Basic Principles of Proper Handling and Processing of Meat, Milk and Eggs

 Fresh meat must not be kept too long. Boned meat should be kept no longer than three days.
Individual cuts should be used within two days, preferably on the day they are cut.
 Fresh poultry should be packed in ice and stored in the refrigerator.
 Store raw products on the lower shelves of the refrigerator, below cooked products.
 Dairy products must be stored in the refrigerator at temperatures of 2°C to 4°C (36° to 39°F).
Follow these guidelines:
 Do not store dairy products in a vegetable cooler; a separate refrigerator is much more acceptable.
 Keep the refrigerator clean at all times.

Causes of deterioration

Milk
Biological- Microorganisms
Physical- Dehydration and enzymatic action
Chemical- Oxidation
Meat
Biological- Microorganism
Physical- Temperature, Dehydration and enzymatic action
Chemical- Breakdown of fat, protein and carbohydrates
Eggs
Biological-
Physical- Temperature
Chemical- Action of enzymes (trypsin and etc.)

Types of Milk:

 Evaporated Milk- is made by removing about 60% of the water from ordinary milk.
 Condensed Milk- is the same with evaporated milk but has 40-50% of sugar.
 Whole Milk- no constituent has been removed.
 Filled Milk- added with any fat or oil other than milk fat.
 Reconstituted Milk- milk reconstituted by combining dry whole milk solids with the appropriate
amount of water.

Processing of milk

COWS GRAZING

Typically cows spend about 8 hours eating, 8 hours sleeping and 8 hours ruminating or chewing their cud.
Cows are usually provided with a fresh paddock of grass in the morning after milking and another fresh
paddock of grass in the evening after milking. They may also be fed some grain in the dairy while being
milked and Hay or Silage (conserved forage) if there is not enough grass available.

HARVESTING MILK
Cows are normally milked 2 times per day, however some high producing herds are milked 3 times per
day. Normally cows are milked at about 6 am in the morning and again at about 5 pm in the evening.
Milking time takes about 5 minutes per cow but depends on the type of machine and the amount of milk
the cow is producing. Most dairies have enough machines to milk 20 to 40 cows at one time, reducing
the amount of time the cows wait to be milked. Milking machines mimic the action of a young calf by
creating a pulsating vacuum around the teat, which causes the milk to be released from the udder.

STORING MILK

Milk storage vats or silos are refrigerated and come in various shapes and sizes. Milk is stored on farm at
4 degrees Celsius and less for no longer than 48 hours. Vats and silos are agitated to make sure that the
entire volume remains cold and milkfat does not separate from the milk. After milk has been collected,
storage vats and stainless steel pipes are thoroughly cleaned before the farmer milks again.

TRANSPORTING MILK

Milk is collected from the farm every 24 or 48 hours. The tankers that are used have a special stainless
steel body which are heavily insulated to keep the milk cold during transportation to the processing
factory. Milk tanker drivers are accredited milk graders, which allows them to evaluate the milk prior to
collection. Tanker drivers grade and if necessary reject milk based on temperature, sight and smell. A
representative sample is collected from each farm pickup prior to being pumped onto the tanker. After
collection, milk is transported to factory sites and stored in refrigerated silos before being processing.

Laboratory Testing

Samples of milk are taken from farm vats prior to collection and from the bulk milk tanker on arrival at
the factory. Samples from the bulk milk tanker are tested for antibiotic and temperature before the milk
enters the factory processing area. Farm milk samples are tested for milkfat/protein/bulk milk cell count
and bacteria count. If milk is unsuitable for our quality products the milk will be rejected. Most farmers
are paid on quality and composition of their milk and it is extremely important that these samples are
collected and stored correctly.

Pasteurization and sterilization

Pasteurization is the process of heat processing a liquid or a food to kill pathogenic bacteria to make the
food safe to eat. The use of pasteurization to kill pathogenic bacteria has helped reduce the transmission
of diseases, such as typhoid fever, tuberculosis, scarlet fever, polio, and dysentery.

 Flash Pasteurization - Involves a high-temperature, short-time treatment in which pourable

 Steam Pasteurization - This technology uses heat to control or reduce harmful microorganisms
in beef. This system passes freshly-slaughtered beef carcasses that are already inspected, washed,
and trimmed, through a chamber that exposes the beef to pressurized steam for approximately 6
to 8 seconds. The steam raises the surface temperature of the carcasses to 190° to 200° F (88° to
93°C). The carcasses are then cooled with a cold-water spray. This process has proven to be
successful in reducing pathogenic bacteria, such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Listeria,
without the use of any chemicals. Steam pasteurization is used on nearly 50% of U.S. beef.
  Irradiation Pasteurization - Foods, such as poultry, red meat, spices, and fruits and vegetables,
are subjected to small amounts of gamma rays. This process effectively controls vegetative
bacteria and parasitic foodborne pathogens and increases the storage time of foods.

Sterilization is the removal of living micro-organisms, and can be achieved by moist heat, dry heat,
filtration, irradiation, or by chemical methods. Compared to pasteurisation, a heat treatment of over
100°C is applied for a period long enough to lead to a stable product shelf-life.

Meat processing

Traditionally, meat processing is a means of extending shelf-life (preserving) and producing a convenient
item for use later and elsewhere. Processing is aimed at reducing the enzyme activity in the meat,
retarding oxidation of the fat, and preventing spoilage by microorganisms. These aims have been
achieved through drying, curing with salts, or smoking meat. Sausage manufacturing, for which meat is
ground to varying degrees, is another form of processing, in principle for the same purpose. Either one or
a combination of these procedures in various regions of the world has preserved goats' meat.

