitish spots.
o These lesions are erroneously called pox marks by the trade.
o True pox is caused by a virus and leaves very slight marks only, located mostly
on the udder and on the inner surface of the thighs.
o When a vesicle bursts, the lesion may occasionally become infected, because
of the severe irritation and the subsequent scratching by the animal.
 Sarcoptic and soroptic mange
o Sarcoptic and soroptic mange (commonly called scab) are widespread
because of the warm climate and primitive management.
o As these parasites tunnel between the fibres of the corium of the skin, the
result is rough pitted leather with damaged grain.
 Streptothricosis
o Streptothricosis is another widespread disease caused by a microorganism of
the genus Actinomyces.
o It is known in tropical countries by various local names such as Krichi in
Nigeria, Senkobo in Northern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and Uasin Gishu in
Kenya.
o The lesions made by this disease vary from slight inflammation of the skin,
resulting in leather damage on the grain side only, to large areas deeply
affected; in severely damaged areas, scar tissue is formed and there may be
general thickening of the hide, giving it the appearance of elephant or rhino
hide and making it quite unsuitable for leather.
 Nodular dermatitis
o Nodular dermatitis is a disease most probably caused by a virus and
principally affects goats.
o It causes lesions similar to those made by Demodex.
o Other minor skin lesions may be caused by a fungal infection of ringworm of
the Tricophyton genus.
o Ringworm itself does not produce heavy damage to the skin, as the
pathological changes are restricted to round, bald patches.
o However, due to rubbing and secondary infections, deeper lesions may
appear, affecting the resulting leather.
 Lumpy skin disease
o Lumpy skin disease, which occurs widely in the continent of Africa south of
Sahara, also contributes to damage on cattle hides.
o This appears in the form of lumps and nodules or round patches, deprived of
grain, or as button-like defects reaching deep into the corium.
 Photosensitization
o The ingestion of certain plants or drugs may sensitize the skin to sunlight; this
is known as photosensitization.
o The areas usually affected are those where the actual skin is unpigmented;
these are generally covered by white hair, and therefore known as white-
 haired animals.
o Particular breeds such as Ayrshire and Friesian,imported from the
temperate zones, suffer the most.
 Dermatitis
o Dermatitis is caused by strong concentration of tick-killing drugs or by their
improper use, also contributes to the list of lesions to be found in hides and
skins derived from territories where tick control is practiced.
o In addition to the diseases mentioned above, certain insects (as mentioned
below) attack the living animal and damage the skin.
 Warble Fly (Heel Fly or Grub)
o Warble flies cause very great losses in the temperate zones than in tropical
and subtropical zones, since, these insects do not live in the true tropics.
o The fly belongs to the family Hypodermidae and atleast three,
namely, Hypoderma bovis, H.lineatum and H.crossi, exist on the northern
fringe of subtropical countries.
o The ova deposited by the fly on the hair of an animal hatch into very small
larvae, which penetrate the skin and, after migrating through the body, settle
on the back in the subcutaneous tissue, causing visible lumps, often referred
to as Grub.
o The parasite breathes through small openings, and after one or two molts,
emerges as a whole warble, falls to the ground, molts again and appears as the
mature parasite, starting the cycle again.
o The damage to the hide skins depends on the stage of this cycle when the
animal is slaughtered.
o Open grubs are unhealed places where the grub was imbedded or from where
the warble emerged, resulting in holes, while wounds leave scarred tissue.
 Tick damage
o Tick damage is extremely frequent.
o Ticks leave the hides and skins doted with pinhole spots at each site where
they were attached.
o Tick-eating birds often cause damage to the deeper layers, especially if
bacterial infection of the wound occurs.
 Lice damage, biting flies and other stinging insects may leave spots on
the grain, but these are of minorimportance .
 Insects may cause extensive damage to hides and skins after they have
been removed from the animals. Of these insects, the hide beetle
(Dermestes) is responsible for tremendous losses to hides and skins,
which have not been properly protected. The beetle itself and its
voracious larvae are able to consume a large part of the entire hide in a
very short period.
 Treatment
o In the past, the only drugs suitable for destroying skin parasites were nicotine,
derris root, rotenone, lime, sulphur and creolin.
o Now modern chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides such as DDT, lindane,
BHC, toxaphane and chlordane, which allow mass control of the parasite, are
used.
o Thus give great hope for the reduction of damage to the hides and skins due to
parasitic infestation.

