Meat Technology detailed notes- The porcine Slaughter Process

1. Porcine Slaughter Process

2. Introduction
• The pigs received from the producers are firstly kept in the holding
lairage capacities for 3/4 hours before slaughter to relieve them from
stress.
• Water sprinklers are often used in the lairages to enhance relaxation
• The bio-security measures are also taken into consideration upon the
transport arrival and slaughter.
• The reception and the veterinary also inspect any death and unwell
pigs.

3. The Abattoir
• Often divided into two sections so as to avoid contamination of
carcass during the slaughter.
• The blue section mainly focuses on the outer part of the carcass and
the white section mainly focuses on the inner part of the carcass.
• The veterinary services which mainly emphasis in the health
inspection of the pigs both before slaughter and after slaughter.
• Unhealthy pigs are kept into an emergency slaughter lairage for
examination and after examination the veterinary issues a certificate
of proceed to slaughter and the reception also signs an ante-mortem
inspection for authorization of slaughter.

4. Abattoir Process Flow
RECEPTION
WASHING
STUNNING
BLEEDING
SCALDING HOOVE REMOVAL
SCRAPPING AND
SINGIENG
PRE-VISCRERATION
(Hygienic Dressing)
REMOVAL OF DIRTY
OFFALS
(Hygienic Dressing)
REMOVAL OF CLEAN
OFFALS
CARCASS SPLITING
MEAT INSPECTION
CARCASS SOILING
REMOVAL OF
INDEPENDENT OFFAL
(Tongue)
FINAL CARCASS WASH
WEIGHING AND
GRADING
COOLING

5. Stunning
• This process of stunning involves rendering pig immobile and
unconscious mostly using electric current with a voltage range of 120
to 220 volts.
• The electric current is passed through the brain of the pig for 10
seconds to produce unconsciousness so that it can be stacked
without it feeling any pain.
• The electrodes carried on ends of tongs must be placed accurately
avoiding the areas where the skull is thick.
• The electrode must be applied with strong pressure for proper
transmission of the current.

6. Bleeding
• After the stunning, the pig lay freely on the stunning bed and then
hoisted in rail upside down allowing the sticker to properly cut
through the carotid artery and the jugular vein.
• this helps to promote the bleeding of the pig.
• The bleeding time is usually 6-8 minutes and no dressing should occur
until bleeding has completed.
• A sterilizer bath is used to avoid cross contamination.
• How do you know the bleeding is complete?

7. Scalding and Dehairing
• The carcass is then soaked in hot water with temperature of about 62-64
degrees for 4-6 minutes in order to make it clean and it is a necessary pre-
treatment for dehairing of the pig.
• Low temperatures will not allow the hair to loosened and too high
temperature may result in the skin being cooked hence the hair will be
difficult to remove.
• The carcass is passed through the dehairer for approximately 45 seconds to
remove the hairs on the carcass and then released on the gabbling table
were hooves are removed.
• The hairs are then burned using hand-held gas torch to remove any
remaining hairs and getting rid of any adhering pathogens that might be
present on the skin and this is called singeing.

8. Scrapping
• Black deposits and singed hair are scraped off using a knife and the
carcass is thoroughly cleaned before the evisceration begins.
• The first scrapper mainly focuses on the upper part of the carcass and
the second scrapper mainly focuses on the bottom part of the
carcass.

9. Evisceration and Hygiene Dressing
• At this point the carcasses are eviscerated and internal organs are
removed.
• . The offal’s are divided into two categories the rough offal`s and red
offal`s.
• The rough offal’s they are first to be removed, they are not edible
these include small and large intestines .
• The red offal’s are edible, these include the heart, lungs, livers and
melts. The offal’s are then passed through the tuthe and placed into
different trays according to their category.

10. Carcass soiling and meat inspection
• The carcass are moved through the conveyor belt for soiling it and is
inspected for visible damaged organs.
• The Jarvis machine is used to split the carcass into two equal halves .
• The veterinary department checking any disease on the carcass.
• The veterinary stamps the carcass to show approval for further
processing.
• If not approved the carcass is isolated and further examined.
• How do they approve?

11. Final carcass wash
• After the examination the carcass is then washed with chlorinated
water.
• The chlorine level in the water must be between 20-50 ppm and
hence they must be frequently and carefully monitored.
• The quality control department collect samples of the water after
every one hour for analysis in the laboratory.

12. Weighing and Grading Point
• The weighing and grading is done by the veterinary services.
• The carcass is graded according to their weight, fat content and lean
meat percentage.
• The Hennessey grading machine and the data is recorded in the meat
matrix system.
• After this procedure the carcasses the kept are in chiller for 24 hours
at temperature range 0-5 degrees.

13. Grading of carcasses according to weight
Grade Weight (KG)
Porker 33 – 69
Baconers 70 – 84,9
Heavy Baconers 85,1 – 104,9
Pork trimming sausage 105 – 115
Larder 116 and above
Grading of carcasses according to fat content
Porker A Fat Content (%)
A B 1 – 17
B A 17,2 – 22
C B 22,1 – 33,6

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