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 animals 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
 General Meat Science Info.
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
 General Meat Science Info.
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
 General Meat Science Info.
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
 General Meat Science Info.
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
 General Meat Science Info.
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.
 General Meat Science Info.
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.
 General Meat Science Info.
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
 General Meat Science Info.
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
chickenhow you prepare and cook gives it is
flavor.
- Tanked- not fit for human consumptiona
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 doesnt 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 dont put on fat uniformly, put it on in
patches.
- Cant 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 doesnt improve tenderness, but all other
attributes.
- Should not sit meat out to thaw = spoilage.
- Most people overcook porkscared of getting
sick as with beef and poultry.
- Shouldnt salt meat till its cookedwill 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
softdoesnt 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.