DEFECTS DUE TO FAULTY HANDLING

 Fallen hides
o Hides removed from animals died of natural causes are known as fallen
 hides.
o These are inferior not only because the hide substance was reduced due to
fever or starvation but also, because the flaying of a dead animal is difficult as
subcutaneous connective tissues hardens after death.
 Ground drying
o This is a defective method of preservation and leads to visible and invisible
damages such as hair slip, taint, blisters which leads to cracks etc.
o Smoke damage: occurs due to tanning materials, if they are kept in the
vicinity of open fires.
 Used hides and skins
o Hide and skins are used as sleeping mats or garments before selling them.
o By this, they are generally torn, cracked, smoked, oil-tanned or damaged by
insects.
 Brand marks
o Brand mark when carelessly made, seriously reduces the value of the hides.
o The hot iron should be used only on the less value part. Branding for
identification or for disease reduces the value of the skin.
 Wire damage
o Inserting wires into the brisket, dewlap, and shoulder area or side region
causes this.
o This damage should be differentiated from animals, which suffer scratches
when confined to areas fenced with barbed wire.
 Cracks
o Cracks occur when over dried hides are folded during transport, which leads
to damage.
 Pressure sores
o This is also called as deductible gangrene, which is a very common defect
seen on hides derived from animals due to illness or starvation for a
prolonged periods.
o The hip and shoulder blade regions are mostly affected.
 Bad shape or patterns
o Damage by vermin, such as hyenas, rats and dogs with subsequent trimming
of the damaged parts contribute to an asymmetrical hide.
o Knife Damage: This occurs due to use of sticking knives for flaying or knives
with spear shaped blades leads to hide damage.
o Carelessness, unskilled speed, lack of experience, poor visibility and the
flaying of cold or undressed carcasses also lead to hide defects and damage.
 Bruises
o Bruises are common either before they reach the abattoir or during the
slaughtering operation.
o Insufficient Bleeding: In incomplete bleeding, the blood vessels are not
drained; such hides are called as “veiny” leather an undesirable defect.
 Dragged or rubbed grain
o Pulling the carcasses over rough ground or damaged cement floors causes
this fault.
 Thorn scratches
o During the dry period, the animals browse on the bushes and thorn trees and
in consequence, thorn scratches and grain damage results.
 Infrequent transport
o Transport defects and damages occur due to difficulties in transport of hides
during the rainy seasons, when the goods arestored for long periods without
proper protection from rain and insect.
o Rubbing and soiling during transport may contribute further damage.
 Adulteration
 o By smearing and plastering the hides with mud, manure, ashes or by leaving
excessive amounts of fleshing is a common custom in a number of less
developed countries.

To overcome the defects and damages of hide and skins the following are to be taken into
consideration.

 Programs to improve the hide should be drawn.

 Training and demonstration of proper methods of flaying should be given.
 Abattoirs should be provided sufficient facilities for hide and skin handling as it
fetches substantial revenues.
 Skinning cradles should be provided.

Treatment after flaying

 Hide and skin may leave the abattoir premises either in green or preserved form.
o Green hide or skin: Green hide or skin is the term applied to hide or skin,
which have only been flayed, fleshed, trimmed and washed.

PRESERVATION OF SKINS

 Preservation of hide or skin is done either by suspension drying or by curing, i.e.

salting.
o The green skins contain approximately 62% water.
o As most of the hide substance is protein, which forms good nutrient for
bacteria, all that is needed for them to develop is time and favourable
temperature.
o Contamination with blood, manure or dirt will increase bacterial growth.
o The deterioration, which occurs during the curing of hides and skins, may be
attributed to the fact that the bacterial growth was not checked in time.

Principles of preservation and its merits

 The basic principles of preservation, therefore, lies in creating such conditions that
bacterial flora cannot multiply.
 This can be achieved either by immediate delivery of the hides and skins to the
tannery.
 A condition very unreliable in developing countries is by reducing the moisture to a
point where bacterial growth stops.
 A simple way of reducing moisture is by exposing the hides and skins to free air
circulation.
 Another method is to absorb the moisture by salt.
 This combined with the penetration of the salt into hide substance acts as a kind of
dehydration.
 The method of preservation had definite influence on the final weight of the hides.
 The final percentage of the moisture in the air-dried hide and skin will range from 10
to 12 percent.
 Green hide weighing 100 lbs. will contain 62 lbs water and 38 lbs of hide substance.
 In Air-dried method there is no loss in hide substance and so it will be 38 lbs.
 The final percentage of moisture will be 10 to 12 lbs.
 Therefore, the final weight of air-dried hide will be 38 + 10 = 48 lbs.
 METHODS OF PRESERVATION

Wet salting

 100 lbs. Green hide will loose approximately 35 lbs of water and takes up 6 lbs of salt.
Thus the final (weight) field will be 71 lbs. of wet salted hide.

Dry salting

 This process consists of only a few days salting, followed by air-drying. 100 lbs. of
green hide will yield about 55 lbs. of finished goods. These are only approximate
calculations. Many factors are responsible for the variations. The shrink is
veryimportant to calculate the yield. The air-drying is the high test as seen above.
 The two main methods of preservation are air-drying and salting.
 So, to get good qualities of hide and skin, the preservation should be done
immediately.
 The methods followed for air-drying and salting are many and varied.
o Air drying
 Ground drying
 Suspension drying
 Drying in sheds.
 While drying the hides and skins are protected from insect damage
with the help of benzene hexa chloride and arsenicals.
o Salting
 Wet salting
 Dry salting.

AIR-DRYING

 It is an age-old method for the areas where relative humidity is low it is done in three
different ways.

Ground drying

 It consists of stretching out the hides with their flesh side up.
 Though it is the cheapest and easily adoptable for rural people with fallen hides, there
is problem of blemishes, which become apparent on tanning.
 There may be problem of hair-slip and blisters due to incipient putrefaction of
epidermis and hair follicles.
 However, in summer months, the hides become much wrinkled and fetch only half
the value of salt cured hides and skins.

Suspension drying

 It is simple, cheap and effective way of drying in tropical countries.

 It allows free circulation of air, sunrays strike the hides and skins obliquely and
cooling of hides take place rapidly.
 The hides and skins become light after drying, so transportation is cheap.
 Suspension drying can be done in several ways
Frame drying

 This is done on an angled frame, which is appropriately oriented to the sun.

 The frame may be in the form of hoop, tripod or bamboo square.
 Line drying is more suitable for sheep and goatskins.
 Here skins are spread on horizontal cords with their flesh side up.
 In tent drying, the hides are supported over the ground in the shape of a tent by cords
or wires.
 In any case hides and skins take a minimum of seven days to dry.

