Meat and Poultry Processing

MEAT

• Meat-can be defined as “the muscle tissue of slaughter

animals”.

• It is the edible portion of mammals which contains muscle, fat,

bone, connective tissue, and water (includes meat from cattle, pig,
and sheep).

• Is used to describe animal that are eaten as food.

• Meat is considered as perishable food.

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• Sources of meat, fat and animal by-products.

• Meat, fat and other carcass parts used as raw

materials for the manufacture of processed meat
products are mainly derived from the domesticated
animal species cattle, pigs and poultry and to a lesser
extend from buffaloes, sheep and goats.

• In some regions other animal species such as camels,

yaks, horses and game animals are used as meat
animals but play only a minor role in meat processing.
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TYPES OF MEAT

A. Cattle- meat of steers or heifers

1. Beef- cattle over 1 year when slaughtered

2. Veal-cattle 3 to 14 weeks when slaughtered

3. Calf-cattle 14 weeks to 1 year when slaughtered

4. Bright cherry red color with external layer of fat

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B. Pork- the meat of swine

a. Hogs or pigs not more than 1 year of age when slaughtered

b. Grayish pink/rose color with well-marbled exterior

C. Sheep

1. Lamb- the smallest animal used for meat

a.Animals not more than 14 months of age when slaughtered

b.Pinkish/red color with fine texture

2. Mutton- meat from older sheep

a. Slaughtered over the age of two years

b. Dark red color with layer of cream-colored exterior fat.
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Why is Meat Important?

High quality protein

Iron

Vitamin B

Vitamin A

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 Chemical composition of meat

• In general, meat is composed of water, fat, protein, minerals and a small

proportion of carbohydrate, etc. .

• The most valuable component from the nutritional and processing point
of view is protein.

• Protein contents and values define the quality of the raw meat material and
its suitability for further processing.

• Protein content is also the criterion for the quality and value of the
finished processed meat products.

• Protein is made up of about 20 amino acids.

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• Approximately 65% of the proteins in the animal body are skeleton muscle
protein, about 30% connective tissue proteins (collagen, elastin) and the
remaining 5% blood proteins and keratin (hairs, nails).

• Muscle proteins have been broadly classified into three categories:

i) Myofibrillar proteins -- soluble in dilute salt solution

ii) Sarcoplasmic proteins -- soluble in water or very dilute salt solution.

iii) Stroma or connective tissue proteins -- almost insoluble

• Water is a variable of these components, and is closely and inversely

related to the fat content.

• Fat content is higher in whole carcasses than in thin carcass cuts.

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 Vitamins and minerals

• Meat contains a number of essential vitamins and minerals.

• It is an excellent source of many of the B vitamins, including

thiamine, B6, niacin, and folic acid.

• Some types of meat, especially liver, also contain vitamins A, D, E,

and K.

• Meat is an excellent source of the minerals iron, zinc, and

phosphorus.

• It also contains a number of essential trace minerals, including 

copper, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, chromium, and fluorine.
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 MEAT PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY

 Meat processing technology comprises the steps and procedures

in the manufacture of processed meat products.

 Processing meat also involves slaughtering animals, cutting the

meat, inspecting it to ensure that it is safe for consumption,
packaging it, processing it into other products such as sausage or
lunch meats, delivering it to stores, and selling it to customers.

The meat-processing industry is a separate entity from the meat-

packing industry: Processing involves taking the meat in its raw
form and turning it into another product that is marketable, safe
for consumption, and attractive to consumers.
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The slaughter of livestock involves three distinct stages: pre slaughter
handling, stunning, and slaughtering.
 Pre slaughter handling

• Preslaughter handling is a major concern to the livestock industry, especially the

pork industry. 

• Stress applied to livestock before slaughter can lead to undesirable effects on the 

meat produced from these animals.

• Preslaughter stress can be reduced by preventing the mixing of different groups of

animals, by keeping livestock cool with adequate ventilation, and by avoiding
 overcrowding.

• Before slaughter, animals should be allowed access to water but held off feed for 12
to 24 hours to assure complete bleeding and ease of evisceration (the removal of
internal organs). 10
Stunning

 Stunning is the process of rendering animals immobile or lifeless,

with or without killing the animal, when or immediately prior to
slaughtering them for food.

