Stress of sacrificial animal affects meat quality
With Eid al-Adha approaching, many people were in a hurry to sacrifice. In addition to the high protein content, meat, which is an important source of food with various vitamins and minerals, also contains microorganisms in its structure. Öğr states that some of these organisms can have an adverse effect on human and animal health. To see. Eda Şensu Demir stated that hygiene and sanitary rules should be observed during the slaughter and storage phase so as not to increase the microbial load in the meat.
“WE HAVE TO WEAR CLEAN CLOTHING SUITABLE FOR THE CUTTING AND WATCH HAND HYGIENE”
To obtain quality meat, there are points for attention before, during and after slaughter. State that the environment where the animal will be slaughtered and the tools to be used must be made hygienic before slaughter, Lecturer in Food Engineering. To see. Eda Şensu Demir said, “The person who performs the cutting process should wear clean clothes suitable for cutting and pay attention to hand hygiene. In this way, the number of micro-organisms present in the meat is kept under control and contamination of various micro-organisms from the environment is prevented. Another factor that affects the quality of meat is the stress of the animal during slaughter. The stressed animal uses the glycogen that has accumulated in its body, and then there is no nutrient in the environment to use for odor and taste formation reactions. The animal must be taken to the point of slaughter and rested for 1-2 days before slaughter. Seeing slaughtered animals or smelling blood also causes stress. That should be avoided as much as possible.”
“CUT MEAT MUST BE IN CONTACT WITH AN AMOUNT OF AIR”
After the animal has been slaughtered, it must rest well to obtain the desired smell and taste. Demir said that the animal has to go through 3 different stages for the muscle tissue to turn into meat: “The first stage is the warm meat stage, which lasts between 6 and 8 hours. In this process, the meat must be kept at +16 degrees. After that, it must be kept at +4 degrees, then below +4 degrees to ensure the maturation of the meat. One of the important things to mention is that the sliced meat is pinkish red in color. To achieve this desired color, the sliced meat must be exposed to some air. That is, if we put it in the bag as soon as we cut it, the meat will darken and brown. For this reason, containers are preferred in which the mouth can take in open air while the meat is being carried.
“WE RECOMMEND MEAT WITHIN 6-8 MONTHS”
If there is a large amount of meat and it will be stored for a long time, the freezing method, which is the best quality and healthy storage method, is preferable. Öğr argues that consideration should be given in this process not to attempt to freeze large quantities of meat at the same time. To see. Eda Şensu Demir said, “In order to obtain high-quality frozen food, the freezing process must take place quickly. For this reason, meat can be frozen in small portions for quick freezing. In addition, even if frozen foods have a long shelf life, odor and taste loss occurs when they are stored for a long time. We recommend consuming meat within a period of 6-8 months. Most importantly, frozen products should not be re-frozen after thawing. This is especially dangerous for meat. Besides freezing, it can also be preserved in the form of roasting by applying heat treatment.
