Animal welfare from farm to abattoir

Only animals born and raised on farm assured farms in Scotland, but also slaughtered in approved slaughterhouses there, can achieve the prized designation of Scotch Beef and Scotch Lamb.

The majority of Scottish meat processors all participate in Quality Meat Scotland Assurance Schemes and are inspected three times a year. Scottish processors work closely together with the farms that supply them to ensure that the highest standards of animal welfare are maintained up to the point of slaughter. After slaughter each carcase is carefully checked at all stages of processing, boning, trimming, packing, chilling and maturation. The training, skill and care of the processors have a profound effect on the ultimate eating quality of the meat they produce.

Key assurance stages and time frames

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Key assurance stages

Stage 1 Approved processors

An Approved Processor is a business or person holding a valid Certificate of Approval for the production and/or processing of products specified on the Certificate. All abattoirs must be sited in Scotland, must fully comply with the requirements of the relevant Council Directive and must achieve upon inspection, on a regular basis, a pass for both slaughter and cutting operations.

Stage 2 Animals eligible for slaughter

Beef for Scotch Beef sides is currently derived from cattle. Scotch Lamb is derived from male or female lambs. New season lamb is born, slaughtered and marketed within one year, beginning 1st January. In Scotland, every animal destined to provide Scotch Beef has a passport which records the essential details about the animal. In addition, Scotch Beef or Scotch Lamb must come from farms that are approved members of the Quality Meat Scotland Farm Assurance Scheme.

Stage 3 Transport from farm to abattoir

Animals must be handled on the farm, in markets and during transport with proper care and concern for their welfare at all times, to comply with the requirements of all appropriate legislation and Codes of Practice. This is important both for animal welfare and because any stresses imposed can trigger the release into the bloodstream of hormones which can affect the final quality of the meat. In Scotland, all animals must be transported to the abattoir by an approved Farm Assured member. The vehicles used have non-slip floors and good ventilation. All loaders, drivers and auction market staff receive appropriate training, and cattle and sheep are transported in their farm groups wherever possible.

Stage 4 On arrival at the abattoir

Animals are unloaded promptly on arrival at the abattoir and stored in an area called the ‘lairage’. Lairage and abattoir staff are required to demonstrate competence in relevant welfare standards and adopt practices which ensure humane treatment and minimise stress. The use of goads is not permitted except under exceptional circumstances. The animals are maintained in the groups they were transported in and are given access to fresh drinking water. The period in lairage is usually short, but in the event that animals are lairaged for more than 12 hours, they are fed at appropriate intervals. Farm Assured animals are kept separate from any animals from farms which are not assured.

As part of the traceability process, the ear tag information of cattle and the lot numbers of sheep in lairage must be checked before slaughter and all animals undergo a rigorous pre-slaughter inspection by a qualified vet.

Stage 5 The slaughter process

Slaughter can only be carried out by a trained and licensed slaughter-person. Immediately prior to slaughter, cattle and sheep are first stunned, rendering them insensible to pain and causing unconsciousness. In cattle a captive bolt pistol, which penetrates the skull, is the usual method of stunning the animal. Sheep may be stunned by captive bolt pistol, or by applying an electrical current through the brain. Immediately following stunning, the animal is suspended by its hind legs and cut across the throat, ensuring that at least one of the carotid arteries is severed and so terminating the blood supply to the brain. This is called exsanguination, bleeding or, commonly, sticking.

The animal is then given 30 seconds to exsanguinate fully at which point the head is ‘demasked’ by removing all of the head meat so it can be checked by the Meat Hygiene Service in due course.

Front hooves are also quickly removed (the hind hooves subsequently) and ‘rodding’ is also carried out at this point. With the animal suspended upside down and muscle control now redundant,to avoid the possibility of regurgitation, the oesophagus is skillfully sealed using the ‘rodding’ technique before moving on to be ‘dressed’.