 As the slaughter process begins, livestock are controlled in a force

that limits physical movement of the animal.

• Stunning also results in decreased stress of the animal and

superior meat quality.

• The three most common methods of stunning

are mechanical, electrical, and carbon dioxide (CO2) gas.

• The end result of each method is to render the animal lifeless.

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Slaughtering
• Slaughter is the term used to describe the killing and
butchering of animals (bleed to death) usually for food.

• Commonly it refers to killing and butchering of domestic

livestock (controlled animals) in a humane way.

• This method allows for maximal blood removal from the

body. At this point in the process, the slaughtering
procedures begin to differ by species.

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 At present the animals most commonly slaughtered
for food are
• cattle
• buffalo
• sheep
• goats
• pigs
• horses,
• and birds (largely chickens, turkeys, and ducks)
• increasingly fish from the aquaculture industry (fish
farming)

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SLAUGHTERING PRACTICES AND TECHNIQUES

Slaughter methods vary all over the world according to

religion, tradition and royal legislation.
This is characteristic of Jewish (Kosher), Sikh (Jhatka) and
orthodox Islamic (or Halal) slaughters.

Some cultures in Africa and Asia also slaughter animals in

the conscious state although these do not necessarily carry
ritualistic connotations.

Where a complete state of unconsciousness is rendered prior

to bleeding the process is known as humane slaughtering.
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(a) Stunning
The modern mechanical method of stunning is by shooting, consisting
of two forms:

• use of a captive bolt pistol which delivers a force (concussion) into the
head of the animal to make it unconscious / lifeless;

• use of a penetrating free-bullet gun or handgun. 

Stunning by electricity is used widely on small animals especially pigs.

 The simplest mechanism consists of electrodes or probes built in the

form of tongs with insulated handles and applied between the ear and
eye of the animal for 1–4 secs.

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• Chemical stunning is a term applied to the use of carbon dioxide
in making animals immobile before bleeding.

• Like the electrical form, Co2 stunning, though a costly method, is

nevertheless used quite commonly on small livestock including
sheep and goats.

• The animals are led individually or in pairs into a pit, tunnel or a

compartment where CO2 of 65–75 percent (optimum 70 percent)
concentration is released for 60 secs.

• The animals quickly pass into an unconscious state, but are not
suffocated. They are then removed and bled immediately.
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(b). Bleeding
• Stunned animals must be positioned first for bleeding.

• A vertical or hanging position is achieved by shackling below the

hock of one hind leg and hoisting the animal (head down) to a
convenient height.

• Alternatively, the animal can be placed horizontally on a concrete

slab or a sturdy plastic pallet for bleeding.

• The bleeding should be as complete as possible, the usual time for

sheep and goats being about 2 minutes.

• Hoist bleeding is more hygienic and is recommended. It also

facilitates collection of blood for further use.
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(c). Skinning

• In removing the skin of sheep and goats initial cutting of the skin is
done around the leg to expose and loosen the tendon of the hock for use
as a means of hanging the carcass. This process is called legging.

• A second step called pelting involves the removal of the entire skin and
preparation of the animal body for evisceration.

• Skinning, like stunning, can be done either in the horizontal or hanging

position,

• the former being more suited to small slaughterhouses and the last for
larger premises with bigger orders and with facilities or equipment for
railing the individual carcasses one after another.
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(d). Evisceration

 Is the processes of remove the internal organs from

carcasses during meat processing.

 This process can include washing out carcasses, cutting and

recovering components of the animal as assigned and
inspecting carcasses for quality.

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 (e). Postmortem Inspection

• Inspection is normally carried out by professional veterinarians but in

some parts of the world trained public health inspectors are employed.

• Their duty is to examine the slaughter products for evidence of disease

and abnormality and eliminate them from the public meat supply.

• What is the difference between anti and post mortem inspection?

 Some of the major objectives of ante mortem inspection are as follows:

• to screen all animals intended to slaughter.

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• to ensure that animals are properly rested and that proper

clinical information, to assist in the disease diagnosis and

judgement, is obtained.

• to reduce contamination on the killing floor by separating the

dirty animals and the diseased animals if required by regulation.

• to identify sick animals and those treated with antibiotics,

chemotherapeutic agents, insecticides and pesticides.

