SLAUGHTERING OF ANIMALS

Slaughtering is the process of killing domestic animals for food or for processing. There are some requirements in slaughtering and these are follows:

1. Cleanliness of the meat produce
2. Hygiene of production
3. Efficiency of meat inspection
4. Adequacy of meat preservation
5. Needs for the skilled butchers and proper tools and equipment's for slaughtering


ANTE-MORTEM INSPECTION(selection)

1. Age of the animal
swine- 6-12 months old
cattle- <3 but not >3 years old
carabao- 7 years old for M, 11 years old for F
goat- 1 year old
2. Sex of the animal
barrows and gilts - best sources of meat for curing
boars - young boars (<200 days) can be used but older boars have pronounced boar taint
3. Size of the animal
hogs - 80-100 kg
cattle/carabao - 300-450 kg
4. Degree of fatness
5. Health of the animal
unhealthy animal must be first treated and brought to normal condition prior to slaughtering

POST-MORTEM INSPECTION (management)
1. Fasting - withdrawal of solid feed and only water is provided ad libitum
hogs - 12-24 hours
ruminants - 24-48 hours
2. Relaxing the animal
animals to be slaughter should be free from stress
PSE - pale,soft and exudative (stress not severe)
DFD - dark, firm and dry (stress is severe)
3. Handling the animals gently
blood clots caused by kicking or boxing would be a good media for the growth of microorganisms which causes accelerated spoilage of meat
4. Clean animals
to minimize possible contamination of carcass