Chapter II Slaughtering and Meat Processing

Chapter II Slaughtering and Meat Processing

The slaughtering process of the meat industry is discussed in this chapter, from
raw materials up to the finished product delivered to the market. It undergoes several
processes in order to produce the best quality of product possible. The flow chart of
meat processing is shown below.

2.1. Process Flow Chart

Shown below is the flow chart of the overall process of the meat processing plant
which describes as to how the raw material is converted (A-F), chilled (G), processed
(H-I) and stored as finished product into the cold storage (K).
C. Scalding
D.
A. B. and
Evisceratio
Stunning Bleeding Dehairing,
n
60 0 C

E. Splitting
H. Cutting and G. Chilling, F. and
Deboning 40C Inspection Washing
of the
Carcass

J. Blast K. Cold
I. Washing
Freezing Storage
And
Batching -16C -25 C

Figure 2.1: Process Flow Chart

The whole process may be divided into two: the processing of the raw materials
(A G) and the processing of the finished product (H K). The processing of the raw
materials starts with the hogs, subject to slaughter which converts the live pork into an
immediate product in the form of carcasses. Once processed and inspected, they are
stored in a chilled storage to keep them fresh for as long as they can be before
processing them into the finished product. The processing of the finished product starts
with cutting and deboning of the carcass which finally converts it into the finished

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product before washing and batching. Finally, the final products are then stored into the
cold storage.

2.2. Slaughtering Process

The process considers all the standardized and approved procedures of

slaughtering the hogs with the goal of applying the most efficient and humane way of
extracting meat from the livestock for food. Lettering is based from the flow chart.

A. Stunning

The process of stunning starts with the hog walking into the stun pen on its own.
Once the hog is in the pen, an electrode with 2 pads is placed behind their ears and an
electrical charge is applied to stun the animal. This makes the hog unconscious or
disabled so that the hog will feel the least pain throughout the slaughtering process.

Source: fao.org
Figure 2.2: Electric Stunning of Hogs
B. Bleeding

After stunning, the hog is then hung upside down over the blood bucket and one
quick incision is made to bleed the hog. With the carcass hanging upside down and the
major blood vessels cut, the majority of the blood in the carcass is drained.

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 Chapter II Slaughtering and Meat Processing

Source: fao.org
Figure 2.3: Incised Hog

C. Scalding and Dehairing

The carcass of the hog is heated by steam to about 60 C and is wholly placed
into the scalder to remove the fur and dirt. Notice that the organs are still inside the

carcass.

Source: fao.org
Figure 2.4: Scalding and Dehairing

D. Evisceration

The process of evisceration refers to the removal of internal organs. The inedible
viscera consist of the spleen, esophagus, lungs, intestines, and reproductive organs. In
this process, the carcass is held in hooks (Figure 2.5) and the intestines are federally
inspected for signs of diseases or other problems. Identified disease or other problems
results in the removal, or condemnation, of the carcass from the processing line.

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Source: pig processing line

Figure 2.5: Removal of Internal Organs

E. Splitting and Washing

Splitting is the process of cutting the carcass in half using a mechanical saw in
order to expose the internal parts of the carcass. Then, the process of washing
proceeds with the carcasses being cleaned for microbial and visible concerns.

Source: fao.org
Figure 2.6: Splitting of Carcass Using Mechanical Saw

F. Inspection

Meat inspection must be applied to the carcass and its organs before chilling.
There are inspected by a meat inspector to check and approve it for food processing.

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Figure 2.7 shows the meat inspectors manually inspecting the carcass. This should be
carried out by registered practitioners with enough experience.

Source: fao.org
Figure 2.7: Meat Inspection

These processes from point A to F constitutes the raw material processing of

slaughter which converts the live hogs into split carcasses held in conveyor hooks for
easy transport.

2.3. Chilling

During storage, aging (ripening) of the meat also occurs, which results into
progressively increased tenderness and development of the unusual taste on meat
through the proteolytic activity of meat enzymes present in the carcasses.