• to require and ensure the cleaning and disinfection of trucks

used to transport livestock.

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 Post-mortem inspection covers the inspection of the
carcasses and parts of meat and poultry used for human food.

 It takes place after ante-mortem inspection and after the

animal or poultry has been slaughtered thus the term “post-
mortem,” meaning “after death” in Latin.

 The purpose of meat inspection is to certify whether or not

meat is fit for human consumption

• Examination of the carcass visually, looking at all surfaces

from all angles;

• determination of the sex of the carcass;

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• examination of the colour of fatty and muscle tissues (both should be
within the normal range) – fatty tissue yellowing can be caused by
abnormal liver function, by normal ageing of the animal or by the type
of feed consumed;

• examination of muscle tissue for bruising;

• inspection of visible blood vessels with care: these must be properly

drained of blood;

• inspection of the abdominal cavity for signs of adherence (peritonitis);

• if the carcass is considered to be normal, based on the above

examination, further cutting will not be required.
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(F). Special Measures

• Carcasses and edible offal that are considered fit for

human use are stamped as “INSPECTED” and/or
“PASSED” prior to package to markets.

• Unfit materials or those found unwholesome are

marked as “CONDEMNED” and destroyed.

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Quality Characteristics

1. Tenderness

• the attributes of the eating qualities of meat, texture and

tenderness are presently rated most important by the average
consumer.

• Tenderness is the primary essential quality index of meat, and if

meat is not tender it may be considered unacceptable, despite
other characteristics such as color, flavor, and juiciness.

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Factors Responsible for Tenderness in Meat

1. Genetics (45%): 2. Species & Age:

 Tenderness – Variations in tenderness is observed to a great extent in Beef

followed by lamb & pork.

 Tenderness depends on age of the animal at the time of slaughter

 The decrease in tenderness with increasing age is due to charging nature of

collagen (gristle), connective tissue protein found in meat. Collagen becomes

complex & stronger with advancing age.

3. Feeding: Feed of the animal influences tenderness.

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Eg: Grain fed animals usually are slightly more tender because

they are slaughtered at a slightly younger age.

4. Mechanical:

Grinding – increases tenderness & produces uniform texture

5. Chemical

 Salt curing and usage of vegetable enzymes like papain,

bromelin ,ficin degrade connective tissue like collagen & elastin
to yield tender meat.

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2. Water-Holding Capacity and Juiciness

 The water-holding capacity of meat is an attribute of obvious

importance.

• This property of meat has a special significance because it

contributes to the juiciness of cooked meat besides influencing the
texture and colour.

Apart from these general effects, the water holding capacity of

meat is affected by several other factors such as species, and age.

Conditioning (aging) of meat increases its water-holding capacity.

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o Water constitutes about 76% of fresh meat.

o In muscles, water molecules carry positive and negative charges.

The location of these molecules allows water to exist in three
different forms—free water, immobilized water and bound
water.

• The water molecules held by capillary forces on the surface

make up free water which can be removed by application of
even minor physical force.

• The middle layer of water molecules remain in contact with

proteins and make up immobilized water, a large part of which
can be removed by application of severe physical conditions. 38
• However, 4-5% of water molecules are strongly bound to the
charged hydrophilic groups on the muscle proteins that they do
into allow this bound water to escape by application of any
physical force.

• The capacity of meat to retain its water during the application of

physical forces in known as water holding capacity (WHC).

• Fresh meat with a good water holding capacity is less prone to

shrinkage during storage.

• WHC of meat is very important in processing where meat is

subjected to physical forces such as cutting, grinding, filling,
pressing, heating etc. 39
• Increase of the water-to-meat ratio by water addition increases
the overall water-holding capacity of the mix.

• Sodium chloride added to the mix also enhances water-

holding capacity.

• Certain salts of weak acids, in particular phosphates and

polyphosphates, are also added to comminuted meats to
enhance water-holding capacity.

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Juiciness

• The sensation of juiciness is composed of two organoleptic

components.

• First is the impression of wetness during the first few chews

produced by the rapid release of meat fluid;

• the second is a sustained juiciness largely due to the

stimulatory effect of fat on salivation.

