Wednesday, March 4 Bell Work Week of Monday, March 2 – Friday, March 6 Wednesday, March 4 Describe one example of food safety inspections you witnessed in the video on Monday.
Intro to Agriculture AAEC-PV Meat Inspections Intro to Agriculture AAEC-PV
Purpose of meat inspections Meat inspection guarantees that the meat will be safe, wholesome, and accurately labeled All meat must be inspected; most retail meat Is graded, HOWEVER, not all meat has to be graded Grading refers to the evaluation of eating quality of the meat
Meat Grading Determined by the size of cuts Determined by the amount of intramuscular marbling (fat deposits in the muscle) Marbling increases the meat tenderness Marbling increases the palatability of the meat (pleasing taste) Determined by the age of the animal at slaughter Two kinds of grades Quality grades: prime, choice, select, and utility Yield grades: refers to the amount of lean retail cuts the carcass yields
Meat inspection phases Ante-mortem Inspection Ante = before Mortem = death Post-mortem Inspection Post = after Condemned Carcasses
Ante-Mortem Inspection Animal is inspected while its alive, prior to death Animals that are down, disabled, diseases, or already dead are condemned for human consumption Questionable animals are set aside for further testing and evaluation (especially downer cows that may have BSE)
Post-Mortem Inspection Inspected after slaughter Carcass is thoroughly inspected In livestock : the head, lungs, heart, spleen, and liver are inspected for signs of disease , parasites, or other problem that make meat unhealthy Poultry : the internal and external cavities are examined as well as air sacs, kidneys, sex organs, heart, liver, and spleen
Condemned Carcasses Not allowed for human consumption Undergo rendering : A process of applying severe heat that will kill any organism that could cause health problems Renders carcasses used for production other than human consumption Pet food Lubricants Animal feed (protein supplement to pigs and chicken, highly regulated) Soap Condemned carcasses usually represent less than 1%of the carcasses inspected There are monetary penalties for poor quality carcasses – producers buyers, and packers all try to avoid sending poor unthrifty animals to slaughter
Plant Inspections Slaughter plants are constantly inspected Ensure that facilities are clean and free from material that might be contaminated with bacteria Precautions are taken to prevent the growth and spread of bacteria – esp. Escheria cioli (meat is a perfect medium for bacterial growth)
Plant Inspections All equipment /facilities are cleaned and sanitized Along the processing line, carcasses have to be cleaned removed debris (blood loose tissue particles, foreign materials) Meat contaminated by materials (intestinal contents) must be trimmed and condemned
The best method to insure meat safety… thoroughly cook meat to destroy the pathogens – almost all sickness caused from eating meat can be linked to improper cooking.