HIDE CURING

 In this case, drying is performed with the help of uniform and finally ground salt.
 It should be done immediately after flaying by either of the following two ways:
o Dry salting
 This is widely used in tropical countries.
 Salt packing helps in initial removal of moisture, the remaining being
removed by exposure to air.
 Ideally, thestore should have a temperature of about 15°C, a relative
humidity of 85-90% with good ventilation and slated platform.
 It involves stacking the hides flesh side up and applying fine salt (2-3
mm) evenly.
 The quantity of salt applied matches with the weight of the each hide.
 Stacking should not be more than one meter in height.
 The moisture drains onto the floor. Such hides retain only 12% water.
o Wet salting
 This is done by preparing a curing solution consisting of 23 kg pure
salt and 62 kg of water for 100 kg of hides.
 A saturated brine solution can also serve the same purpose.
 The hides are soaked in this solution in a pit of 1.25 meters for a few
days.
 The time varies from 48 hrs for fleshed hides and 2 weeks for
unfleshed hides.
 The hides are put on the slatted platform for draining. Such hides are
left with only 35% water.

CONDITIONING OF HIDES AND SKINS

 The preserved hides and skins are first conditioned at the tanneries before tanning
under the following steps:
o Washing and soaking:
 It is done for several hours in water containing zinc chloride and a mix
of soda ash and borax.
 During this process, salt is removed along with proteins of blood and
lymph.
 The hides absorb water and restore their original shape and
dimension.
o Fleshing:
 It is done on a convex wooden beam by scrapping the flesh with a
serrated knife.
o Liming and dehairing:
 A saturated solution of lime and 0.1% sodium sulphide remove and
loosen hair and epidermal cells.
o Washing and deliming:
  The hides are now washed with weak acid to neutralize the lime.
 A mild heat can also be used if necessary.
o Bating:
 The hides are treated with proteolytic enzymes (pancreatic juice mixed
with saw dust) at pH 8.5.
 It results in soft and pliable pelt, which can be tanned by vegetable
tanning.
o Pickling:
 It is done for chrome tanning wherein pelts are pickled in a bath of 1%
sulphuric acid and 10% salt in water at pH of 2 to 2.5 for 2 to 3 hours.

TANNING

 Tanning is the conversion of hides and skins into insoluble and nonputrescible
leather without destruction of the original structure.
 Leather posses many desirable properties such as flexibility, heat resistance, chemical
resistance, abrasion resistance, dimensional stability, etc.
 It can also withstand repeated wetting and drying.
 Tanning comprises of two types
 Vegetable tanning and
 Chrome tanning

VEGETABLE TANNING

 This is the traditional process and takes a lot of time.

 It involves immersion of hides and skins in the infusion made from the extracts of
tanning bearing plants and barks.
 Some tanning producing plants are:
 Avarum (Cassis auriculata)
 Babul (Acacia Arabia)
 Myrabalan (Terminalia chebula)
 Konnan (Cassia fistula)

CHROME TANNING

 This is the modern and quite popular technique since it yields soft, supple and strong
leather, which is permeable to air.
 It also takes less time.
  It can be done by any of the two processes.
 In single bath process, basic chromium salt (chromic sulphate or chrome) is directly
applied in solution to the skin in gradually increasing strength.
 In double bath process, chromium salt is formed on the fibres by interaction of
chemicals.
 Usually sodium bichromate is reacted with a reducing sugar maltose and sulphuric
acid to get chromic sulphate.
 It is applied in 1.5 to 3% range initially at a pH 2.8, which is then increased to pH 3.5
to increase the affinity of the collagen for the chrome.
 Chrome tanning takes places due to the formation of cross linkages between chrome
ions and free carboxyl groups in the collagen side chains.
 Tanning operation is accomplished in 5-6 hours.
 Post-tanning operations are also necessary to get finished leather.
o Setting out or wringing is done to remove excess tan liquor or moisture by
passing the hide between two large rollers.
o Splitting and shaving is done to adjust the leather thickness for the desired
ultimate use.
o Dyeing of the leather is done to produce the desired colour.
o Fat liquoring is done to adjust the firmness or softness of the leather by
lubricating the fibres with oil.
 It also increases the tensile strength.
o Staking refers to the softening and making the leather more pliable.
 It decides the final temper of the product in combination with fat
liquoring.
o Buffing is done to smooth the grain surface of leather for the better
appearance and to diminish the blemish.
 Buffed leather is called corrected grain, which is otherwise called full
grain.
o Glazing is done on chromic leather after seasoning an drying.
 Aglass cylinder clamped to the end of a moving arm is made to roll
on the leather.
 Heat generated by friction softens the wax in the finish and produces a
continuous plastic coat of high lusture on the grain surface.
 As the leather gets ready, it is graded for temper, uniformity of thickness, colour, etc.
 The graded leather is properly packed for convenience and to fetch a betterprice .
 With the use of strong tan liquid and revolving drums, the speed of tanning can be
improved.
 This type of tanning is good for the manufacture of sole, belts, harness, saddlery and
other heavy leathers.

MODULE-13: MANAGEMENT OF ORGANIC WASTES

EMANATING FROM ANIMAL INDUSTRIES, FALLEN ANIMALS
AND EFFLUENT TREATMENT

Learning objectives

This moduledeals with,

 methods of disposal of carcasses,

 transportation of dead or fallen animals,
 utilizing abattoir offal and condemned meat,
 disadvantages of processing.
 INTRODUCTION

Management of Organic Waste

The mostimportant aspect of animal industries whether it is from abattoir, farms or

from dead or fallen animals, is the management of the waste originating out of it in a regular
manner with a substantially higher amount. The importance of these wastes are more
relevant to control environmental pollution due to the fact that the effluent out of these
sectors have been a very high BOD values and this must get a separate line of disposal than
that of normal domestic sewage system. Therefore, the planning in regard to management of
these organic waste needs a very specialised study with a very organised interrelationship
between city planners, animal scientists and public health personnel. To understand the
organic waste the following topics need to be appreciated.

