Quality control for meat and meat products

• Quality assurance implies warranty factor.
• Quality audit implies continuous testing.
• Quality standardization implies uniformity.
• While doing the above there is consideration of an idea of perfection balanced against a realistic
  appraisal of profitabilty in a competitive market.
• A quality control system should include some of the following characteristics.
  i) Process control to enhance production efficiency but retaining the quality
  ii)Composition control to ensure uniform production and satisfy the consumer.
  iii) Cost control to sustain the quality and the profits.
  iv) Product evaluation to ensure consumer acceptance and satisfaction.
  v) Atmosphere control for maintaining good quality of product and ensure consumer safety as well.

Meat Inspection
To carry forward the quality assurance measures ante mortem and post mortem inspection are important steps.

Antemortem inspection

• Inspectors observe all red meat animals at rest and in motion.
• They segregate suspect animals before they enter the slaughter facility.
• Suspect animals are either condemned or passed following an examination by veterinary Medical Officer.
• Antemortem inspection can detect some diseases or abscesses that may contaminate the slaughter
  environment.
  

Postmortem inspection

• The viscera and carcasses of all animals are inspected on the processing line.
• Line inspectors require removal of visible fecal and ingesta contamination of flesh.
• Inspectors examine heads , viscera and carcasses.
• They observe palpate and make incisions on tissues to inspect these.
• Visible fecal contaminants and ingesta are removed Apart from above there are other quality control
  procedures. The following areas with the indicated factors are to be evaluated to establish quality
  control duties.

A) Raw materials evaluations

• Type of meat cuts or trimmings.
• Proximate composition .
• Sanitary conditions — filth, odor, color.
• Temparature
• Weight
• Appearance – freezer burn, color, evidence of thawing in transit, packaging.
• TBA ( for rancidity)
• Bacterial load

B) In - process evaluations

• Plant sanitation– equipment and employee personal hygiene through monetring the bacterial loads on
  there body contact surfaces.
• Process time and temperature control.
• Weight control.
• In-process quality defects evaluations.
• Formulation performance

C) Finished product evaluations

• Weight control
• Microbiological and shelf life
• Packaged products quality defects .
• Product cooking/serving performance.
• Sensory evaluation .

To ascertain the above suggested quality control steps there are certain analysis required to
be performed and these are —
i) Moisture

• Oven- dry method
• Toluene distillation
• O`haus moisture determining balance
• Anderson moisturefuge
• Karl fischer titration method.
  

ii) Fat

• Ether extract estimation
• Modified babcocks method
• Hobart fat tester.
• Anyl- ray method

iii) Protein

• Kjeldahl method
  

iv) Ash

• Incineration of dried sample.

v) Tissue and tissue types.

vi) Drug biologic and pesticide residues

viii) Analysis for sausage ingredients and curing materials

• Salt – total chlorides
• Nitrates and nitrites
• Sugars
• Binders, fillers, extenders
• Ascorbates, erythorbate
• Phosphates

ix) Microbiological analysis

• Total plate count
• Yeast and molds
• Clostridia
• Salmonella
• Staphylococci
• Lactobacilli
• Indicator organisms – fecal coliforms , salmonella etc. , staphylococci General sanitation has to be
  taken care of through cleaning practices like -
  A) Types of cleanliness
• Physical cleanliness
• Microbial cleanliness
• Chemical cleanliness
  B) Sanitation programs
• Plant sanitation surveys
• Employee training
• Quality control like choosing cleaning aids, procedures, microbiological analysis etc.