To prevent or reduce the deterioration process, particularly microorganism

development, chilling has to be carried out quickly after carcass dousing at the end of
the slaughter process, where the chilled state has to be maintained at a low temperature
until the meat is further processed for conversion into the finished product.

In terms of chilling temperature, different meat exhibits different thermal

properties. With the cold storage set to its recommended temperature of 45 C (FAO,
1991), beef carcasses can reach an average temperature of about 15C in a four-hour
period while pork and mutton reach the same temperature in two to two and a half
hour. However temperature inside the carcass may remain relatively higher due to time
lag effects of heat transfer. Thus, during the second phase of chilling, conditions
becomes more exacting, and an average temperature of about 4C is stabilized after
1516 hours in a secondary refrigerating chamber. This method is used in high-capacity

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slaughterhouses particularly for pig carcasses; for beef and mutton, slower cooling is
recommended because of the dangers of cold shortening (FAO 1991).

Source: fao.org

Figure 2.8: Carcasses inside the Chiller

It should be cleared out in this section that the process of chilling is different from
freezing. Freezing is a much higher degree of chilling that requires the product to be
maintained at a temperature lower or equal to its freezing temperature. As such, a
change of phase is evident from the frozen product with changes in its physical
properties. Freezing is more effective in terms of preserving the product but requires

more time.

On the other hand, chilling does not require the product to reach temperatures
below its freezing point. This process only requires the product to be subject into
temperature levels that effectively lower the aging or deterioration process of the
product.

The choice between chilling and freezing mainly depends on the application of
the refrigerating process. In particular, it depends on the degree of storage in terms of
how long and at what state shall the product be stored. As such, pork processing plant
only utilizes chilling for meat carcasses since these immediate products are subject to
further processing and not for storage alone. Further information regarding the chilled

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storage design for the carcass meat is given in Chapter III Cold Storage Design of this
paper.

2.4. Meat Processing

Finished product processing is discussed in this section where it is desired to

have deboned pork cuts at the end of the process from the immediate product of pork
carcass.

H. Cutting and Deboning

Cutting is done by using mechanical saw to cut the carcass to its desired cuts
(Figure 2.9). Reduced temperature due to chilling helps in providing ease of cutting. On
the other hand, deboning is the process of removing unnecessary bones in the carcass.

Source: www.britannica.com
Figure 2.9: Illustration of Pork Cuts
I. Washing and Packaging

Cleaning of the carcasses involve washing in order to remove dirt and remaining
blood from the carcass that may increase rate of spoilage. Afterwhich, the products are
cut and put into crate forwarded to the blast freezer and on to the cold storage.

2.5. Freezing

The conclusion of the meat processing comes down to the storage of the finished
products. This is achieved in two steps: blast freezing and cold storage.

J. Blast Freezing (Quick Freezing)

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Slow freezing is considered to have air velocity below 1 cm/hr and quick freezing
above 5 cm/hr (FAO, 1991). Blast freezing is commonly done in terms of an air blast
where it utilizes the effects of low temperature and high air velocity around the product
to bring it to low temperature in relatively short period of time. The use of blast freezing
will preserve the meat closer to its original quality and particularly during thawing,
moisture loss will generally be lower. A product can be considered frozen when its core
has a temperature of -12C or less. This process requires a long period of time and the
speed of freezing is a very important factor as frozen meat quality depends mainly on
the size of the ice crystal formed: the lower the speed of freezing the larger the size of
the crystals. Thus, blast freezing is carried out for freezing of the pork cuts.

K. Cold Storage

After freezing the meat on the blast freezer, the final process of the finished
product is the cold storage where it is stored indefinitely depending on the customer
demand of the meat industry. Meats properly frozen are transferred from the freezer to
storage chambers where temperature, relative humidity and air circulation should be
adequate and can be tightly controlled. In particular, fluctuations in temperature must be
kept to a very narrow time interval. As there is a certain degree of quality deterioration,
even at very low temperatures, storage life is limited. The usual temperatures are in the
range of -18 to -25C for periods of preservation. However, each type of meat requires
specific conditions.