Stage 6 Dressing the carcase

Soon after slaughter the animal’s body is ‘dressed’, from which point it is generally referred to as a carcase. The animal’s skin – hide for beef and pelt for sheep (which includes the wool covering) – is removed as is the head, and the internal organs are extracted in a process known as evisceration. Evisceration is carried out within minutes of slaughter to reduce the risk of contamination from the organs to the meat. Carcases are subjected to a rigorous postslaughter inspection by a qualified Meat Hygiene Service inspector. Quality Meat Scotland safety controls are strictly applied and are probably the finest in the world, ensuring every carcase is inspected at several points during the process, not least the internal organs – the liver, kidneys and pluck.

Beef carcases are then split into sides (the vertebrae are split directly through the centre). The beef and lamb carcases are then classified to indicate their commercial value, normally related to the lean meat content, retail yield or quality attributes of the meat. At this point, Scotch Beef must be clearly identified, and bear as a minimum the slaughterhouse number, date of slaughter, classification and the weight of the carcase. Lamb carcases are left whole but must also be clearly identified as being certified and must bear the slaughterhouse number and slaughter date, classification and the weight.

On further processing, the carcase will be broken down so each side is now tagged in three places to ensure continued traceability through the supply chain with the barcode, weight and grade. See slaughter tag.

In both cases, the beef sides and lamb carcases must be clean and free from any extraneous matter or abnormal colour, the fat must be firm and white or creamy-white and the muscle must be of good colour and free of bruising and ‘blood-splash’.

STAGE 7 Chilling and storing

Now the carcases are transferred promptly to a chilling environment, to restrict the growth of micro-organisms, reduce deterioration and eliminate the possibility of food poisoning. For beef sides and lamb carcases, the chilling procedure must ensure that in the first 10 hours after slaughter the muscle temperature of the side does not fall below 10ºC to avoid overcontraction of the muscles (see cold shortening). Thereafter the deep muscle temperature of the sides must be reduced to between 0ºC and 7ºC as quickly as possible.

STAGE 8 Ageing and hanging

Carcases are held in refrigerated storage for varying periods of time to improve eating quality. Traditionally, sides of beef and lamb carcases were matured suspended on hooks by the Achilles tendon. More recently, suspending them from the hip via the hole in the bone called the aitch-bone has been recommended as it allows the commercially more important muscles of the carcase to be stretched. Aitch-bone hanging develops these muscles in such a way as to offer better meat eating qualities for the consumer.

Recommended time intervals between slaughter and retail sale for hindquarter beef with aitchbone suspension are at least 7 days, up to 21 days for better eating quality products. For lamb the recommended interval between slaughter and retail sale is 7 days.

STAGE 9 Cutting and packing

Once matured, the meat is supplied for the butcher to break down further, or broken down by the cutting room of the abattoir into primal cuts or joints. The temperature of the meat must not rise above 7ºC during meat cutting operations. The meat must be labelled Scotch Beef or Scotch Lamb to indicate that it meets the requirements of these standards.

STAGE 10 Onward distribution to the butcher

Deep muscle temperature must be maintained throughout the period of onward transit from the processor. This is achieved by:

• Transportation in purpose-built, hygienic refrigerated vehicles
• No contact with vehicle floors during loading, transit or unloading
• Boxed products not being placed directly on the floor, or carried in the same vehicle as unwrapped carcase meat, unless the boxes are adequately protected

RITUAL SLAUGHTER METHODS IN THE UK Some religious faiths have special requirements about the meat that they eat, and in particular the method by which the animal is slaughtered.
Halal slaughter (Muslims) The Islamic faith stipulates that only healthy and uninjured animals can be killed for human consumption Stunning prior to slaughter is considered injurious and therefore is not carried out in all cases Death is achieved by drawing a very sharp knife across the throat	Shechita slaughter (Jews) The animals are killed while still conscious The meat is called Kosher (which means ‘fit’ or ‘proper’) meat May only be carried out by an approved slaughter-man of the Jewish faith who is usually a Rabbi

Printable Version

For more information about meeting the needs of Muslim, Jewish, Sikh and Hindu customers, see the Plate section

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