• Tenderness and juiciness are closely related and, in general,

the more tender the meat, the more readily juices appear to be
liberated during eating.
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 Meat colouring
The red pigment that provides the characteristic colour of meat is called
myoglobin.

Myoglobin absorbs oxygen carried by the small blood vessels and

serves as an oxygen reserve for contraction of the living muscle.

In meat the myoglobin provides the red meat colour and plays a
significant role in the curing reaction.

Myoglobin concentration in muscles also differs among animal species.

The “meaty” taste can be further enhanced by adding monosodium

glutamate (MSG)(0.05-0.1%), which can reinforce the meat taste of
certain products.
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meat colour varies with species, sex, age and even
among different muscles of the same species.

• Mutton : Light to dark red

• Pork : Greyish pink

• Poultry : Grey white to dull red

• Buffalo meat and beef : Cherry red.

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Marbling

 It refers to the intramuscular fat which can be visibly detected when the
muscle surface is cut.

 The solidification of this fat during chilling contributes to the firmness

of meat.

• During thermal processing, moderately marbled meat yields a juicy and

flavorful product

• whereas too little marbling yields a dry and flavorless product.

• Excess marbling neither enhances the eating satisfaction nor desired in

a fat conscious society.

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 processed meat products

 meat can be made shelf-stable, which means that they

can be kept without refrigeration either as

(1) canned heat sterilized products, or

(2) fermented and slightly dried products or

(3) products where the low level of product moisture

and other preserving effects inhibit bacterial growth.

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 Meat processing technologies includes.

 Cutting/chopping/comminuting (size reduction)

 Mixing

 Heat treatment

 Salting/ curing ( by using preserving)

 Utilization of spices/non-meat additives

 drying

 Smoking

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 Meat processing technologies include on the one hand purely technical

processes such as

 Cutting, chopping

 Mixing

 Stuffing/filling of semi-fabricated meat mixes into synthetic films, cans

etc.

 Heat treatment

 On the other hand, chemical or biochemical processes, such as

 Salting and curing

 Utilization of spices and additives

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MEAT PROCESSING AND PRESERVATION

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EQUIPMENT USED IN MEAT PROCESSING

1.Meat grinder (Mincer)

A meat grinder is a machine used to force meat or meat

trimmings by means of a feeding worm (auger) under pressure
through a horizontally mounted cylinder (barrel).

 At the end of the barrel there is a cutting system consisting of

star-shaped knives rotating with the feeding worm and stationary
perforated discs (grinding plates).

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2. Cutting (reducing meat particle size

 There are different methods of mechanical meat cutting for which

specialized machinery is used:

a. Mincing (grinding) of lean and fatty animal tissues.

• Larger pieces of soft edible animal tissues can be reduced in size by

passing them through meat grinders.

b. Chopping animal tissues in bowl cutter (discontinuous process)

• Bowl cutters are used to chop and mix fresh or frozen lean meat, fat
(and/or edible offal, if required) together with water (often used in
form of ice), functional ingredients (salt, curing agents, additives) and
extenders (fillers and/or binders.
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 It helps to improve colour and texture of the meat products by
keeping oxygen out of the meat mixes and avoid air pockets.

C. Frozen meat cutting

 Boneless frozen meat blocks can be cut in slices, cubes or flakes

by frozen meat cutters or flakers.

 The frozen meat particles (2-10 cm) can be directly chopped in

bowl cutters without previous thawing thus avoiding drip losses,
bacterial growth and discoloration which would happen during
thawing .

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 Ingredients in Meat processing
 Food Additives
• Preservatives  Salt heightens the flavor of
• Emulsifiers various food.
• Surface active agents • Rock salt
• Stabilizers • Iodized salt
 Sugar
 Spices
 Water

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Various Methods of Meat Preservation

Meat is a highly perishable commodity due to nearly

neutral pH (low acid food), high moisture content and
rich nutrients.
Various methods employed to prolong the shelf-life of
meat are:
1. Chilling /Refrigeration
2. Freezing
3. Curing
4. Smoking
5. Thermal processing
6. Canning
7. Dehydration
8. Irradiation. 55
Chilling/Refrigeration

This is the most widely used method of preservation for short term

storage of meat because chilling or refrigeration slows down the

microbial growth and enzymatic as well as chemical reactions.

