ANSC*2340: Pig Slaughter Lab

hot carcass weight and lean yield

What pork producers are paid for.

110-140 kg

Pig slaughter liveweight in North America (heavier weights also allowed in some plants).

200+ pigs

Capacity for pigs in livestock transport trucks.

captive bolt stunning

Stunning limited to mature breeding stock (sows and boars).

electrical stunning

Stunning method that uses an alternating current to induce unconsciousness. May be applied with electrodes transversely across the head OR longitudinally from the head to the back (anterior → posterior).

CO₂ stunning

Stunning method where pigs travel down into a pit containing high concentrations of CO₂ (carbon dioxide is much heavier than air) where they become unconscious. This method is used on most pigs processed at large packing plants in Ontario.

skinning

Most abattoirs remove the hair but leave the skin on the carcass. Skin is removed when the carcass is butchered (usually the day after slaughter) and is used for the manufacture of food-grade gelatin.

chilling

Pork carcasses are fabricated the next day after chilling (vs beef carcasses usually spend 48 hrs chilling). Cold shortening can occur in pork but is seldom a commercial problem because the carcass retains its skin and subcutaneous fat.

Some plants use blast chilling (very cold temps, -40 degrees Celsius for up to 1.5 hrs) for better lean colour and to prevent development of PSE pork.

gambrel

Used to suspend the pig carcass.

edible organs from processing pigs/hogs

1. Liver

2. Heart

3. Tongue

4. Kidneys

5. Tail

6. Feet

7. Head

pig carcass

The entire body of the pig/hog excluding all the internal organs apart from the kidneys.

natural casing

Important by-products from the abattoir. After extensive cleaning and preservation in salt, they are used as sausage skins.

rounds

Small intestine: beef, pork, lamb

runners

Small intestine: beef

middles

Large intestine: beef, pork

beef bungs

Caecum: beef

hog bungs

Large and small intestine: pork

caps

Caecum: pork

weasand

Esophagus: beef

bladder

Bladder: beef, pork