Meat Inspection and Control in the Slaughterhouse

Thimjos Ninios, Janne Lundén, Hannu Korkeala, Maria Fredriksson-Ahomaa, Thimjos Ninios, Janne Lundén, Hannu Korkeala, Maria Fredriksson-Ahomaa

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9781118525869
• eBook ISBN: 9781118525845
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technik & Maschinenbau
• Subtopic: Lebensmittelwissenschaft

MEAT INSPECTION AND CONTROL IN THE SLAUGHTER HOUSE

Meat inspection, meat hygiene and official control tasks in the slaughterhouse have always been of major importance in the meat industry and are intimately related to animal diseases and animal welfare. Huge steps have been taken over more than a century to prevent the transmission of pathogenic organisms and contagious diseases from animals to humans. Various factors influence the quality and safety of meat, including public health hazards (zoonotic pathogens, chemical substances and veterinary drugs) and animal health and welfare issues during transport and slaughter.

Meat inspection is one of the most important programmes in improving food safety and its scope has enlarged considerably in recent decades. Globalization has affected the complexity of the modern meat chain and has provided possibilities for food frauds and unfair competition. During the last two decades many food fraud cases have been reported that have caused concern among consumers and the industry. Subsequently, meat inspection has been faced with new challenges.

Meat Inspection and Control in the Slaughterhouse is an up-to-date reference book that responds to these changes and reflects the continued importance of meat inspection for the food industry. The contributors to this book are all international experts in the areas of meat inspection and the official controls limited to slaughterhouses, providing a rare insight into the international meat trade.This book will be of importance to students, professionals and members of the research community worldwide who aim to improve standards of meat inspection procedures and food safety.

Chapter 1
Introduction

Hannu Korkeala

Department of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

The strong development of science in the nineteenth century prompted the need to develop practical solutions to prevent diseases caused by parasites and bacteria in humans based on the findings of Louis Pasteur, Robert Koch, Rudolph Virchow and Friedrich A. Zenker. It was shown in the 1860s that Trichinella was transmitted to humans through contaminated pork meat. Later, many bacterial and other parasitic diseases were shown to transmit to humans through meat. Due to these findings, veterinary medicine grew in importance and it was increasingly demanded that veterinarians be in charge of public health and that the importance of veterinary education be increased in the society. The role of veterinarians became significant in meat inspection. Later, veterinary public health and food hygiene became an essential part of veterinary education. Robert von Ostertag, a German veterinarian, wrote an extensive handbook on meat inspection in 1892 and created the scientific basis for meat inspection. The book was translated into English in 1904.

The proportion of meat originating from diseased animals was high in the nineteenth century and the quality of meat was poor. A huge improvement was achieved through the organization of meat inspection and the development of the scientific basis of meat inspection. Meat inspection has been a success story and it has been the most important programme in improving food safety. Huge steps were taken to prevent the transmission of pathogenic organisms and contagious diseases from animals to humans. Meat inspection has had a major role in prevention of zoonoses. In addition, meat inspection has been a cornerstone for the development of modern food control.

The scope of meat inspection has been enlarged over the last few decades. The substantial core of meat inspection is public health and consumer protection. Public health issues, such as prevention of the transmission of pathogenic microorganisms and contagious diseases, have been important from the beginning of meat inspection. More recently, detecting residues of chemical substances and veterinary drugs and preventing their occurrence became part of meat inspection. In addition, animal welfare issues have always been key issues and the skilful treatment of animals during transport and slaughter has been an important part of meat inspection. Faults in the transport and handling of animals influence also the quality of meat. Problems related to meat quality are also major issues. The removal of poor quality and adulterated meat from the meat chain and the prevention of contamination of meat with spoilage organisms are part of high-quality meat inspection.

The scope of the work of meat inspection veterinarians ranges from animal welfare issues associated with the transport of animals to the control of meat processing. Training of the official auxiliaries and workers, and administrative and managerial duties, should also be part of the job description of meat inspection veterinarians. Extensive meat inspection training is needed in veterinary education to ensure good theoretical and practical skills to carry out high-quality meat inspection. The presence of full-time meat inspection veterinarians in slaughterhouses is needed for efficient inspection and control.

A lot of different risks can be associated with the intensified modern meat production process. Consumers are more and more interested in the origin of the food they eat. The increase in the knowledge and interest of consumers has had a special focus on meat production. Therefore, meat production and meat inspection should be transparent and should have high ethical operational principles to gain the trust of consumers. In this regard, meat inspector veterinarians have a crucial responsibility and importance.

Strong internationalization and globalization have been a typical trend in the food industry and food trade, including the meat sector. The complexity of the modern meat chain has led also to possibilities for food frauds and unfair competition. During the last two decades many food fraud cases have been reported. These intentional activities are an alarming phenomenon and have caused concern among consumers. Companies that ignore food safety regulations gain, wrongly, a competitive edge over companies that fulfil the regulations.

Modern technical solutions to ensure good meat safety objectives during slaughtering and meat inspection procedures are a cost to companies. On the other hand, food safety problems that attract negative publicity in food production may cause enormous economic losses. A good balance between food safety regulations and control and economic resources for food safety should be achieved. It is also important that meat inspection and control is similar throughout the whole of Europe, ensuring fair competition between companies.

Meat inspection is faced with new challenges. Transmission of pathogenic organisms from animals to humans can be cut off during slaughtering. However, the recognition of different organisms is a very demanding task and needs new modern techniques. New solutions and practices should be continuously developed to improve and ensure meat safety. The changes in meat production should be taken into account in order to make necessary changes in meat inspection procedures. At the same time, the information collected during meat inspection should be recognized and used to improve food safety and the prevention of animal diseases. However, it is obvious that meat inspection is needed in the future and is an essential part of food control.