Disposal of carcasses

 It is utmost important to properly dispose if the carcasses of animals died of

notifiable disease in order to prevent the spread of disease and to prevent human
infection in case of zoonotic disease.
 In fact, an animal died of contagious disease should be removed from the shed as
early as possible; sincere it is visually unsightly, may give offensive odour within few
hours and may become a disease hazard.
 The carcass should not be dragged because discharge of its body fluids and blood
during dragging may cause infection in the other livestock. It should preferably by
lifted by mechanical means such as loader etc.
 Carcasses should never be disposed of near the flowing water, otherwise it will
become a potential source of infection in the areas receiving subsequent water
supply.
 It is also not advisable to open carcasses without the approval of a veterinarian even
for flaying.
 The handling of the carcasses has to be restricted to bare minimum.
 The method of disposal of the carcasses has to be decided on the basis of disease
responsible for death.

Isolation of carcasses and related materials on the spot

 The carcasses of animals died with symptoms of high-risk infectious diseases should
be immediately isolated and their related animals such as used feed, excreta etc.,
should be disinfected on the spot.
 Before removal, carcasses should be kept in dry place and covered with a
polyethylene sheet.
 It will be wise to isolate the spot from the nearby environment by checking open feed
as well as water supplies and drainage system through this spot.

Veterinary advice

 Veterinary authorities should examine the suspected and exposed animals and
diagnosis of high-risk infectious diseases should be made by them.
 They should also render advice concerning the mode of transportation and methods
of disposal of carcasses besides suggesting protective measures to be undertaken.
 Further, it should be indicated as to what equipment, items etc. need to be
disinfected and which method will be more suitable.

Transportation
 Carcasses or condemned parts thereof should be transported to the place of disposal
with the utmost care.
 There is no need to collect such high risk infectious material from different locations
at one place.
 Persons involved in handling such materials have to be provided protective clothing
and materials. Such carcasses and condemned parts should be lifted and loaded by
mechanical means.
 Transportation should be done invehicles , which are exclusively used for carrying
carcasses. Such vehicles are properly covered from all sides. These vehicles should
also be subjected to proper cleansing and disinfection after every use to prevent
spread of contamination into the environment.

METHODS OF DISPOSAL OF CARCASSES

 Burial method
o This is the most common method and is fairly safe if the burial pit is dug 2
meter deep or highest part of the carcass is atleast 1.5 meter below the level of
surrounding terrain.
o Besides the carcass, left over feed by the dead animal, its bedding, excreta and
top 5 cm soil floor are also buried with the carcass.
o Deep burial will prevent the jackals from digging up the carcass and insects
from carrying the bacterial spores to the surface.
o Once the carcass is in grave, the skin is slashed and drenched with crude
phenol.
o Then the carcass is covered on all sides with quick lime and filled with mud
and topped with some concrete objects.
o In case of anthrax, before removing the carcass for disposal, all its orifices are
plugged with cotton soaked in 5% cresol and body is wrapped in similarly
soaked bag.
o The byre should be disinfected with 5% cresol using long handled brushes and
then washed over with freshly chlorinated lime-wash.
 Burning or incineration methods
o Burning can effectively destroy carcasses.
o It can bee conveniently done in incinerator where a temperature of 600-800C
is reached and all the organisms are destroyed.
o This method is quite suitable for animals that have died due to heat resistant
microorganisms such as spores of Bacillus anthracis.
o If incinerator facility is notavailable , dead animals and other materials can
be burnt in a pit, preferably dug near the site of death.
o The pit or trench (about 0.5 meter deep) is first filled with wood, making air
spaces with the help of cross iron bars.
o Then the carcass is placed and ignited with the help of kerosene. After
complete carcass is burnt, the trench is filled with mud.
 Chemical treatment
o If the animals die from diseases, which do not pose a potential health hazard,
the carcass can be disposed of by usual means.
o Then the premises are treated with lime water (1:20) or with a suspension of
bleaching powder (1:20).
o An aqueous solution of cresol or phenol is preferable for metal parts.
 Disinfection
o It is not enough to dispose of the animal died due to notifiable disease. All the
related items and materials, which could serve as contaminating agents, are
disinfected.
 o Bedding straw, manure etc., should be buried, burnt or disinfected by mixing
with slaked lime.
o Liquids such as blood, urine etc. should be disinfected with a 30% suspension
of chloride of lime.
o For walls, floors,doors and tools, cleansing with lime-water (1:20) or with a
suspension of bleaching powder (1:20) may be used.
o Metal tools or instruments of the abattoir may be disinfected by immersion in
boiling water for this purpose.
o A 3% solution of washing soda (sodium carbonate) can also be used. Besides,
hooks, handles, covers etc. should be scrubbed in boiling water or solution of
washing soda.

TRANSPORTATION OF DEAD OR FALLEN ANIMALS

 A large number of animals die in developing and under-developed countries because

of natural causes, such as diseases etc.
 Besides, slaughter of cows for food is banned in countries like India. This factor also
increases number of fallen animals.
 Sometimes, condemned material from slaughterhouse is alsoavailable for byproduct
utilization.
 It is necessary to hygienically dispose of these fallen animals to avoid decomposition
and formation of obnoxious gases.
 It is alsoimportant to process the byproducts of such animals to secure the
economic returns.
 Using road transport modes such as bullock carts or tractor trolleys can efficiently do
transportation of dead animals.
 These modes have the advantages of being flexible, economic, convenient and fairly
quick.
 Bullock carts are most commonly used in our country for carrying the dead animals,
if the distance to be traveled is short, or else tractor trolleys are also quite convenient.
 The floor of these vehicles should be bedded with straws and be made free from any
projections, otherwise bruising of the hides or skins of the dead animals lower the
cost of material.
 The transportation of condemned material from slaughterhouse should be done in
closedvehicles to the byproduct plant.
 The vehicles may be labelled as carrying as inedible animal byproducts.

