Animal Products and Marketing - Meat

Meat Consumption Trends in the Philippines (2020-2024)

• Per capita consumption of meat varied from 2020 to 2024.
• A significant decrease in pork consumption occurred in 2021 (from 14.992 to 10.66) due to African Swine Fever (ASF).
• Poultry consumption increased to compensate for the pork shortage (from 13.74 to 14.05 in 2021).
• Pork supply recovered in 2022, increasing consumption to 15 and 15.14, leading to a slight decrease in poultry consumption.
• Poultry remains a popular alternative to pork, with increased consumption in 2024 due to affordability.
• Beef consumption remained relatively stable.

Definition of Meat

• Meat refers to the carcass or carcass parts of sufficiently mature and healthy animals.
• Sufficiently Mature: Animals are slaughtered at the correct age to ensure good quality meat.
• Healthy Animals: Only animals free from diseases or harmful parasites are slaughtered for human consumption.

Fresh Meat

• Fresh meat has not undergone substantial changes since slaughter, except for chilling.
• Chilling: Storing meat at 2-4 degrees Celsius to prevent microbial, chemical, and physical changes, maintaining freshness.
• Chilled meat is considered fresh meat.
• Historically, only warm-to-the-touch meat in wet markets was considered fresh; however, chilling is now a standard practice to ensure freshness.

Meat Production Processes

• Animal Production: Raising domestic animals for food on farms.
• Slaughtering: Killing farm animals for their carcasses or meat in dressing plants or slaughterhouses.
• Fabrication: Cutting carcasses into standard wholesale and retail cuts after chilling.

Factors Affecting Meat Quality

• Several factors are considered before slaughter to ensure meat quality:
  • Sex of the animal
  • Age
  • Size
  • Class
  • Health
  • Finish (fat characteristics)

Age and Sex

• Burrows (castrated male pigs) and gilts (female pigs) have similar meat characteristics and are raised primarily for meat.
• Steers (castrated male cattle) and heifers (female cattle) also exhibit comparable meat qualities.
• Castrated males tend to accumulate more fat than females of the same age.
• Sex is crucial in pigs due to boar taint, an ammonia-like odor emitted by sexually mature, uncastrated male pigs, making their meat less acceptable to consumers.
• Younger animals have more tender meat than older ones.
• Ideal slaughter ages:
  • Swine: 5-12 months (sometimes as young as 4 months)
  • Cattle: 3 years or younger (feedlot cattle can be slaughtered at 2 years)

Characteristics of Meat from Older Animals

• Darker color due to higher myoglobin content (meat pigment).
• Rougher texture due to more complex connective tissues.
• More flavor.
• Higher water-binding capacity.
• Higher emulsion capacity.
• Higher degree of marbling.

Class of Animal

• Class refers to the categories animals belong to (e.g., hogs: burrows, gilts, stags, shoats, sows, boars).
• Burrows and gilts are prioritized for slaughter due to their good meat quality.
• Boars and stags are of least priority due to inferior meat quality after they've outlived their breeding use.

Priority for Slaughter

• Hogs: Burrows and gilts (top priority), stogs, shoats, sows, and boars (least priority).
• Cattle and Carabao: Steers, heifers, cows, bulls, togs, and bollocks.
• Steers are prioritized over heifers in cattle because heifers are primarily raised for milk production; if they are inefficient milk producers, they are then slaughtered.

Health of the Animal

• Only healthy animals are slaughtered to produce safe meat for human consumption.
• Diseases transmissible from animals to humans must be avoided.

Finish of the Animal

• Finish refers to the amount, kind, characteristics, and distribution of fat in the carcass.
• A well-finished animal should have 20-30% total fat, evenly distributed throughout the carcass.
• Fat distribution includes subcutaneous fat, abdominal fat, intramuscular fat, and intermuscular fat.
• Even distribution prevents any single area from having excessively thick fat.

Selecting Animals for Slaughter

• Two main considerations:
  • Purpose of slaughter (depopulation or specific use)
  • Usage and cost of meat

Meat Utilization

• Fresh Meat Retail:
  • Regular slaughter animals (burrows, gilts, steers, heifers) are preferred.
  • Used for wholesale and retail cuts like pork chops and steaks.
• Meat Processing:
  • Older or culled animals (sows) are used.
  • Their tougher meat is suitable for processed products where tenderness is not a primary concern (sausages, meatloaf, ham).
• Processed meats are value-added due to techniques that allow for higher selling prices.

