This document discusses meat processing from slaughter to packaging. It describes the slaughter process including steps like stunning, sticking, and evisceration. Post-slaughter handling and factors that affect meat quality like breed, maturity, color, and marbling are explained. Various meat processing techniques are classified including curing, sausages, and restructured meat. Methods of preservation such as drying, smoking, salting and packaging materials are also outlined.

1. 8.0 Meat
8.4 Slaughtering Process, Post
Harvest Handling and Quality
Attributes
8.5 General Processing and Value
Added Products

2. Objectives
 Describe the slaughtering procedure and
 Classify meat products according to meat processings
 Identify non-meat ingredients used in meat preservation
 Identify methods of preservation of meat
 Describe the labelling and packaging used for meat
 Identify materials available for packaging of meat and
meat products

3. Meat

4. 8.4 SLAUGHTERING PROCESS, POST
HARVEST HANDLING AND QUALITY
ATTRIBUTES.
8.4.1 INTRODUCTION
 animal product comprise approximately 16% of the
calories and 55% of the protein in total world food
supply
 most of the worlds meat supply comes from
cattle,buffalo,swine,sheep,goats and horses
 meat processing already started even before historian
started to record events
 up to now the same processes is practiced but they are
already modified to suit the consumer’s need for
processed and preserved meat.

5. 8.4.2 SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
 There are few factors to be consider on pre-slaughter
handling of meat such as at the farm,during transport,at
the stockyard and also at abattoir.
 Moreover there are few factors to be consider for
selection of animal for slaughtering such as age of the
animal,sex of the animal,size,degree of fatness and also
health of the animal.
 There are few steps in managing of animal prior to
slaughter:fasting,relaxedanimal, handling animals gently
and also cleaning of animals.

6.  Steps that are included in slaughtering is
stunning,sticking,scalding and scarping,removal of the
head,evisceration,spiltting,post mortem inspection and
also chilling
 Actors that affect meat qualities are
color,texture(tenderness),odour and also flavour.
 Meat should be handle properly so that it is safe to
consume by people
 The uncooked meat should keep in refridgeratorso that it
wont spoil easily

7. 8.4.3 Meat Quality
 The grade of meat is vary depend the type of animals
 Factors such as the breed, maturity, color of the meat,
and the fat intramuscular and connective tissue
distribution of the meat( marbling)

8. 8.4.4 Breed
 Livestock breed can affect the quality characteristics of
the meat produced, either because the breed has
naturally adapted to stressful environment conditions or
because two or more breeds have been purposefully
crossbred to increase prevalence of desirable qualities
 Eg :Brahman cattle are used in southwestern United
State because resistance to adverse environment
condition but Brahman carcasses has tenderness issue.
But Japanese Wagyu breed can produces highly marbled
tender meat.
 By cross breeding the Brahman cattle and Japanese
Wagyu cattle producing a Waguli cattle that have high
degree of marbling and low calpastatin (protein found in
liver and erythrocytes of mammals) activity in the tissue.
As a result we have more tender meat immediately after
slaughtering.

9. Cross breeding
Brahman Cattle Japanase Wagyu Cattle
Waguli
Cattle

10. 8.4.5 Maturity
 Maturity of animal influenced the quality of meat
 5 classification for beef there are A, B, C, D and E
 A- is for cattle aged 9-10months, A is for cattle aged 12-
30months, B is for cattle aged 30-50 months, C is for
cattle aged 60-70 months, D is for older cattle and E is for
oldest cattle

11. 8.4.6 Meat color
 Meat color can be affected by the concentration of heme
pigments like myglobin, haemoglobin , their chemical
states and the light- scattering properties of the
meat(Lawrie 2002)
 At high pH, the heme iron is predominantly in the ferrous
state(Fe2+), while at low pH accelerates ferrous iron
conversion to the ferric state (Fe3+)
 Oxygen can bind to heme iron only if it is in the ferrous
state(Fe2+)
 Water can bind to myglobin (Mb) only if the iron is in the
ferrous form.

12.  Under low oxygen tension conditions, Mb exists in the
purple colored, reduces form (Fe2+). Exposed to oxygen
for a short period of time, the central iron(Fe2+) reversibly
binds oxygen, producing oxymyglobin(MbO2), which is
bright pink or red
 When exposed to O2 for a longer period of time, the
central iron atom can lose an electron (oxidized to Fe3+),
producing metmyoglobin (MetMb), which is grey-brown
 Immediately post slaughter, the oxidized form can be
reduced by endogenous reducing systems in the meat,
as long as reducing equivalents (NADH) are available
and the globin fraction is in its native state (undenatured).
 Over time, these reducing equivalents are depleted and
the pigment is irreversibly oxidized

14. 8.4.7 Marbling
 Marbling is correlated to the distribution of fat deposit
(intramuscular fat) on connection tissue of
perimysiumand endomysiumparts
 A certain level of marbling is necessary to assure
palatability, in term of juiciness and flavor
 The degrees of Marbling are abundant, moderately
abundant, slightly abundant, moderate, modest, small
and slight
 Additional degrees: very abundant, traces and practically
devoid

16.  Degrees for pork: abundant, moderate, small, slight and
traces
 US beef grades: Prime, Choice, Good, Standard and
Commercial
 Three other grades of beef there are utility, cutter and
canner
 There is relationship between marbling, maturity and
quality of meat carcass

18. 8.5 GENERAL PROCESSING AND
VALUE ADDED PRODUCTS.
8.5.1 Classification of meat products
according to meat processings
 Noncomminuted products. (eg. Ham and bacon)
 Comminuted products ( sauseges and restructured meat
products. )

19. 8.5.2 Types of processed meat
 Cured meat. Three methods of curing; dry cure, sweet
pickle cure, combination method.
 Sauseges
 Restructured meat products

20. 8.5.3 Non-meat ingredients used in
meat preservation
 Salt
 Sugar
 Nitrate/nitrite
 Phosphates
 Ascorbates
 Spices
 Binders/emulsifiers/filters
 Vinegar
 Extenders

21. 8.5.4 Methods of preservation
 Drying
 Smoking
 Salting
 Chilling and freezing
 Canning
 Curing

22. 8.5.5 Labelling and packaging
Characteristics of a good packaging material :-
 Oxygen barrier
 Moisture barrier
 Mouldable and pliable
 Flavourless and tasteless
 High wet strength and resistant to scraping/tearing
 Adaptable to labelling
 Stripability
 Attractive

23. 8.5.6 Materials available of packaging
of meat and meat products
 Glass and metal containers
 Aluminium foil
 Paper and paper board
 Films or plastics like cellophane or polyethylene
 Saran
 Chemically treated rubber

24. 8.5.7 Labelling
 Label shoulld be legible and indelible
 Label should be more informative :-
1. name of products
2. ingredients
3. quantity
4. inspection stamp
5. name and address of processor
6. data prepared
7. consumption/expiry date
8. label must be accurate


25. References
 Fidel Toldra’, 2010, Handbook meat processing, First
edition, Wiley-Blackwell
 Amy Brown, 2008, Understanding food Principle &
Preparation, Third edition, Thomson- Wadsword