ANSCI 4205 (Slaughtering of Animals and Processing of their Products)

Prepared by: ALONA T. BADUA

E-mail Address: alona.badua@clsu2.edu.ph

Central Luzon State University

Science City of Muñoz 3120
Nueva Ecija, Philippines

Instructional Module for the Course

ANSCI 4205 SLAUGHTERING OF ANIMALS AND PROCESSING OF THEIR
PRODUCTS

Module 9
Processed Meat Products
Overview
This module was separated from the meat preservation methods
because this will solely discussed the different types of processed meat
products. In here, the differences of the meat products will be
presented including the important principles being followed in their
processing. The processing properties of meat will also be presented.

I. Objectives
After finishing this module the student will be able to:
1. Identify and describe the different classification of processed meat products
2. Apply the principles in the manufacture of processed meat products

II. Learning Activities

A. CLASSIFICATION OF PROCESSED MEAT

Processed meat maybe defined as meat that has been changed by any mechanical,
chemical or enzymatic treatment, altering the taste, appearance and often the keeping
quality of the product.

Historical evidence suggests that sausage was made and eaten by the Babylonians
some 3500 years ago, and that ancient Chinese also made sausages. The earliest
recorded reference to sausage was in Homer’s Odyssey written in the ninth century B.

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C. Sausage making gained popularity during the Roman and Christian eras and by the
Middle Ages it was popular throughout Europe. Local climate and availability of raw
materials had a great deal to do with the type of products that were produced.

Classification of processed meat

a. Sausages (comminuted products)
b. cured whole muscle cuts (non-comminuted products)
c. restructured meat products

2. Sausages
These are comminuted, seasoned meat that maybe cured, smoked, molded or heat
processed. The numerous varieties of sausages necessitate several and slightly different
processing procedures. The meat can come from beef, veal, pork, lamb, poultry or
combination of these sources. Some sausages are made from meat that is cured,
smoked or cooked or treated by a combination of these processes. Products such as
bologna, frankfurters and many loaf types of luncheon meat are made from finely
ground meat emulsions. Other products such as smoke pork sausages or Italian and
Polish sausages are coarse in texture and do not require emulsification. Production of
dry and semi-dry sausages requires carefully controlled fermentation and drying.

Sausages frequently took the name of their town of origin: bologna from Bologna, Italy;
Genoa salami from Genoa, Italy; frankfurters from Frankfurt, Germany and Vienna
sausage from Vienna, Austria.

Types of sausages
a. Fresh sausage – made from comminuted meat and are not cured, smoked or
cooked. These must be kept under refrigeration and must be cooked before
serving. Some examples are fresh pork sausage, hamburger and chorizo

b. Uncooked sausage – similar to fresh sausage, except that the meat is subjected to
a mild cure. Then, it is placed in natural casing or wrapped in plastic. Such
products should be kept under refrigeration and cooked before serving.

c. Uncooked and smoked sausage – this sausage may include cured meat but not
cooked meat. It is smoked after placing in edible casing but must be cooked
before serving. Smoked pork sausage (smoked longanisa) and smoked country-
style sausage are examples.

d. Cooked sausage – usually made from meat that has been cured and cooked. This
sausage is ready to eat, although some may be heated before serving. Types of
cooked sausages include braunschweiger (liver sausage) and blood sausage.

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e. Cooked and smoked sausage - this is the most popular type of sausage. Product
is usually made from meat that has been cured, formed into sausages, cooked
and subjected to a light smoke. This type of sausage is ready to eat, although
some may prefer to heat certain kinds of this product before serving. Examples
are bologna, frankfurters and Vienna sausage.

f. Dry sausages
1) dry sausage – this type of sausage losses about 25-40% of its original
weight through processing and drying. Example: chorizo de bilbao,
hard salami
2) semi-dry sausage – this sausage losses 8-15% of its original weight
through processing and drying. Example: canton sausage
3) fermented dry and semi-dry sausages – these sausages are similar to
the dry sausages except that acid-forming microorganisms such as
lactobacilli are deliberately added in quantities and in conditions where
they outgrow other organisms and produce desirable acid flavors as
well as provide added protection against spoilage. Example: pepperoni

g. Loaves and other specialty meat – these products are chopped-meat mixtures,
possibly containing extenders and other ingredients and processed in the form
of a loaf. This type of sausage need not be cooked before serving. Examples of
luncheon meat and meat loaf.