UTILIZING ABATTOIR OFFAL AND CONDEMNED MEAT

 Abattoir offal and condemned carcasses or organs can be utilized as stock feed simply
by boiling, which renders them safe to feed to livestock.
 This has to be done in the following way.
o All inedible offal, including the condemned parts, is put into a kettle or into
oil or petrol drums, which have been split along their longitudinal axis.
o If the intestinal tract is used, it must first be thoroughly cleaned and washed.
o Water, to one and a half time to the weight of the offal, is to be added.
o The contents are boiled for one hour.
o All the meats from the bones scraped.
o Bran, pollards or a similar product is added, equal in weight to the mass, and
rigorously stained in.
o The mixer after cooking for further half an hour should be of a thick porridge
consistency, and equivalent to 10% of meat meal.
 DISADVANTAGE OF PROCESSING

 The fat cannot be recovered and used separately.

 The foodstuff obtained has poor keeping quality and must be used on the day of
production or the following day.
o If a pressure cooker isavailable , it can be used to digest the offal.
o Bones present in the offal will yield up the gelatin but the bones must be
removed after treatment.
o The utilization of offal and/or condemned material is somewhat limited and
inefficient unless livestock are available at the site.
o So, a small abattoir might consider keeping pigs to utilize their processed
offal.

MODULE-14: HACCP CONCEPTS IN ABATTOIR MANAGEMENT

Learning objectives

This moduledeals with,

 meat inspection and meat hygiene for wholesome meat production and
 HACCP concept to identify the critical control points.

INTRODUCTION

 HACCP is the abbreviated form of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, is related
to a system not to a product. The system is synchronised, standardised and
specialised in such a way that it is able to give guarantee to any product produced by
the system and thereby the product is liable to have a label against HACCP with a
code number thereof as the case may be.
 The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Concept was introduced in the
food industry in 1971 to ensure that there would be effective control of the quality of
processed foods. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that this
concept also be applied to Meat Inspection and Meat Hygiene in particular to control
salmonellosis. It can also be used to reduce bacterial contamination during
slaughtering anddressing and to ensure quality control in Meat Inspection
 A specific HACCP concept should be developed to abattoir and the class of animal to
ensure the most efficient and effective concept of sanitary control.
 The introduction of specific HACCP concept involves the following:
o identifying hygienic hazards
o ranking these hazards
o defining the critical limit
o identifying the critical control points
o recommending necessary control
o record keeping
o verification procedures to ensure efficiency
o tests to ensure that the concept is working

MEAT INSPECTION AND MEAT HYGIENE FOR WHOLESOME

MEAT PRODUCTION
  Meat Inspection and Meat Hygiene shall make sure that meat and meat products are
safe and wholesome for human consumption. The concept of meat inspection has
gradually changed over the last three decades.
 The classical ante-mortem and post-mortem procedures were designed to detect
disease in an animal before slaughter and the lesions produced by the disease after
slaughter respectively. This was done by the use of senses (organoleptic tests) such as
the use of touch (palpation), sight (inspection and observation), smell (gangrenous
smell) and taste (only in cooked products).
 Zoonotic diseases, particularly tuberculosis received high priority. Laboratory tests
were done to confirm the disease when necessary or as appropriate.

HACCP CONCEPT TO IDENTIFY THE CRITICAL CONTROL

POINTS

 With the gradual reduction in the incidence of animal tuberculosis in many countries
along with the development of intensive methods of animal husbandry and the
widespread use of pesticides and veterinary drugs, new problems are emerging.
These are associated with residues on one hand and increased human infections with
zoonotic agents contaminating animal foods on the other.
 There appears to be a general trend worldwide, with a few exceptions where human
Salmonella infections have nearly doubled during the last five year period and human
Campylobacter infections have nearly tripled during the same period.
 Other bacteria that are causing increasing concern as food contaminants are Yersinia
spp. and Listeria spp. There is simultaneously a greater consumer expectation of a
longer shelf life in the finished fresh meat product. All these factors suggest that in
the practise of meat inspection, it would be advantageous to use the HACCP concept
to identify the critical control points at which these bacterial groups and other
spoilage organisms may contaminate the carcasses, so that appropriate action can be
taken.

THE CRITICAL CONTROL POINTS DURING THE SLAUGHTER

OF FOOD ANIMALS AND BIRDS

 During red meat production, major contamination occurs in the abattoir during
skinning and evisceration, that some contamination could occur during transport,
lairage and deboning and that the most effective control point is in the chiller.
Therefore, it is absolutely essential for meat inspectors to ensure that skinning and
evisceration are done properly.
 The critical control points during the slaughter of poultry are picking and
evisceration. In developing countries where these tasks are not automated, it is
necessary to ensure that proper hygienic precautions are taken during each of these
operations.
 In automated plants, the machinery for picking and evisceration would need to be
sanitised regularly, in particular when birds from different sources are slaughtered.

MODULE-15: UTILISATION OF WOOL

Learning objectives

This moduledeals with,

 wool and its classification,

 defects in wool,
 bristles.

INTRODUCTION

 Wool is one of theimportant byproducts obtained from sheep.

