Beef

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1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION:


1. General Flowsheet for cattle slaughtering

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Figure 1: Flowdiagram for slaughtering of cattle


2. Description of techniques, methods and equipment


The basic slaughtering procedure for beef cattle has become more automated and efficient over the past few decades. Most improvements have occurred in stunning, hide removal, evisceration and splitting techniques. As an example, processing rates in the United States now average around 350 head per hour (Savell and Smith, 1998).

  • Pre-handling of cattle

Cattle are delivered to the abattoir in trucks and unloaded into holding pens, where they are rested for one or two days before slaughter. Any cattle classed as ‘dirty’ are washed.

  • Stunning and bleeding

The cattle are led to the slaughter area where they are stunned using a bolt pistol or electric shock. They are then shackled by a hind leg and hoisted onto an overhead rail or dressing trolley. Bleeding, or sticking, then takes place, with the blood collected in a trough for disposal or for further processing.

  • Dressing and hide removal

The bled carcasses are conveyed to the slaughter hall where dressing and evisceration take place. The first stage of this process, dressing, can be performed as the carcass hangs from the overhead rail, or the animal can be unshackled and laid in a cradle. The head and hoofs are removed, the head is cleaned with water, and the tongue and brain are recovered. Hides are then removed and conveyed to the hide processing area, where they are preserved by salting or chilled on ice.

  • Evisceration

The carcasses are then opened to remove the viscera. The stomach (paunch) and intestines are emptied of manure and cleaned in preparation for further processing. Edible offal (tongue, lungs, heart and liver) is separated, washed and chilled. The carcasses are then split, rinsed and then conveyed to a cold storage area for rapid chilling.

  • Cutting and boning

Carcass cutting and boning often take place after chilling, since a carcass is easier to handle and cut when it is chilled. Boning is the term used to describe the process of cutting meat away from the bone. Recent developments in processing technology have made it possible to undertake boning while the carcass is still warm, eliminating the need to chill the carcass at this stage in the process. This is referred to as ‘hot boning’.

  • Inspection

Carcasses and viscera are inspected to determine if they are suitable for human consumption. Each carcass and its components are identified and kept together wherever possible until inspection is complete.

  • By-products

At various stages in the process, inedible by-products such as bone, fat, heads, hair and condemned offal are generated. These materials are sent to a rendering plant either on site or off site for rendering into feed materials.


3. Temperature ranges and other parameters


4. Benchmark data


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Table 1: Breakdown of thermal/electrical energy consumption


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Table 1: Benachmark for cattle abattoirs (250 kg cattle)


2. NEW TECHNOLOGIES:


a) Changes in the process


b) Changes in the energy distribution system


c) Changes in the heat supply system


Reference: Cleaner Production Assessment in Meat Processing, report prepared by COWI Consulting engineers and planning agents AS, demark for UNEP and Danish Enviromental Protection Agency, 2000


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