Beef slaughter lab

Slaughter / Harvesting

• Slaughter (killing the animal)

• Dressing (removing hide, organs)

• Fabrication (cutting carcass into meat)

All meat sold must come from provincially or federally inspected plants

• Processing plants prioritize:

• Animal welfare

• Food safety

• Worker safety

• Efficiency

🐮 Scale of Beef Processing

• Large beef plants may process 4,000–5,000 cattle/day

• Typical cattle:

  • Fed 90–120 days

  • Ideal live weight: 1,100–1,200 lb (≈500–545 kg)

  • Dressing % ≈ 55–65%

• Carcasses must be uniform in size to fit boxed beef standards

🧠 Core Principles of Good Slaughter

1. Prevent cruelty

2. Minimize stress

3. Ensure rapid, complete exsanguination

4. Minimize carcass damage

5. Be:

   • Hygienic

   • Economical

   • Safe for workers

🏠 Lairage (Holding Pens Before Slaughter)

• Animals are not slaughtered immediately

• Purpose:

  • Calm animals

  • Reduce stress

  • Improve meat quality

• Cattle have:

  • Water access

  • No feed (24 h pre-slaughter)

• Recommended pen fill: ~75% full

• Excess stress causes:

• Adrenaline release

• Tough meat

• Dark cutters

• Bruising (must be trimmed → economic loss)

👩‍⚕ 1. Ante-Mortem Inspection (Before Death)

Performed within 24 h before slaughter by CFIA/USDA inspectors.

Inspectors check for:

• Lameness / broken limbs

• Fever or abnormal behavior

• CNS disease (e.g. BSE / Mad Cow)

• Drug residues (withdrawal times)

• Illegal hormone implants (e.g. veal calves)

• Excessive tag (mud/manure on hide)

Unfit animals:

• Do NOT enter food chain

• Are euthanized separately

⚡ 2. Stunning (Humane Requirement)

• Animals must be unconscious before bleeding

• Purpose: instant insensibility to pain

• Main beef method: concussion stunning

Stunning Methods

• Captive bolt pistol

  • Small plants: handheld (.22 blank cartridge)

  • Large plants: pneumatic (air-powered)

• Correct placement is critical

• Improper stunning = pain & welfare violation

Religious exception:

• Kosher/Halal: animal conscious → special handling

🔪 3. Exsanguination (Bleeding / Sticking)

• Primary cause of death

• Performed immediately after stunning

• Major vessels cut:

  • Carotid arteries

  • Jugular veins

• Send electrical pulses through body which helps drain blood and provide more clear marbling 

Key points:

• First knife opens hide

• Second clean knife cuts vessels

• Poor hygiene → bacteria enter bloodstream

• Incomplete bleeding → darker meat

🦵 Reflex Movements (IMPORTANT EXAM POINT)

• After stunning:

  • Uncoordinated kicking may occur

  • Caused by spinal reflexes

  • NOT a sign of consciousness

Signs of proper stunning:

• Floppy head

• No neck tension

• No corneal reflex

• Tongue limp and extended

• If sensibility returns → immediate re-stunning

🐂 4. Skinning (Hide Removal)

• Beef hides are valuable (leather)

• Must avoid cuts

Skinning

Methods:

• Air knives (reduce hide damage)

• Hide pullers (large plants)

  • Side puller

  • Up puller

  • Down puller

Hide handling:

• Transported to hide room

• De-fleshed

• Salted + bactericide

• Often shipped overseas

🧠 5. Evisceration (Removal of Organs)

• Removal from posterior → anterior

• Steps include:

  • Remove udder/penis & cod fat

  • Bunging: rectum sealed in plastic

  • Esophagus tied off

  • Remove intestines, rumen, liver

  • Cut diaphragm

  • Remove plucks (heart, lungs, trachea)

Goal: prevent fecal contamination

🔍 6. Post-Mortem Inspection

Inspect:

Head

• Retropharyngeal, submandibular, parotid lymph nodes

• Tongue palpation

• Tapeworm cysts

Viscera

• Major organs + lymph nodes

Carcass

• Abscesses

• Spine lesions

Inspector decisions:

1. Hold for testing

2. Partial condemnation

3. Full condemnation

4. Passed for food chain

✂ 7. Final Carcass Preparation

Includes:

• Trimming bruises, clots

• Washing

• Weighing (hot carcass weight)

• Antimicrobial rinses:

  • Lactic acid

  • Acetic acid

  • Chlorine

• Steam or hot-water pasteurization

❄ 8. Chilling

• Carcass enters hot box

  • ~0°C

  • High airflow & humidity

• Purpose:

  • Remove heat

  • Limit microbial growth

• Spray chilling

  • Reduces cooler shrink

  • Improves yield

⚠ Cold Shortening

• Meat cooled too fast → tough meat

• Beef rule:

  • Do not drop below 10°C in first 10 h

• Beef chilled ≥48 hours before fabrication

🧮 Dressing Percentage (EXAM FORMULA)

Dressing percentage = (carcass weight ÷ live weight) × 100

Example:

• 700 kg live

• 430 kg carcass

• Dressing % = 61.4%

Influenced by:

• Gut fill

• Mud/tag

• Fat content

• Bone size

• Feed withdrawal

🧬 Lymphatic System (Why Inspect Nodes?)

• Lymph nodes filter bacteria

• Swollen/discolored = disease

• Inspectors slice abnormal nodes

• Disease may → partial or full condemnation

🧾 Why Good Animal Handling Matters (Temple Grandin)

Benefits:

• Better meat quality

• Safer workers

• Ethical responsibility

• Legal requirement (Humane Slaughter Act)

Audit criteria:

• % stunned correctly (1 shot)

• % vocalizing

• % slipping/falling

• % electric prod use

• 100% insensibility required