 In comparison to hair, it is more elastic, flexible and curly.
 It influences the quality of wool because of its shrinking, strengthening and felting
conditions.
 In the living condition, the outer wool scales are with wool sweat (grease), wool soap
or yolk called suint secreted fromspecial glands to keep the fibre in good condition.
 The term wool refers to the whole fleeces, which contain mainly three types of fibres.
o Fine wool fibres generally have no medulla or hollow core and keep on
growing, e.g. Merino fibre has no medulla.
o Hairs are continuously growing long fibres with medulla in part of their
length.
o Kemps are those coarse as well as short fibres, which cease growing at
intervals and are shed into the fleece. Such fibres have medulla throughout
their length. The outer coat gradually gets eliminated and the inner coat
becomes wool, which is seen in Merino, Romney and Lincoln. The kemp is
therefore a remnant of the original outer coat.
 Vast quantities of wool, called shorn wool, are derived from shearing.
 A fleece is a term denoting the whole coat of wool shorn from a sheep at one time.
 In the wool trade, fleeces itself are classified as Merino (or fine), crossbred or
medium, lusture long wool and carpet.
 Much smaller quantities of wool taken off the pelt of the slaughtered animal are
coming forward from slaughterhouses, packing plants or tanneries.
 This type of wool is called pulled wool, in contradistinction to the shorn.
 Wool as it comes off the sheep, whether shorn or pulled, is called raw wool or grease
wool. Such wool contains not only grease but impurities of mineral and vegetable
origin and suint.
 The difference between clean and grease wool is called shrinkage. This depends on
the breed of sheep, husbandry nutrition, the type of soil and so on. The buyer
estimates the shrinkage and pays for clean wool only.

STRUCTURE OF WOOL

 A wool fibre has two distinct layers of cells.

 The outer protective sheath has flat, irregularly shaped scales similar to that of the
fish, which overlap each other.
o These scales are loosely attached to the inner layer in comparison to hair.
o The outer layer of scales is veryimportant .
o It influences the quality of wool because of its shrinking, strengthening and
felting conditions.
o In the living condition, the outer wool scales are with wool sweat (grease) or
yolk called suint secreted fromspecial glands to keep the fibre in good
condition.
o In fact, condition denotes the degree of grease or oil present in the wool.
o A part of suint is water-soluble and can be removed during washing.
 The inner layer of wool fibre is cortex, which consists of long fibrils cemented
together.
o In hair, it encloses the air-filled medulla.
o Thus, hair has less strength than wool.

INDIAN WOOL
 In the Indian subcontinent each geographical region has a distinct type of sheep.
o In the northwestern India, the Bikaneri type breeds are small and coarse
woolen.
o Sheep belonging to peninsular India are either coarse woolen (e.g. Deccani)
or hair type (e.g. Mandya), whereas those of the Himalayan region are
woolen.
o Most of the Indian breeds have a low fleece yield, annual total yield of greasy
wool remains in the range of 1-1.5 Kg.
o Wool produced from the tropical breeds of sheep is coarse and highly suitable
for carpet manufacture.
o Thus, India is of the chief carpet wool producing andexporting countries of
the world.
o A large quantity of carpet wool is exported to the developed countries.

QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF WOOL

 Theimportant quality characteristics of wool are colour, fibre length, fibre diameter
and clean dry yield.
 These characteristics account for nearly 80% value.
 The colour of wool is important because presence of any pigment markedly decreases
the possibilities of dyeing.
 The ideal colour is white or creamy white with conspicuous lusture.
 Canary staining or yellowing of wool is a general problem in Indian wool.
 It is caused by bacterial action at high pH and low grease content.
 Fine wool has a fibre diameter of 17-18mµ (micron) whereas in coarse wool it may be
nearly twice (35 – 38mµ)/ Wools less than 30mµ fibre diameter (non-medullated)
are only suitable for clothing textiles.
 The coarse wools are generally used for carpet manufacture.
 To determine the proportion of fibres of each type, a representative sample
containing atleast 200 fibres of a fleece are taken and sorting is done against a black
background such as black velvet.
 All fibres showing chalkiness to the naked eyes are counted as hairs, unless those are
kemps.
 Within the laboratory, medullation can be assessed by immersion of wool sample in
xylol and examination under high magnification.
 Fibre length is animportant parameter from spinning point ofview .
 In temperature climate, it is the growth of staple during 12 months of age.
 Fine wool is generally less than 6cm comes in coarse grades.
 Clean dry yield refers to the yield of pure wool removing natural grease, vegetable
material (grass seeds, burr etc) and soil.
 These impurities can range even upto 20 per cent.
 Further, strength of the fibre is also an important property.
 It is affected by low plane of nutrition and chronic infection especially helminthiasis.
 In field conditions, holding the ends of the staple between the fingers and giving a
sharp tug measure it.
 In fine wool crimp, which refers to the waviness of wool fibre, is also considered as
animportant characteristic.
 It is measured in number of crimps per unit length.
 As far as elasticity is concerned, a fine wool fibre can stretch as much as 70% beyond
its original length before breaking.
 Some defects generally encountered in wool are hairiness, impurities, skirting, lack of
uniformity and cotts (pressing together of coarse fibres).
  SOME CHARACTERISTIC OF MAIN TYPES OF WOOL

No Wool Use Fibre diameter Clean dry

type (mµ) yield (%)
1. Fine Wool High quality, light weight 17-20 65-70
wooden clothes
2. Medium Good quality, heavier 22-24 70-75
wool woolen clothes
3. Carpet Carpets 25-32 80-90
wool*
DEFECTS IN WOOL

 Some defects generally encountered in wool are hairiness, impurities, skirting, lack of
uniformity and cotts (pressing together of coarse fibres).

Hairiness

 The presence in the true wool fleece of wool hair is a degrading factor.

