Transport, Antemortem Inspection and Slaughter Flashcards
FMIA
Federal Meat Inspection Act
FMIA requires…
inspection of all meat sold from livestock
(cattle, sheep, swine, goats, equids)
Foods must be: sanitary, free of pathogens, not adulterated, properly labeled
federal inspection=
interstate or export
state inspection=
intrastate ONLY
foreign imports into the US
must have standard equivalent to US law or demonstrating equivalent risk
USDA can visit importing country and review inspection procedures
FMIA exceptions:
Slaughter of your own animals for consumption by self, family, guests – NOT for $$!
Retail dealers / stores that do not slaughter, with >75% of sales to retail customers
Individual who purchases meat or meat products outside the United States for his/her own consumption – not to exceed fifty pounds
meat from other species
do not fall under FMIA rules
poultry covered by PPIA
PPIA
poultry products inspection agency
stress associated with transport
Expensive! Loss of meat quality, injuries to animals, animals may be condemned Weight loss ..shrink Pigs are very vulnerable to suffocation Bruising –especially sheep and pigs Immune stress / microbial shedding
2 effects of stress on meat
Dark Firm Dry (DFD)
– PRE‐MORTEM depletion of muscle glycogen
2. Pale Soft Exudative (PSE)
– POSTMORTEM depletion of muscle glycogen
normal post slaughter changes
Well fed un‐stressed animals should have a lot of glycogen in muscle before slaughter
After slaughter metabolism continues in muscle cells
Glycogen is converted to lactic acid which lowers the pH of muscle and tenderizes the meat
DFD
Dark Firm Dry
Chronic Stress prior to slaughter + adrenaline= pre‐mortem glycogen depletion in muscles
reduction in lactic acid causes high pH
reducing DFD
Ensure adequate muscle glycogen
Reduce glycogen consumption (reduce stress)
Manage implants (cattle)
PSE
Pale Soft Exudative
High stress pre‐slaughter (acute)
Rapid postmortem intracellular glycolysis causes accumulation of lactic acid
condemned at inspection
PSS
porcine stress syndrome
True/False: there is heritable susceptibility to PSE
True: Recessive gene = malignant hyperthermia response to stress; affects survival and meat
antemortem inspection of livestock
Inspection of individual live animals prior to slaughter
Helps keep ill animals out of food chain
Helps reduce contamination of abattoir
inspection pricedure
Observe animals at rest
Observe animals in motion from one or both sides (varies by plant / supervisor)
Determine if animal is normal or abnormal
Suspect & condemned tagged as such!
Public Health Veterinarian
Makes a DISPOSITION at inspection
“subject”
Cow is bought by Slaughter Plant is “subject” to passing inspection at slaughter
“suspect”
Public Health Vet’s disposition at antemortem inspection is “suspect”
- history of recent illness
- signs indicative of localized disease condition
condemmed
signs indicative of generalized disease condition
conditions resulting in condemnation
- 4 D’s (dead, dying, diseased, disabled)
- systemic infection
- systemic metabolic conditions
- when you can hold animal for possible recovery
downer cattle
FSIS prohibits the slaughter of cattle that are not able to stand or walk
have a high probability of being infected with BSE
regulatory diseases
M. bovis
Brucellosis
reportable diseases
Meat inspection provides an additional opportunity for surveillance of animal diseases
Reportable / notifiable diseases must, by law, be reported when detected at slaughter
slaughter is a 2 step process
stunning
exsanguination
humane slaughter
Livestock must be rendered insensible to pain before being shackled, hoisted, or cut
exception to humane slaughter
ritual slaughter (kosher, halal) -only for the stun before sticking part of the law
Kosher and Halal
Under Jewish and Islamic law, animals for slaughter must be healthy and uninjured at the time of death, which rules out driving a bolt into the brain
4 approved methods of stunnin
carbon dioxide
electricity
captive bolt
firearms
electricity
Cattle (rare), calves, sheep, goats, swine
Electrical current through brain sufficient to generate an epileptic seizure/stun animal
Excessive amperage may cause petechial
hemorrhages
carbon dioxide
Swine, sheep, and calves
Must be sufficient to induce proper surgical anesthesia with minimum excitement
Can be used for depopulation of pigs and
chickens
captive bolt
Cattle, sheep, goats, swine
penetrating and non penetrating
proper restraint and placement
gunshot
Cattle, calves, sheep, goats, swine
head and brain not suitable for food
aim correctly
effective captive bolt
animal immediately collapses rigid with extended followed by involuntary kicking eyes central and fixed no corneal reflex no rhythmic breathing heart beat continues for some time
after stunning
rapidly moved to sticking
exsanguination typically used for killing
true/false: FSIS inspectors do have the right to immediately halt all slaughter at a plant in cases of “egregious” violations
TRUE
shackling
hang animal before sticking
increases volume of blood loss
sticking
cut all veins in neck
brain death in 15-20 seconds
50% of total blood volume loss
chest sticking (pigs)
cut vessels where they arise from the heart
may be faster than throat cutting
what is the most common source of meat contamination
dressing: soil on hide, rumen contents, feces, etc
dressing carcass
skinned/dehided/ dehaired head removed eviscerated shrouded (cattle only) chilled
cattle dressing
skinning is mechanical head removal evisceration carcass is washed out with high pressure water shrouded (removed after 24hr chill)
swine dressing
carcass is washed
dehairing (hide left on/ hair removed)
head separation, evisceration, and cooling follow (generally by hand)
