The Meat We Eat Meats Unit Animal Science

The Meat We Eat

Meats Unit

Animal Science

Terminology

Terminology

Meats: the edible flesh of mammals

used for food

Poultry: the edible flesh of poultry used for food

Beef: the meat from mature bovines that are

generally over 12 months of age.

Veal: the meat from very young calves, usually less than 3

months of age.

Mutton: the meat from mature ovine

carcasses that fail to show a break joint on

the front foreleg.

Lamb: meat from lambs or young

sheep,up to about one year of age that shows a

break joint in the foreleg.

Pork: meat associated with all ages of hog

carcasses.

Chevon: meat from mature goats.

Cabrito: meat from young goats.

Carcass

• part of meat animal that is left after the hide, hair, feet, head, and entrails have been removed

Wholesale Cuts

• major parts of a carcass; boxed and sent to distributors

Retail Cuts

• cuts of meat ready for purchase and use by consumers

Immobilization

• process of rendering an animal oblivious to pain

Kosher

• any food produced, killed, or prepared according to Jewish dietary law

Exsanguination

• removal of an animal’s blood

Rigor Mortis

• physiological process following death; where muscles stiffen and lock into place

Shroud

• cloth used to wrap the carcass during aging

Aging

• process of maturing and getting older; improves flavor and tenderness

Primal Cuts

• most valuable cuts on a carcass

Adipose

• technical term for fat tissue

Mastication

• act of chewing

Elastin

• protein substance found in tendons, bones, connective tissue

Oxidation

• any chemical change that includes oxygen

Rancid

• putrefied state of foods

Microbes

• minute plant or animal life; some good some bad

Faculatative

• microbes that can grow with or without free oxygen

Curing

• treating meat to retard spoilage

Irradiation

• preservation process that uses low levels of radiation to kill pathogens in food products

Withdrawal Period

• length of time that must transpire between the time drugs are given and animal is slaughtered

Rendering

• process during which condemned carcasses are placed under heat severe enough to kill any organisms that can cause problems

Quality Grade

• grade given to beef carcasses that indicates eating quality

Marbling

• desired distribution of fat in the muscular tissue

Meat Inspection

The Meat Inspection Division of the USDA was created in 1906.

Inspectors are civil service veterinarians or non-professional lay inspectors.

All are government employees, meaning the program is financed by the public.

The federal government requires supervision of establishments which slaughter, pack, render, and prepare meats and meat products for interstate shipment and foreign export. Individual states have responsibility for intrastate shipments, however state standards cannot be lower than federal levels.

The purpose of inspection is:

a. Safeguard the public by eliminating disease or otherwise unwholesome meat from the food supply.

b. To enforce the sanitary preparation of meat and meat products.

The purpose of inspection is:

c. To guard against the use of harmful ingredients or residue in meats from drugs, growth promotants, pesticides, etc.

d. To prevent the use of false or misleading names or statement labels.

The Wholesome Meat Act of 1967 updated and strengthened the Meat Inspection Act of 1906.

A. States were given the option of conducting their own inspection service or turning the responsibility over to the federal government.

B. Most states simply apply the federal regulations to their own programs.

Types of Inspection

Antermortem:

inspection is made in pens or as animals are moved from the scales after weighing; obviously diseased or otherwise unhealthy animals not fit for human consumption may be marked “Suspect” or “Condemned”.

Postmortem:

inspection is made at the time of slaughter and includes careful examination of the carcass and viscera (internal organs); all good carcasses are stamped “U.S. Inspected and Passed”. Those failing inspection are stamped “U.S. Inspected and Condemned”.

Regulations do not apply to farm slaughter.

Inspection vs. Grading

Inspection:

a. is required.

b. is objective.

Grading:

a. is optional.

b. is subjective.

Types of Grading

Grading:

a. Quality Grading.

b. Yield Grading.

General Meat Science Info.

• The average person in the US eats almost 200 lbs of red meat and poultry.– Beef Production is # 1– Pork Production is # 2– Poultry Production is # 3

• The US produces over 85 million hogs per year

• The average American eats about 2.5 lbs of lamb/mutton per year


• The average American eats about 90 lbs of chicken and 22 dozen eggs per year

• Poultry consumption is on the rise due to it being healthier than red meat.

• Meat prices are affected by weather, feed prices, federal import policies, and consumer demands

• Federal Meat Inspection Act was implemented in 1906


• Inspection is mandatory, grading is voluntary • Humane Slaughter Act of 1960- requires that prior

to slaughter, animals be rendered completely unconscious with a minimum of excitement and discomfort, by mechanical, electrical, or chemical (CO2 gas) methods.