Management Practices Prior to Slaughter

• Proper management practices significantly influence meat quality.
  • Fasting
  • Gentle Handling
  • Rest Period
  • Cleaning

Fasting

• Withdrawal of feed while water is continuously available.
  • Chickens: 6-12 hours
  • Monogastrics (pigs): 12-24 hours
  • Ruminants (cattle): 24-48 hours (due to their complex digestive system)
• Advantages:
  • Feed savings
  • Easier evisceration (removal of internal organs)
  • Easier cleaning of entrails and carcasses
  • Reduced risk of carcass contamination
  • Thorough bleeding, resulting in bright-colored meat
  • Lower meat shrinkage and longer shelf life

Gentle Handling

• Avoid mistreating animals to prevent bruises, blood clots, and broken bones; meat with these defects is condemned.
• Avoid boxing, pushing, hitting, or kicking the animals.

Rest Period

• Resting animals removes the effects of stress, which can negatively impact meat quality.
• Stress increases metabolic rate and body temperature.
• Disadvantages of Stress:
  • Loss of muscle glycogen
  • High carcass temperature
  • Low water-holding capacity
  • Reduced aroma, flavor, texture, and juiciness
• Stress causes a rapid pH drop while the carcass temperature is high, affecting water-holding capacity and sensory attributes.
• Pale Soft Exudative (PSE) meat and Dark Firm Dry (DFD) meat are considered inferior.
• Normal meat is Red, Firm, and Non-exudative (RFN).
  • Non-exudative means meat juice does not flow out spontaneously.
  • DFD meat is rock firm.

Cleaning the Animal

• Remove dust and fecal matter to ensure sanitation and prevent meat contamination.

Livestock Slaughtering and Poultry Dressing - Basic Operations

• Pre-mortem Inspection (Antemortem Inspection):
  • Determine the health status of the animal.
  • Check animal documents, bruises, injuries, and salivation.
  • Possible Decisions:
    • Condemned: Animals with dangerous diseases are disposed of properly.
    • Suspect: Animals showing symptoms of disease or parasites are observed further.
    • Denied: Animals unfit for slaughter (e.g., recently given birth or under medication) are not slaughtered.
    • Passed: Animals of the right age and health are approved for slaughter.
• Stunning: Render the animal unconscious without killing it, using a stunning gun or electric stunner. Sledgehammers and matador techniques are no longer acceptable.
• Bleeding (Sticking):
  • Should occur within three minutes of stunning to prevent the animal from regaining consciousness.
  • Rapid bleeding avoids a rise in blood pressure, which can cause ruptured blood vessels (pinhead-sized blood clots) that reduce meat value.
• Initial Cleaning of Carcasses:
  • Hogs: Scalding (60-82°C water), dehairing or scraping, shaving.
  • Cattle: Flaying or skinning (removing the entire skin in one piece).
  • Goats: Singeing (burning the hair using a blowtorch or open flame), leaving the skin intact.
  • Removal of the head and cutting off long legs (cattle/carabao).
• Evisceration: Removal of internal organs from the body cavity in one motion.
• Splitting of Carcasses: Done after Evisceration
• Washing: Carcasses are washed for cleaning
• Final Cleaning: Carcasses Hung to drip
• Cleaning of Entrails: cleaning of entrails is done in a separate room.
• Post-mortem Inspection:
  • Inspect the carcass and vital organs (lungs, liver) to determine if the meat is safe for consumption.
  • Judgments:
    • Condemned
    • Retained
    • Passed for sterilization
    • Passed for rendering
    • Passed (stamped for sale if free from disease/parasites)
• Chilling:
  • Store carcasses immediately at 2-4°C.
  • Pork: 24 hours
  • Beef/Carabeef: 48 hours
• Reasons for Chilling:
  • Allow rigor mortis (muscle stiffening after death) to pass/resolve.
  • Firm up the carcass for easier fabrication.
  • Maintain freshness by delaying microbial and enzyme activity.

Chicken Dressing

• Restrain the chicken.
• Bleed by slitting the left part of the neck.
• Wash with tap water.
• Scald for feather removal.
• Remove the head.
• Eviscerate.
• Wash the carcass.
• Clean the giblets.
• Weigh the carcass and giblets.
• Chill immediately (ideally in ice water).

Considerations for the Slaughtering Process

• Cleanliness of the animal (good bath before slaughter).
• Hygiene of production (clean and sanitize facilities, tools, equipment).
• Meat handlers should observe personal hygiene.
• Efficiency of meat inspection (required by law).
• Adequacy of meat preservation (cooling units are essential but not always available).