Steps in sausage making:

a. Comminution (particle reduction)
This is a process by which meat is ground, chopped, diced, emulsified, or reduced to
minute particles for incorporation into sausage.

b. Emulsification
In the presence of salt, a meat emulsion can be formed. In meat emulsion, lean meat
and fat particles are dispersed in a complex of water, proteins, cellular components and
a variety of spices and seasonings.

c. Blending
Ground meat or chopped meat but not meat emulsions can be placed in a
mixer/blender to evenly distribute the lean and fat particles and any curing ingredients
that are in the mixture.

d. Forming

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Some processed meat products such as fresh pork sausages maybe sold in bulk, in
chubs or formed into patties. Others are molded into loaves but most are stuffed into
casings. Comminuted products are placed in casing to give them a characteristic shape
to hold the product together and to allow for further processing. Casings also bind and
protect the delicateness of the sausage mixture. They also regulate the contraction and
expansion of the sausage.

Types of casings
a. animal casings (natural casings) – casings made from the gastrointestinal
tract of cattle, hogs or sheep. They are more costly than artificial casings
because their production requires more hand labor. An advantage of this
casing is that they can be consumed as part of the product. These are used
for fresh sausages, frankfurters

b. cellulosic casings – made from a by-product of the cotton plant, cellulosic

casings are uniform containers but are not edible. They are available in a
variety of sizes. These should not be soaked in water before stuffing. They
are however, removed before the sausages is eaten.

c. regenerated collagen casings – these edible casings have some of the

properties of animal casings and some benefits of cellulosic casings. The
production of these casings includes extraction of collagen from animal skins
and hides and subsequent processing into casings of various sizes. These are
used for smoked longanisa

d. fibrous casings – this is the toughest of all casings and is made from a special
paper pulp base which is impregnated with cellulose creating a strong,
uniform container. Dry and semi-dry sausages typically are manufactured in
non-edible adhering fibrous casings.

e. Linking and Tying

According to the type of meat product and the particular casing, the sausage maybe
tied at each end with string or fastened with metal clips. With smaller sausages such as
frankfurters, casings are normally twisted or drawn together either by hand or
mechanically to produce links as identical in shape and size as possible.

f. Smoking and cooking

The smokehouse operation is essentially a specialized drying and cooking operation in
which sausage emulsion is coagulated.

g. Chilling
After smoking and cooking, the product is showered with cold water and then chilled by
refrigeration.

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h. Peeling and Packaging

After properly chilling the product, usually to an internal temperature of 35-40ºF, the
cellulosic casings on frankfurters and slicing bologna are removed.

3. Cured whole muscle cuts

Whole muscle cuts like ham, corned beef, pastrami and bacon are considered processed
meat products because they have been treated with a curing solution, dry cured,
smoked and/or seasoned. These products are more popular in their processed form
than as fresh cuts.

a. Ham – defined as the hindleg of pork that has been cured and smoked or cured
and canned

b. Corned beef - the brisket is the most popular cut of meat used for corned beef,
although beef round is also used. Formerly, “corning” referred to the
process of preserving beef by sprinkling it with grains (corns) of salt.
Today, corned beef is cured with pickle solution consisting of water, salt,
sugar, nitrite and spices.

c. Bacon – it is produced primarily from pork bellies. Beef bacon is made from the
boneless beef short plate. Canadian style bacon is made form top loin
muscle of pork – usually that from heavier hog. These are cured and
smoked giving them their unique flavor.

d. Pastrami – made from the brisket, plat or top round muscle of beef. After dry
curing with salt, the beef is washed, and then rubbed with a paste of
garlic powder, ground cumin, red pepper, cinnamon, cloves and allspice.
It is then smoked and cooked.

4. Restructured meat
Restructured meat products are generally made from flaked, ground or sectioned beef
or pork, which is shaped into roasts, steaks or loaves. Examples of restructured meat
are smoked sliced beef and most boneless hams.

The process of restructuring consists of three steps: a reduction or modification in

particle size, blending and reforming into the desired product size and shape. Some
restructured hams look very similar to their whole muscle counterparts. In fact, some
are simple chunks of ham that have bee bound together to form a larger piece.

The binding of particles in the reforming process is essential to the process of

restructuring. Intracellular myofibrillar proteins from the muscle are functional in
causing meat particles to bind. Salt and phosphates along with the proper mixing
process help brig these proteins to the surface of the particles and contribute to the
binding qualities of the product.