Breaks

 Wool is very sensitive to nutritional factors, disease or changes of climate, pasture,

etc.
 Droughts, fever, starvation or even pregnancy and lactation may result in a poorer
fibre which breaks easily.

Cotts

 This term denotes a condition where the coarse fibres which are shed into the fleece
become felted together.

Lack of uniformity

 Variation in length and diameter of the fibre in adjacent areas of the fleece is an
undesirable factor.

Impurities

 Impurities in the fleece of vegetable or mineral origin, as well as brands made with
hot irons or undesirable paint, and stains derived from urine, parasites, plants or
bacteria are taken into consideration.
 Certain parasitic skin diseases also lead to degradation.

Skirting

 Skirting is a term denoting a process of separating inferior wool, such as dirty, greasy,
seedy or hairy wool, from the more valuable part of the fleece.
 At the same time, coarse and stained britch wool and dirty bits from around the legs
and brisket are removed.
 CLASSIFICATION OF WOOL

 The wool is classified in the similar manner as hides and skin, according to the use
for which it is intended.
 Wool is roughly classified into three classes, viz., combing, clothing and carpet wool
depending upon the length of the fibre.
 The long fibres are combed and then twisted during the spinning of the yarn.
 The shorter wools cannot be successfully twisted and therefore they are carded and
mixed, so that the fibres point in different directions. They are than drawn into yarn.
 The materials made from combing are called worsted; those from carded are
called woolens.

SHEARING AND PULLING

Shearing

 Shearing of wool is generally done twice a year in India with the help ofspecial
shearing scissors.
 It is a highly skilled task and should be given to experienced workers on contract
basis.
 Sheep may be washed a few days before shearing, although it may not remove
impurities like twigs and small stones.
 Shearing of soiled wool is sometimes referred as dagging.
 The entire coat of wool shorn from a sheep at one time is called fleece.
 The shearing should not expose the sheep to temperature stress.
o It should not be done in winter or rainy season and early suckling or late
pregnancy.
o The best time for shearing is shortly before the onset of summer.
o Rams are shorn before mating.
o The first shearing should be done at about 8 months of age.
o The most common shearing faults are inflicting the cuts or wounds to the
sheep.
o There may be double cutting, thereby decreasing the length of the fibre.
o Shearing should neither be too near nor too far from the skin.

Pulling

 Pulled wool is obtained from the skins of slaughtered and dead animals by any of the
three processes:
o Sweating is the controlled putrefaction of skins in damp chamber at 20oC for
48 hours. It loosens the hair follicles.
o Painting is a very good technique.
o A dehairing agent such as sodium sulphide is applied for loosening the hair
follicles.
o Liming involves immersion of the pelt in limewater.

POST HARVEST HANDLING

 After shearing the fleece, poor quality material is separated and good quality material
is grouped or classed.
 There are several main types of wool.
o Lox refers to wool contaminated with dung and urine along with wool from
head, brisket and lower parts of the limb.
 o Skirting refer to poor quality wool from bellies and edges.
o Backs refer to poor quality wool along with the back due to penetration of
dust, whereas
o Brands refer to wool from the areas stained with marking ink.
 The remaining material is classed on the basis of fibre length and diameter.
o The classified or grouped wool is pressed into bales.
o It should bestored at dry places.
o Carpet wool is often a blend of coarse and medium wool and their proportion
depends on the buyers' preference or demand.
o In fact, carpet wool should have good resilience and ability to withstand hard
use.
o Coarse outer fibres are necessary to give strength and a fine bulky undercoat
is required to provide fullness and resilience.
o It should have 85% true wool by count or 65% by weight and 15% non-kempy
medullated fibres (mostly hairs) by count or 35% by weight.
 Kemp is treated as a defect.
o More than 85% of the fibres should have a diameter of more than 25 mµ.

QUALITY CONTROL OF CARPET WOOL

 With a view to improving the quality of wool and establishing well recognized
standard for its sale, the Government of India introduced a scheme for compulsory
grading of wool beforeexport .
 Wool Grading and Marketing Rules, 1961 define the quality of various types of wool,
prescribe the grade specifications and by some methods of marking, packing etc.
o Agricultural Marketing Advisor to Government of India issues Certificate of
Authorization to theexporters .
o The quality of wool offered for grading under one lot should be uniformly
prepared, properly cleaned and be reasonably dry in feel.
o It should not contain excessive extraneous matter like dirt, sand, moisture,
raw fleece cuttings etc. except for a few unavoidable.
o The wool is press packed in bales with complete covering of new gunny cloth
and secured with sufficient number of iron hoops, tightly placed around the
bale of customary commercial weights of 100 kg to 200 kg.
o Officer on behalf of Agricultural Marketing Advisor issues a certificate of
grading to Government of India.

CHARACTERISTICS AND QUALITY OF WOOL

Grade designations indicate the characteristics and quality of wool as described

in Schedules I to VI.

Schedule I Indian Clipped Wool

Schedule II Indian Pulled Wool
Schedule III Indian Tannery Wool (limited)

1. Wools other than South Indian Tannery and Aden type

2. South Indian Tannery and Aden type wools

Schedule IV Indian Mixed Wool

1. Clipped - Carded

2. Clipped - Pulled
Schedule V Indian Hill Wool, Greasy

1. Clipped
Schedule VI Indian Ginned Wool

BRISTLES

 Bristles are stiff, wiry hairs of pigs, hogs or boars.

