1. 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.

2. Intro to Agriculture AAEC-PV
Meat Inspections
Intro to Agriculture AAEC-PV

3. 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

4. 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

7. Meat inspection phases
Ante-mortem Inspection
Ante = before
Mortem = death
Post-mortem Inspection
Post = after
Condemned Carcasses

8. 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)

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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)

12. 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

13. 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.