• Carcasses are chilled for at least 24-48 hours after evisceration and before being graded and processed


• Specialty meats such as the brain, kidneys, sweetbreads, the tail, and the tongue do not accompany the carcass and are considered by-products to be sold separately as specialty items

• Meat specifically red meat is a great source of iron

• Fat contributes to product juiciness, tenderness, and flavor of meat


• Muscles are very tender at the time of slaughter, however rigor mortis begins and muscles become progressively less tender until rigor mortis is complete.

• Rigor mortis: 6-12 hours in beef, 1-6 hours in pork, • Beef is typically the only meat that is aged; aging has

a positive effect on beef for the first 7-10 days, after that it causes a negative effect on spoilage and taste


• Lamb and pork is not aged because of their relatively young age at time of slaughter and still being naturally tender

• Light meat of poultry is leaner and has a more mild flavor than dark meat. Dark meat is more flavorful because it has more fat in it.

• Skins are nondigestible and are high in fat.• Genetics play a major role in the tenderness of

beef.


• Stressful conditions just prior to slaughter cause major problems with meat.

• Meat should be frozen fast to reduce the chance of losing moisture and protein.

• Consumers relate meat color to freshness.

• Aging changes the flavor of meat.


• Electrical stimulation can be used instead of aging. This improves tenderness, color, texture, and firmness; as well as makes the hide easier to remove.

• Age- is determined by maturity of the cartilage and bones. Cartilage hardens and turns to bone as the animal ages. Younger animals are generally more tender.

• Examples of a retail cut are: pork chops, t-bones, leg of lamb

• Trimmings of retail cuts are made into sausage or ground meat


• Meat is highly perishable and spoils quickly. Fresh meats will only stay good in the refrigerator for about 2-4 days

• The more lean the meat is, the more it is going to cost.

• The degree of tenderness or grade has no relationship to the nutritional value but does affect the price.

Meat Science

• Cincinnati, Ohio-1st center of meat packaging industry- was known as “Porkapolis”

• - “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair- book that provoked the USDA to get involved in meat inspection.

• - After sticking an animal two major physiological changes occur –heartbeat increases and blood vessels restrict.

• - If a carcass is going to be aged then the animal needs additional fat. (Feed another two weeks.)

Meat Science

• Most packers accept carcasses up to 1000 lbs but standard limit is 950 lbs.

• - Four types of fat: subcutaneous, intermuscular, mesenteric, and intramuscular.

• - Lamb is expensive compared to beef and pork.• - Veal- Italians are big fans; its much like chicken

—how you prepare and cook gives it is flavor.• - “Tanked”- not fit for human consumption—a

whole steer is then worth $20.

Meat Science

• Packers want to buy just the carcass and producers want to sell the whole animal based on the live weight.

• - Poultry are stunned not killed before processing.• - We cook crawfish and lobster while still alive. • - If an animal doesn’t bleed out properly it is

condemned.• - If cattle are fed too hot of ration (high energy)

causes liver abscesses.

Meat Science

• Excel- 2nd largest packer located in Garden City, KS.• - Yield grade 1 = best 5 = worst 5 = least

amount of edible meat• - Cattle don’t put on fat uniformly, put it on in

patches.• - Can’t finish boars- meat smells like urine and

tastes awful.• - Cattle prices in the US have been higher since the

closing of the Canadian border. (Mad Cow)

Meat Science

• Marbling doesn’t improve tenderness, but all other attributes.

• - Should not sit meat out to thaw = spoilage.• - Most people overcook pork—scared of getting

sick as with beef and poultry.• - Shouldn’t salt meat till its cooked—will pull all

the juices out.

• When grilling steaks should only be turned once, but pork can be turned repeatedly.

Meat Science

• Chinese use high heats due to lack of refrigeration and bacterial growth. They use pork fat instead of oil.

• - Lamb is tenderer due to slaughtering at such a young age. (4-5 months)

• - PSE is found in extremely heavy muscled hogs.

• - PSS (Porcine Stress Syndrome) causes PSE.

Meat Science

• Koreans want really fat meat so they buy our chucks and shoulders.

• - Enhanced products = added water

• - Excel kills ~ 8 million head of cattle a year = 146,000 a week or 30,000 a day

• - Put sugar non hams to keep muscle tissue soft—doesn’t change flavor.

• - The average US ham weighs ~20 lbs.

Meat Science

• - Docile cattle grade better; less chance of dark cutters.

• -Animals carry just over half their weight in the forequarter.

• - Fat cattle have less water in their carcasses-more specifically in the muscle tissues.

• - Slaughter cattle in the US as a whole are getting fatter and lighter muscled.

Meat Science

• - Muscle tissue provides mobility for the animal.

• - Muscles with sufficient oxygen have a red appearance; lack of oxygen = dark red or purple.

• - Muscles are about 65-80% water.

Documents

The Meat We Eat Meats Unit Animal Science