Curing

Curing was originally a term applied to preservation in general but is now restricted to preservation with
salt (sodium chloride) and sodium or potassium nitrite or nitrate or a mixture of these two salts. The
nitrate serves as a reservoir for nitrite - the active compound - since bacteria in the curing solution form it
from the nitrate. The use of salt is one of the oldest methods of preserving meat since at concentrations
greater than 4% in the aqueous phase it inhibits the growth of most spoilage organisms.
Smoking

Meat has been treated with smoke from the earliest days - traditionally over a wood fire and more
recently by producing smoke from wood sawdust in a generator and conducting the smoke over the meat.
The substances deposited on the meat contribute to the flavour and appearance but with ordinary, light
smoking the preservative effect is limited and the product has to be stored refrigerated. Intensive smoking
does prolong shelf life both by heavier deposition of preservatives and by the drying effect of the hot air
but it has a detrimental effect on flavour. Consequently preservation by smoking is regarded as an
emergency measure when other methods cannot be used. A modern development making use of the
flavouring effect is to use an aqueous solution of the constituents of smoke, which reduces the amount of
strongly flavoured and other unwanted substances.

Drying

Micro-organisms cannot grow unless there is sufficient moisture available to them and drying meat under
conditions of natural temperatures and humidity with circulation of air and the assistance of sunshine is
the oldest method of preservation. Muscle meat of almost any kind can be dried but it is necessary to use
lean meat since fat becomes rancid during the drying process. Drying involves the removal of moisture
from the outer layers and the migration of moisture from the inside to the outside, so the pieces of food
must be thin. The meat is cut into long thin strips or flat thin pieces and preferably salted, either dry or by
dipping into salt solution, to inhibit bacterial growth and to protect from insects.

Canning

Micro-organisms can be completely destroyed by heat (sterilisation) but a sterile product can be readily
re-contaminated unless it is protected. This is achieved by heating in an airtight can or bottle, or, more
recently, in a heat-resistant or aluminium foil-laminated plastic pouch. The procedure is to seal the food
into the container and then heat it under pressure in an autoclave (retort) to the required temperature for
the required length of time and to cool rapidly to avoid overheating. Overheating results in too soft a
consistency and a burnt taste. It is not always possible to destroy all the organisms without excessive heat
which would spoil the product so the objective is to destroy the greater proportion of the organisms when
the remaining few pose no hazard so long as the container is cooled rapidly and stored below 20-25°C.

Processing of other Livestock Products

For Feathers

Feather production in geese and ducks will depend on the growth stage of the feather. As long as the
feather grows, it will be unsuitable for plucking. If the feather-stem is dry it is an indication that the
feather is mature and then the feathers can be plucked as well as the down. The down is used to make
very light commodities like sleeping bags and light, puffed-up blankets like eiderdowns and comforters.

For Wool

Shearing

1 Sheep are sheared once a year—usually in the springtime. A veteran shearer can shear up to two
hundred sheep per day. The fleece recovered from a sheep can weigh between 6 and 18 pounds (2.7 and
8.1 kilograms); as much as possible, the fleece is kept in one piece. While most sheep are still sheared by
hand, new technologies have been developed that use computers and sensitive, robot-controlled arms to
do the clipping.

Grading and sorting

2 Grading is the breaking up of the fleece based on overall quality. In sorting, the wool is broken up into
sections of different quality fibers, from different parts of the body. The best quality of wool comes from
the shoulders and sides of the sheep and is used for clothing; the lesser quality comes from the lower legs
and is used to make rugs. In wool grading, high quality does not always mean high durability.

Cleaning and scouring

3 Wool taken directly from the sheep is called "raw" or "grease wool." It contains sand, dirt, grease, and
dried sweat (called suint); the weight of contaminants accounts for about 30 to 70 percent of the fleece's
total weight. To remove these contaminants, the wool is scoured in a series of alkaline baths containing
water, soap, and soda ash or a similar alkali. The byproducts from this process (such as lanolin) are saved
and used in a variety of household products. Rollers in the scouring machines squeeze excess water from
the fleece, but the fleece is not allowed to dry completely. Following this process, the wool is often
treated with oil to give it increased manageability.

Carding

4 Next, the fibers are passed through a series of metal teeth that straighten and blend them into slivers.
Carding also removes residual dirt and other matter left in the fibers. Carded wool intended for worsted
yarn is put through gilling and combing, two procedures that remove short fibers and place the longer
fibers parallel to each other. From there, the sleeker slivers are compacted and thinned through a process
called drawing. Carded wool to be used for woolen yarn is sent directly for spinning.

Spinning

5 Thread is formed by spinning the fibers together to form one strand of yarn; the strand is spun with two,
three, or four other strands. Since the fibers cling and stick to one another, it is fairly easy to join, extend,
and spin wool into yarn. Spinning for woolen yarns is typically done on a mule spinning machine, while
worsted yarns can be spun on any number of spinning machines. After the yarn is spun, it is wrapped
around bobbins, cones, or commercial drums.

Weaving
6 Next, the wool yarn is woven into fabric. Wool manufacturers use two basic weaves: the plain weave
and the twill. Woolen yarns are made into fabric using a plain weave (rarely a twill), which produces a
fabric of a somewhat looser weave and a soft surface (due to napping) with little or no luster. The napping
often conceals flaws in construction.

Worsted yarns can create fine fabrics with exquisite patterns using a twill weave. The result is a more
tightly woven, smooth fabric. Better constructed, worsteds are more durable than woolens and therefore
more costly.

Finishing

7 After weaving, both worsteds and woolens undergo a series of finishing procedures including: fulling
(immersing the fabric in water to make the fibers interlock); crabbing (permanently setting the interlock);
decating (shrink-proofing); and, occasionally, dyeing. Although wool fibers can be dyed before the
carding process, dyeing can also be done after the wool has been woven into fabric.