Meat Inspection and Slaughterhouse Accreditation

• Slaughterhouses must be accredited by the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS).
• Classifications based on slaughtering process, meat handling, facilities, and equipment:
  • AAA: Meets international standards, allowing sales both domestically and internationally.
  • AA: Allows sales outside the local municipality.
  • Single A: Meets minimum requirements, allowing sales only within the municipality.

Fabrication

• Involves cutting carcasses into standard primal and retail cuts.
• Primal Cuts (Wholesale Cuts): E.g., loin from pork carcasses, short loin from beef carcasses.
• Retail Cuts: E.g., pork chops (cut from the loin), T-bone steak (cut from the short loin).

Fabrication Principles

• Separate thick cuts from thin cuts.
• Separate tender cuts from tough cuts.
• Separate expensive cuts from less expensive cuts.
• Cut across muscle fibers to shorten them and enhance tenderness.

Measures of Yield

• Dressing Percentage: \frac{\text{Carcass Weight}}{\text{Live Weight}} \times 100
  • Indicates the amount of saleable meat obtained.
• Lean Fat Bone Yield: \frac{\text{Weight of Component (Lean, Fat, Bone)}}{\text{Intact Weight of Meat Cut}} \times 100
  • Useful for selling boneless meat or for breeding purposes.
• Boneless Recovery: \frac{\text{Weight of Boneless Meat}}{\text{Intact Weight of Bone-in Meat}} \times 100
  • Used when selling boneless meat.

Meat as a Commodity

• Major components:
  • Lean
  • Fat
  • Bones
• All components have associated connective tissues.
• Fat is the most variable component, influenced by breed, age, environmental factors (nutrition, feeding system), and overfeeding.

General Characteristics of Meat

• Excellent source of high-quality protein.
• Contains B complex vitamins, essential minerals, and fatty acids.
• High satiety value (provides a feeling of fullness and satisfaction).

Proteins

• High-quality protein due to the good proportion of essential amino acids (PVT TIM HALL).
• High biological value because most amino acids are absorbed and utilized by the body.

Vitamin B Complex

• Meat is a good source of B complex vitamins.
• Can be lost through poor handling, excessive washing, and overcooking.
• Also contains fat-soluble vitamins, though these are less emphasized due to fat trimming.

Minerals

• High in iron and phosphorus but low in calcium.
• High iron content due to myoglobin.

Fats

• Predominant fatty acids: palmitic (saturated), stearic (saturated), and oleic (monounsaturated).
• Saturated fat content is a concern for older individuals.
• Across species, meat generally has 70% moisture, 20% protein, 9% fat (with 1/4 cm fat trim), and 1% ash.

Composition of Meat

• Comparison of Beef, Pork, and Chicken (Approximate Values):

• Beef has higher fat content because fat is found inside the muscle fibers (marbling).
• Pork fat is easier to trim because it is mostly subcutaneous or between muscle groups.
• Chicken fat is primarily subcutaneous (under the skin).

Meat Preservation

• Meat spoils easily, so preservation methods are essential.
• Meat Preservation: Processes that prevent microbial spoilage and chemical action without negatively affecting meat quality.

Common Methods of Preservation

• Cold Storage:
  • Chilling: 2-4°C
  • Freezing: -18 to -20°C to prevent microbial/enzyme action.
• Drying: Evaporates moisture, lowering available water for microbial growth.
• Salting: Salt destroys many microorganisms via chloride ions, causing plasmolysis.
• Canning: Hermetically sealed in a container and subjected to a thermal process.
  • Thermal process (time and temperature combination) aims to destroy Clostridium botulinum (anaerobic, spore-forming microorganism producing dangerous toxins).
• Curing: Uses a mixture of curing ingredients synonymous to meat processing.

Importance of Meat Processing

• Lengthens shelf life.
• Improves appearance.
• Facilitates development of desirable flavor and texture.
• Allows for year-round availability of a wide variety of meat products.

Basic Curing Ingredients

• Salt: Inhibits microbial growth, develops flavor and texture.
• Sugar: Overcomes saltiness and contributes to flavor (especially in Filipino cuisine).
• Nitrite/Nitrate:
  • Curing salt; develops cured meat color and flavor.
  • Effective in inhibiting Clostridium botulinum.
  • Food-grade nitrite is typically 99.5% ordinary salt and 0.5% food-grade nitrite.
• Phosphates: Increase water-holding capacity.
• Ascorbic Acid/Ascorbates: Help fix the cured meat color.
• Enhancers: (e.g., monosodium glutamate/vetsin).
• Herbs and Spices: (e.g., basil, oregano, pepper).

Examples of Cured Meat

• Ham

• Bacon

• Sausages

• Tocino

• Cured meat has a pink/red color due to nitrites.