This document discusses meat, fish, and poultry processing technology. It outlines various methods of slaughtering and processing animals for food including cattle, pigs, poultry. It describes the Humane Slaughter Act and requirements for minimizing suffering during slaughter. Several methods of stunning and killing animals are explained, including electrical stunning, captive bolt stunning, gas stunning, neck cutting, and neck dislocation. The key steps in meat processing prior to consumption are also summarized such as bleeding, scalding, defeathering, evisceration, chilling, and packing.

1. MEAT, FISH AND POULTRY PROCESSING
TECHNOLOGY
ISHA SINGH
5th SEMESTER

2. *Animal slaughtering
Animal slaughter is the killing of animals, usually
referring to killing domestic livestock.
Involves some initial cutting, opening the major body
cavities to remove the entrails and offal.
 The animals most commonly slaughtered for food are:
• Cattle and water buffalo for beef ,
• Veal, sheep for lamb and mutton,
• Goats for goat meat
• Pigs for pork,
• Deer for venison,
• Horses for horse meat,
• Poultry (mainly chickens, turkeys and ducks),
• Fish in the aquaculture industry (fish farming).

3. *Humane Slaughter Act
• The Humane Slaughter Act, or the Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act is
a United States federal law designed to
decrease suffering of livestock during slaughter.
• The animal should be completely sedated and insensible to pain.
• To minimize the suffering to the point where the animal feels nothing at all.
Either of the following two methods of slaughtering and handling are hereby found to
be humane:-
 Domestic livestock are rendered insensible to pain by a single blow or gunshot or
an electrical, chemical or other means that is rapid and effective.
 By slaughtering in accordance with the ritual requirements of the Islamic and
Jewish faith or any other religious faith that prescribes a method of slaughter.

4. *Methods of Slaughtering
The methods for stunning and slaughter of poultry have been divided into:
• Electrical Stunning
• Concussion (or captive bolt)
Stunning
• Neck Dislocation
• Gas Killing
• Other Methods

5. *Stunning Methods
 Electrical water-bath stunning
• High amperage current is passed through the brain .
• The current renders the animal unconscious.
• Electrical water bath stunning - most commonly used method for
poultry stunning.
• For all multiple bird systems, birds should only be suspended on the
shackle line for a minimum amount of time.
 Head-only electrical stunning
• Birds are restrained in a cone and two electrodes are placed on
either side of the head of each bird.
• After stunning, the birds are automatically transferred to a shackle
and carried for slaughter and processing.
 Head-to-Cloaca Electrical Stunning
• The bird is inverted and placed in a water-bath, which constitutes one
of the two electrodes necessary.
• Another electrode is then automatically placed on the cloaca.
• Such a system not only stuns the birds, but also induces cardiac arrest.

6. Captive bolt stunning
• Uses a short, mushroom-headed bolt to deliver a fatal percussive blow.
• Strikes the animal’s head causing concussion and trauma to the brain.
• In poultry , blow produces significant damage to the skull and brain.
• The birds should be restrained in cones, shackles or by hand.
• The bird’s head is held lightly, gently between thumb and finger.
• The muzzle is positioned on the highest point of the head on the midline of the
skull.

7. Gas stunning
• Often referred to as “Controlled Atmosphere Stunning” or CAS systems.
• Gas stunning does not lead to immediate unconsciousness, but rather induces
unconsciousness gradually.
• A number of gas mixtures can be used to stun and kill poultry:-
• Any mixture of argon, nitrogen or other inert gases.
OR
• A mixture of argon, nitrogen or other inert gases and CO2 .

8. *Neck cutting & dislocation
Neck cutting
• Birds should be bled within 10-15 seconds of stunning.
• Recommended to ensure death occurs before consciousness is regained.
• A sharp, clean knife should be used to cut across the front of the neck just below the head.
• Turkeys and geese are bled for a minimum of two minutes, and other birds for one and a
half minutes.
Neck dislocation
• Kills the bird by rupturing the spinal cord and disrupting the blood flow to the brain by
rupturing the blood vessels in the neck.
• Is preferable to neck cutting following the stunning of diseased casualty birds .
• Done to avoid the risk of disease spread from spillage of blood and bodily fluids.

9. *Methods prior to slaughtering
• Bleeding
• Scalding
• Defeathering
• Singeing and washing
• Removal of feet and oil glands
• Evisceration

10. • Chilling and draining
• Washing
• Grading
• Packing
• Storage