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5. Processing of Comminuted Products

Hotdogs, hamburgers, meat loaves and reformed meats are some of the meat products
that gained high popularity and consumers demand in the Philippines and all over the
world. These products including other sausages are technically classified as comminuted
products since the meat material used in their processing underwent particle size
reduction or comminution before forming to their respective sizes, shapes and
appearances. These products gained high consumer’s acceptance in the market
because of the ability of the manufacturers to make variations in flavor and forms and
control the unique flavor, tenderness, juiciness and texture. Besides, these products are
easy to prepare and cook suited for busy lifestyle of most households with working
mothers.

However, manufacturing of these comminuted products requires the processors some

technical knowledge on the properties and quality of the meat and other ingredients in
order to apply the basic principles on processing of these meat products. The success in
manufacturing of these special products also depends on the facilities and conditions
during processing.

Processing Properties of Meat

There are four processing properties of meat important in processing of
comminuted products. These are the following:

a. Binding ability – the ability of the meat chunks to cling together after
subsequent processing procedures. This is most important in processing of
reformed meat products like restructured ham.

b. Water holding capacity - the ability of the meat to hold moisture during
storage, processing and cooking. This is important in all meat products and
affects the processing yield and sensory characteristics such as flavor, juiciness
and tenderness.

c. Emulsifying capacity – the ability of the meat to bind moisture and fat. This is
important in processing of emulsion products like hotdogs and meat loaves.

d. Emulsion stability – the ability of the emulsion to maintain water and fat
binding during storage and application of heat. Important also in processing of
hotdogs and meat loaves.

The soluble proteins in meat play a significant role in the above-mentioned

processing traits. The meat proteins serve as natural binder and emulsifier in
processing of comminuted products. However, these soluble meat proteins are
temperature sensitive. High processing temperature could enhance the solubility of
these proteins, improving the binding and emulsifying capacity of the meat. But
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excessively high temperature leads to denaturation of those proteins, which could

eventually lower their binding and emulsifying capabilities. Thus, proper processing
temperature should be maintained all the time throughout the processing period.
Prolonged storage coupled with repeated freezing and thawing also reduces the
functional properties of those proteins and should be avoided.

6. Basic Principles in Processing Comminuted Products

a. Meat material
Basically, meat from any part of the carcass could be utilized for processing of
comminuted meat products. Meat or lean trimmings and those coming from older
animals except boar, sick and pregnant animals could also be used as meat material for
processing.

Utilizing meat from older or retired animals is more advantageous to the meat
processors because aside from being cheaper compared to regular meat from younger
animals, this type of meat generally has higher water holding and emulsifying
capacities.

b. Sanitation and hygiene

Strict implementation of proper sanitation and hygiene should be maintained in the
processing area. The comminution of meat increases the chance for contamination of
meat by spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms. During the process, the meat
mixture passes through several equipment that are common points of contamination.

Hence, processing equipment and tools should be properly cleaned and sanitized before
and after use. The processing area or room should also be maintained clean all the
time. Meat material should also come from practically clean sources and should be
properly handled prior to its use. Proper cleaning of meat prior to storage is also a
must.

c. Temperature
When processing emulsion-type products like hotdogs and meat loaves, the
temperature of the meat emulsion should be maintained at 5 to 15 ºC when using
ordinary silent cutter or up to 20ºC when using high-speed emulsion mill. These could
be done by:
1) Using crushed ice or iced-water instead of ordinary water during processing
2) Pre-freezing of meat prior to comminution
3) Working at cold room temperature

When processing hamburgers and reformed meat, start with previously chilled meat
and working at cold room (10-15ºC) is advantageous to prevent rapid microbial growth
and to avoid greasy consistency of the mixture.

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Always chill or partially freeze the meat before doing any processing job like grinding,
chopping or cutting.

III. References

Feiner, G. 2006. Meat Products Handbook. Practical Science and Technology.

Woodhead Publishing Limited, Cambridge, England
Heinz, G.and P. Hautzinger. 2007. Meat Processing Technology for Small to Medium
Scale Producers. FAO.
Ibarra, P.I. 1983. Meat Processing for Small and Medium Scale Operation. University of
the Philippines, Los Banos, Laguna
PCARRD. 2006. The Philippine Recommends for Meat Processing. Los Banos, Laguna
Pearson, A. M. and T. A. Gillet. 1996. Processed Meats. 3 rd ed. Chapman and Hall, New
York
Rivera, L. S. 2003. Meat Specialties of the Philippines. Spices and Foodmix House,
Quezon City
Toldra, F. (ed) (2017). Lawrie’s Meat Science. 8 th ed. Woodhead Publishing.
Toldra, F. (ed). (2010). Handbook of Meat Processing. Wiley and Blackwell.