 Storage of fresh meat is done at a refrigeration temperature of 2 to 5 oc.

Refrigeration of meat begins with the chilling of animal carcasses and

continues through the entire channel of holding, cutting, transit, retail

display and even in the consumer household before ultimate use.

 The relative humidity is generally kept 90% in order to check excessive shrinkage

due to loss of moisture.

Carcasses are first held in chill coolers (15 oc) to remove their body heat and then

passed on to holding coolers (5 oc).

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• It is important to maintain proper spacing between carcasses so as
to allow thorough air circulation

• The refrigerated storage life of meat is influenced by species of

origin, initial microbial load, packaging and temperature as well as
humidity conditions during storage.

• Pork and poultry start with a comparatively high microbial load.

• Irrespective of species of origin, utmost care should be taken during

handling of meat in order to check further microbial contamination.

• Since convenience of meat plant workers is also important, the

temperature in cutting and packing halls generally exceeds 5oc

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• Generally, fresh meat is maintained in good condition
for a period of 5-7 days at a refrigerated temperature
of 4±1oc.

• Processed meat products are also stored under

refrigeration till these are finally consumed.

• These meat products are less perishable as compared to

fresh meat.

• The refrigerated shelf life of these products depends

on the processing steps followed in each case.
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Freezing

• freezing is a method of choice for the long term preservation of

meat.

• It stops the microbial growth and slow down the action of enzymes.

• It has the advantage of retaining most of the nutritive value of meat

during storage, although a very little loss of nutrients does occur in
the drip during thawing process.

• Various type of freezers are employed to freeze meat and meat

products.

• In plate type freezers, meat is placed in trays which remain in

direct contact with metal freezer plates. 59
• A temperature of –10 oc or so is achieved.

• Blast type freezers are used in large meat plants. Such

freezers render fast freezing of meat products due to rapid air
movement.

• A temperature range of –10 to –30 oc is generally achieved.

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Curing

Preservation of meat by heavy salting is an age old practice.

 It was applied as a thumb rule because refrigeration facilities

were not available.

Later, curing by common salt and sodium nitrite resulted in

comparatively improved products.

These days mild curing of meat products is practiced mainly for

specific flavor and colour development and preservative effects of
curing ingredients is an added advantage.

Sodium chloride, sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate and sugar are the
main curing ingredients. 61
Sodium chloride (common salt) exerts its preservative action as
follows:

i. It inhibits the growth of spoilage bacteria.

ii. Chloride ions in the salt directly act on the microorganisms.

iii. It slows down the action of proteolytic enzymes in meat.

 Besides, sodium chloride interacts with fatty acids to enhance the

flavor of the cured products.

 It also contributes to the tenderness of the product

Sodium nitrates and nitrite: Serve to stabilize the attractive cured

meat colour and impart characteristic cured meat flavor.
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There are several methods of curing:

I. Dry cure Dry ingredients are cleaned to meat, e.g. curing of

bacon

II. Pickle cure Meat cuts are immersed in ingredient solution

(pickle), e.g. curing of pork shoulder

III. Injection cure concentrated solution of the ingredients is

pumped into the meat through artery or injected by needles in
the muscular pork, e.g. curing of pork ham.

IV. Direct addition method Curing agents are added directly to

finely ground meat, e.g. luncheon meat
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Smoking

Meat smoking was known to man as an aid in preservation for a

long time.

It is now well known that smoke contains a large number of wood

degradation products such as aldehydes, ketones, organic acids,

phenols etc. Which exert

bacteriostatic effect besides imparting characteristic smoky flavor.

Preservation of smoked meat is also due to surface dehydration,

lowering of surface pH and antioxidant property of smoke

constituents.
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• Smoke generation is accompanied by formation of numerous
organic compounds and their condensation products.

• Aldehydes and phenols condense to form resins, which constitute

505 of the smoke components and contribute most of the colour
of smoked meat products.

• Phenols act mainly as bacteriostatic and formaldehyde as the

chief bactericidal compound.

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Thermal Processing

 thermal processing as a preservative method is employed to kill the

spoilage microorganisms.

Two temperature regimes, that of pasteurization and sterilizations are

generally used.

