poultry slaughter and pre- and post-mortem inspection

Unit No:.

Third year

ILO Students are to know the whole process

of poultry slaughter, from collection to inspection of carcass

The process of poultry slaughter starts from the point of collection of live birds for slaughter.

A lot of producers and processors alike, do not realize the importance of this operation to bird welfare and their meat quality.

What is the consequence of erratic mode of collection ???????????????????????????/

unreliable modes of collection/ catching of birds for slaughter, during which birds struggle, is not only bruising, injurious and sometimes causes fractures of legs and/or winds,

but also leads to meat being tainted/contaminated with blood, thus not only unattractive or even unacceptable to the consumer,

Best time to collect ????????????

very important that birds be collected gently in darkened rooms or during the dark hours of the night, preferably with suitable nets, by expert hands.

They should also be transported in suitable cages and reasonable numbers per cage, using the right transport means and mode.

Transportation ???

They should also be unloaded carefully and slaughtered immediately on arrival.

Transporting them at very cold (freezing) or very hot weather conditions should be avoided, as far as possible.

If they have to be transported during those weather conditions, proper air conditioned/ heated vehicles should be used

At the beginning of the slaughter process, the birds should be inspected pre-mortem and only fit birds,

free of any noticeable signs of infectionserious/open wounds or fractures

be hung on hooks(both legs hooked with heads down), attached to automatically moving rails.

Ante mortem signs of Avian influenca????????????????????????

Clinical Signs

Birds found deadDrop in egg productionNeurological signsDepression, anorexia, ruffled feathersCombs swollen, cyanoticConjunctivitis and respiratory signsDehydrationSubcutaneous swelling of the head and neck

area Nasal and oral cavity discharge

2006 Avian Influenza

Note swollen head, and discharges.

Ruffled feathers

Respiratory Symptoms

Clinical SignsEdema of head, especially

around eyesGreenish-dark watery

diarrheaRespiratory and

neurological signsSigns vary with species and

virulence

Poultry stunning?In the none-Islamic, none-Jewish mode of

slaughter, the birds are stunned by immersing their heads in a stream of electrified water or carbon dioxide chamber or water dissolved with the CO2.

Sloughtering The birds are then slaughtered manually or

by automatically sliding sharp knives and allowed to bleed as they move along the automatically moving slaughter line

De feathering??????The slaughtered birds should then be

dropped into boiling water tanks, for easy de-feathering, before they enter the de-feathering roller- machines

The de-feathered carcasses are once more hung up on the hooks

Any remaining feathers are manually removed

Inspection???? head severed and carcasses washed,

eviscerated and inspected.

The offals (kidneys, liver, lungs, gizzard etc.) of fit birds are then washed and packed in transparent plastic bag

Other records you need to keep in mind during inspection ????????

This inspection is mandatory and should give in its records

date and time of inspectiontrack numberSpeciesnumber of birdsname of owner or place of originplace of inspectionidentity of inspector

The objectives of ante-mortem inspection are:

Determine the general condition of the birds.

To establish the presence of diseases or conditions that need special or particular act such as culling or segregation of birds, delayed slaughter etc

What you are suppose to do if you sea signs of reportable

disease ?????

reportable diseases are avian influenza, Newcastle disease etc. are detected,

they must be immediately reported to the concerned authorities and all necessary actions of isolation and quarantine measures, disinfection etc. be taken, immediately and on the spot

Post-mortem inspectionPost-mortem inspection in poultry refers to

the inspection techniques and inspection of carcass and viscera.

This involves the acts of viewing, palpation and smell.

The color, shape and consistency of organs and tissues must be well observed.

The color of poultry carcass depends on a number of factors, such as age, sex, nutrition, scalding temperature during slaughter,

among others.Both the carcass and viscera should be

visually observed and palpated and during inspection.

The inspector should explore and look deep into the interior of the carcasses, to detect any pathological lesions, such as

air sacs inflammations, oviduct inflammation etc. Contamination of feces and bile should also

be looked forexternal lesions on the carcass like swelling

of sinuses, nasal and ocular discharges

Postmortem findings of avian influenca Lesions may be absent with

sudden deathSevere congestion of

the musculatureDehydrationSubcutaneous oedema of head and neck areaPetechiae on serosal surfacesKidneys severely congestedSevere congestion of the conjunctivae

What about Newcastle disease ??????????????

Post Mortem LesionsIndistinguishable from

highly pathogenic avian influenza

Hemorrhagic internal lesions Tracheal mucosaProventriculusIntestinal mucosa

Center for Food Security and Public Health Iowa State University - 2004

Post Mortem LesionsEdema of the head and

neckEdema, hemorrhage,

necrosis or ulceration of lymphoid tissue

Lesions vary with species and virulence

Judgment you can make after postmortem

inspection ?????????????????????????????

Though localized lesions could be detected and disposed off by the inspector,

the final judge and evaluation of carcasses must be done by a veterinarian.

Condemnations of carcasses can be done for pathological, non-pathological or aesthetic reasons by a qualified and competent veterinarian or meat inspector.