 These are used for making various types of brushes.
 Bristles are generally obtained from back, neck and tail because those growing on
flank and belly are too short to serve the intended purpose.
 Pig bristles are coarse and stiff in nature.
 They taper from base to the tip, which shows, splits or flagged appearance.
 In fact, flagged tips make them highly suitable for paint and varnish work due to their
paint holding property.
 Shaving brushes made from soft bristles are superior to synthetic shaving brushes
due to their water absorption and holding properties.
 China holds the leading position in the production andexport of bristles followed by
India and Russia.
 Bristles are mostly obtained from indigenous and crossbreed pigs in our country.
 Indian bristles are known for their coarseness and stiffness, so these are stout and
strong but have longer flag (almost 30% of their total length) that is required to be
trimmed beforedressing .
 This factor decreases their value.
 Bristles are plucked from living pigs or boars either once or twice a year.
 These are also pulled out from slaughtered or fallen animals.
 These are also obtained by shaving slaughtered animals after scalding in some
baconfactories .
 Bristles obtained from live animals are superior in lusture and resilience than those
obtained from fallen animals.

CHARACTERISTICS OF BRISTLES

 Colour of bristles is one of itsspecial characteristics. On the basis of colour, bristles

are classed as white, black or grey.
 It may be noted that all those bristles, which are neither wholly black nor white, are
also classified as grey.
 White colour bristles are available only in Western Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
 Grey is the predominant colour of Indian bristles.
 The length of bristles is another special characteristic. Longer bristles fetch
moreprices .
 The thickness also increases with length in a particular quality. Thus longer bristles
 are stiffer as well.
 Bristles less than 44 mm length are called shorts and riflings, whereas those from 44
mm to 159 mm and above are put in as many as 19 grade designations as per Bristle
Grading and Marketing (Amendment) Rules, 1973.
 Due to tropical conditions, Indian bristles generally vary in length from 57 mm to 159
mm.
 Bristles obtained from wild boars in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh are of good length.
 Superior quality black bristles called Darjeeling bristles are obtained from wild boars
frequenting foothills of Himalayas. These bristles are similar to Chinese variety
except for more flag.
 Darjeeling is the main market for such bristles.

CLASSES OF BRISTLES

 On the basis of thickness, bristles are commercially classed as:

o Extra stiff
o Stiff / Semi-stiff
o Soft
o Extra stiff bristles are obtained from wild boars and are thicker and stiffer
than stiff / semi-stiff bristles.
o Soft bristles are thinner than stiff bristles. White, soft and lengthy bristles
fetch maximumprice .

POST HARVEST HANDLING OF BRISTLES

 Raw bristles have to bedressed before packing.

 In this process, these are first soaked in warm water containing washing soda for a
few hours, scoured with detergent, then thoroughly rinsed with cold water and dried.
 The dried bristles are collected again with the precaution that root and flag ends do
not get mixed at any stage.
 These are then tied into bundles.
 The dried bristles are sorted into grade of specific lengths by dragging.
 In this process, nearly 500g bristles are tied with a strap on a small wooden platform
with their root or butt ends down.
 The longest bristles are first pulled out by hand, followed by next smaller ones and so
on.
 The separate sizes are tied into bundles of about 100 g each.
 These bristles are again solid dressed and finally graded into bristles of uniform
length and size.
 Kanpur is the biggest dressing centre in India, the otherimportant ones being
Jabalpur, Allahabad, Gorakhpur, etc.
 Bristles meant for use in shaving brushes or exports have to be sterilized to eliminate
the chances of possible presence of anthrax spores and bacteria.
 It is accomplished by autoclaving them at 25-40 lbs pressure for about 1.30 hours.
 The wet disinfected bristles are dried in hot air oven at 60oC or so to regain their
stiffness.

PACKING

 Bristles of same thickness and grade lengths are tied in bundles.

 Each bundle of bristles (except for short and riflings) is made to a diameter ranging
from 38 mm (1.5 inches) to 51mm (2 inches).
 These bundles are packed in clean dry wooden cases to have a net content of 10 kg or
more in multiples of 2 kg subject to a maximum of 46 kg for shipment.
 However, tin or Aluminum cases may be used for packing bristles for transit by
airfreight.
 Bristles of different grade designation lengths of 121 mm or below are packed in
separate cases from those of over 121 mm.
 The wooden cases and other containers are lined with waterproof paper and contain
sufficient quantity of insecticide such as DDT or naphthalene balls.

QUALITY CONTROL OF BRISTLES

 Indian bristles areexported to several European countries.

 These are shipped to London in cases of 100 lbs net weight from Bombay and
Calcutta seaports.
o Bristles of 121 mm or above fetch very good prices due to heavy demand;
white bristles are sold at about 25% higher rate than dark bristles.
o It may be noted that fine, soft bristles with small flag are highly suited for
making shaving brush and painting flat varnish.
o As a trade malpractice, grey and black bristles are sometimes with ox or
horsetail hair or vegetable fibres or artificial fibres.
o Some traders to the extent of reclaiming bristles obtained from old and used
brushes.

QUALITY OF BRISTLES AS PER SCHEDULES I to XI

 Government of India formulated Bristles Grading and Marking Rules, 1969 to have a
control on the quality of bristlesexported from India.
 These rules were further amended to be named as Bristles Grading and Marking
(Amendment) Rules, 1973, as per these rules, there are XI schedules, eachdealing
with different commercial type of bristles.

Schedule I Extra Stiff Bristles (White)

Schedule II Extra Stiff Bristle (Grey)
Schedule V Stiff / Semi-Stiff Bristles (Black)
Schedule VII Soft Bristles (White)
Schedule IX Soft Bristles (Grey)
Schedule XI Select Grade of Bristles
Schedule II Extra Stiff Bristle (Black)
Schedule IV Stiff / Semi-Stiff Bristles (White)
Schedule VI Stiff / Semi-Stiff Bristles (Grey)
Schedule VIII Soft Bristles (Black)
Schedule X Special Grade of Bristles