Pasteurization refers to moderate heating in the temperature range of 58oc

to 75oc whereby most of the microorganisms present including trichinae
occasionally found in pork are killed.

Incidentally, this is also the cooking temperature range of most processed

meats.

This heat treatment significantly extends the shelf life of meat, although such
products also need to be stored under refrigeration. 66
Sterilization refers to severe heating at temperatures above 100oc
whereby all spoilage microorganisms in meat are killed or their
microbial cells are damaged beyond repair.

This heat treatment renders the meat products commercially

sterile because some bacterial spores may still survive.

Such meat products have a recommended shelf life of two years

in cans and one year in retort pouches at ambient temperature in
tropics.

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Canning

• It is a process of preservation achieved by thermal sterilization of a

product held in hermetically sealed containers.

• Canning preserves the sensory attributes such as appearance, flavor and

texture of the meat products to a large extent.

• Besides, canned meat products have a shelf life of at least 2 years at

ambient temperature .

• Conventional canning is done in the following steps:

 Preparation of meat and Carcass is deboned and 4 cm meat pieces are

prepared.

 Meat is prepared using condiments, tomatoes, dry spices and salt etc..
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Precooking Meat and gravy, both are precooked at 70oc for 15
minutes. It reduces the initial microbial load.

 Filling Filling in cans may be done manually or mechanically

leaving proper headspace as per BIS specifications.

 Exhausting It refers to the removal of air from the container

before it is closed. Mechanical exhausting may vacuum seal the
cans.

 Seaming This is usually done by a double seamer machine.

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Dehydration

Removal of water from meat concentrates the water soluble nutrients

making them unavailable to the microorganisms.

The extent of availability of water to microbial cell is expressed as water

activity (aw).

Dehydration lowers the water activity considerably to prevent the growth

of spoilage organisms.

Sun drying of meat chunks as a means of preservation was practiced even

in ancient days but rehydration of such meat chunks used to be limited.

Mechanical drying process involves the passage of hot air with controlled
humidity but here also there is difficulty in rehydration.
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 Freeze drying of meat is a satisfactory process of dehydration
preservation due to better reconstitution properties, nutritive
quality and acceptability.

Freeze drying involves the removal of water from a food by

sublimation from the frozen state to vapour state by keeping it
under vacuum and giving a low heat treatment.

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Irradiation
Radiation is the emission and propagation of energy in the
material medium.

Electromagnetic radiations are in the form of continuous

waves.

These are capable of ionizing molecules in their path.

These radiations can destroy the microorganisms by

fragmenting their DNA molecules and causing ionization of
inherent water within microorganisms.
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 In addition, there are many chemicals which prevent microbial
growth in foods and act as preservatives.

Several organic acids; citric acid, propionic acid, benzoic acid,

sorbic acid and their salts are effective mold inhibitors.

Acetic acid and lactic acid prevent bacterial growth, whereas sorbate
and acetate are capable of stunning the growth of yeast in foods.

It may be noted that modern meat food processors do not rely on any
single preservative factor or technique.

They employ a combination of preservative factors (hurdles) in a

balanced manner to derive maximum benefit.
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Processing of Poultry Meat

• POULTRY Refers to domestic birds such as chicken,

duck, goose, turkey, pigeon, and quails.

• Chicken meat is pinkish white in breast and wings

and in other parts pink to light red.

• In general poultry meat is described as white meat

while meat from other animals is called red meats.

• typical composition chicken is moisture 73.7 %,

protein   20-23% and fat 1.0%.

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• Primary objective of poultry meat processing is to
inhibit microbial growth and to stop deteriorative
quality changes in the meat.

• Poultry meat processing utilises, the same principles

viz. refrigeration, freezing, smoking, curing,
dehydration, freeze drying, canning and ionising
radiations  as applied in the beef and pork sector.

• Sometime antibiotics are also added to preserve raw

poultry meat.
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 Nutritive Value
Protein: 20-25%, Carbohydrate: 0%

Fat: white meat 1-4%, Dark meat 7%, skin 14%, duck/goose 10%.

Vitamin: B1, B2, Niacin less than red meat.

Minerals: small amount calcium, less iron than red meat e.g. 0.8mg:2mg

/100g.

Water: 50%-70%

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 Reading assignment

 poultry meat products?

Fish and fish products?

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