Meat inspection practices and the content of the meat inspection process have been changed and enlarged due to research and the development of control measures. Due to these changes and the importance of meat inspection, an up-to-date reference is needed for veterinary students and other interested groups to provide an extensive description of meat inspection. Meat inspection procedures are regulated by the European Union and, therefore, the writers of this guide are experts representing many different European countries. The book covers meat inspection from animal transport to the official control at the slaughterhouse. The control of meat processing, which is an important task of meat inspection veterinarians at plants connected to the slaughterhouse, has not been dealt with. The editors hope that the book will attract interest in meat inspection and control, as well as encourage scientific research to improve future meat inspection procedures and food safety.

Chapter 2
From Farm to Slaughterhouse

Sirje Jalakas^1,2, Terje Elias² and Mati Roasto²

¹Food Safety Department, Animal Welfare and Zootehnics Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, Tallinn, Estonia

²Food Hygiene Department, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia

2.1 Scope

The chapter aims to explain why meat quality and safety is dependent on how farm animals are raised, transported and handled prior to slaughter. Animal health and welfare aspects as well as food chain information (FCI) are discussed. The focus is on transport and lairage, as they have an important role on animal health and welfare. It is also important to note that legislation alone is not enough to improve animal health and welfare. In addition, public awareness, compliance to good practices, official control and continued research are needed.

2.2 Animal health and welfare

Recent studies have shown increasing public concern about how farm animals are raised, transported and slaughtered, as well as about food safety. Infectious animal diseases cause major losses to livestock production and many of them (zoonoses) can pose a risk to consumers via the food chain or through other pathways, including direct transmission. Therefore, more attention is being paid to prevention of diseases in food animals; this is also emphasized in the European Union's Common Animal Health Strategy, the motto of which is ‘Healthy food from healthy animals’.

According to the Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC), the welfare of an animal includes its physical and mental state, and the FAWC considers that good animal welfare implies both fitness and a sense of well-being. Any animal kept by man must be protected from unnecessary suffering.

The FAWC believes that an animal's welfare should be considered in terms of Five Freedoms. These freedoms define ideal states rather than standards for acceptable welfare:

• freedom from Hunger and Thirst – by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour;
• freedom from Discomfort – by providing an appropriate environment, including shelter and a comfortable resting area;
• freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease – by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment;
• freedom to Express Normal Behaviour – by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal's own kind;
• freedom from Fear and Distress – by ensuring conditions and treatment that avoid mental suffering.

European Union legislation lays down minimum standards for the protection of all farmed animals and sets welfare standards for the protection of animals during transport and also at the time of slaughter and killing. Specific European Union directives cover the protection of individual animal species and categories, such as calves, pigs, broilers and laying hens. Standards of animal welfare and animal management practices can influence the spread of food-borne diseases. The rules alone are not able to control animal health and welfare, and the paradigm ‘healthy food comes from healthy animals’ is still relevant.

2.2.1 Different farming systems

There are many links between pre-harvest production and the safety and the quality of the food. These interactions are not yet completely understood but it is clear that farmers are contributing to food safety when producing healthy, unstressed and clean livestock for slaughter. This is dependent on farmers' personal attitude and knowledge and also on farm management systems. Farming systems differ significantly between species and within each species and can be divided in several ways, for example integrated and non-integrated, intensive and extensive, indoor and outdoor, free-ranged and fenced, organic and non-organic and so on. Different farming systems are facing different animal health and welfare problems. These problems have been mostly associated with intensive and industrialized farming but are present in varying degrees in all livestock production systems. With organic farming conditions animal welfare is generally better than in other systems but specific health and welfare problems could rise at these systems too and can be very serious. For example, predators can pose big problems for sheep and goat farming in all systems where animals are pastured. In the case of organic production of laying hens and broilers there is risk from wild birds spreading contagious diseases but different predators also pose risk to animal welfare.

Intensive livestock farming is the major source of the world's meat supply, and the main challenge of intensive farming is to produce food profitably whilst com...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• List of Contributors
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: From Farm to Slaughterhouse
• Chapter 3: Ante-Mortem Inspection
• Chapter 4: The Slaughter Process
• Chapter 5: Animal Welfare – Stunning and Bleeding
• Chapter 6: Post-Mortem Inspection and Related Anatomy
• Chapter 7: Risk-Based Meat Inspection
• Chapter 8: Meat Inspection Lesions
• Chapter 9: Sampling and Laboratory Tests
• Chapter 10: Judgment of Meat
• Chapter 11: Classification of Carcasses
• Chapter 12: Control, Monitoring and Surveillance of Animal Health and Animal Infectious Diseases at the Slaughterhouse
• Chapter 13: Public Health Hazards: A. Biological Hazards
• Chapter 14: Meat By-Products
• Chapter 15: The Conversion of Muscle to Meat
• Chapter 16: Microbial Contamination During Slaughter
• Chapter 17: Decontamination of Carcasses
• Chapter 18: Cleaning and Disinfection
• Chapter 19: Pest Control
• Chapter 20: Working Hygiene
• Chapter 21: Occupational Hazards
• Chapter 22: Traceability
• Chapter 23: Own-Check System: A. Structure and Implementation of the Own-Check System
• Chapter 24: Official Control: A. Introduction
• Chapter 25: International Trade
• Chapter 26: Scientific Risk Assessment—Basis for Food Legislation
• Chapter 27: Use of Meat Inspection Data
• Index
• End User License Agreement