Case 2B; Meat - aantekeningen

17 important questions on Case 2B; Meat - aantekeningen

How is cattle slaughtered?

The most frequently used method is the so-called bolt. With this method, a metal pin is driven through the top of the skull (calvaria) of the animal into the brain cavity, resulting damage to the brain and instant loss of consciousness

How are pigs slaughtered?

The stunning of pigs is carried out with the help of electric current or CO2

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using CO2 anaesthesia instead of electricity to slaughter pigs?

Advantage = The animals suffer less stress ahead of being stunned and fewer strong muscle contractions occur than with electrical stunning, which can sometimes cause bones to break or blood vessels to burst

Disadvantage = the stunning itself takes longer and the pigs initially show strong resistance in the stunning chamber. The animals suffer asphyxiation and pain

- electrical stunning lead to PSE meat more often than CO2 stunning
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How is poultry slaughtered?

The slaughtering process may be subdivided into different phases:
- supply, stunning and exsanguinating (leegbloeden), scalding at approx 53 C and plucking, removing the innards and organs, conditioning (cleaning and finishing the carcass), cooling, packing, and storing

Stunning occurs in an automatic water basin, with the birds being dawn hanging from their feet through a water bath in which an electrode has been placed --> best at 150 Volts

What are the structural units of a muscle?

The muscle cells or muscle fibres
- these are elongated cells containing special organelles for contraction

What can you tell me about muscle fibres?

Are arranged in bundles, which are surrounded by a layer of connective tissue. Nerves and blood vessels run through the intervening connective tissue layers.

the muscle fibres are provided with fuel through the blood vessels, and the resultant waste products are removed by the bloodstream.

muscle fibres can be classified by colour intensity.

Muscle fibres can be classified by colour intensity. Which colours do we have

- red coloured fibres
- intermediate coloured fibres
- white coloured fibres


the colours have to do with the presence of myoglobin in the fibre, which in turn has to do with the method that the fibre uses to produce energy

muscles at the front of the animal are a bit whither in colour, and those at the back a bit redder

What can you tell me about red fibres?

They contain a lot of mitochondria that are needed for energy supply. Energy production is a relatively slow, but efficient process. For this reason, red fibres are well suited to sustained tension (tonic contraction), such as is necessary for muscles with a function in the body's posture

What can you tell me about white fibre?

It is better suited to rapid reaction and movement. These fibres gain their energy from anaerobic combustion. This process is much faster, but also less efficient. As these fibres do not need oxygen for combustion, they have no myoglobin and fewer mitochondria, and they are surrounded by fewer capillaries.
white fibres can do work only for limited period, because the supply of new fuel via the blood proceeds too slowly

What can you tell me about the connective tissue?

Consists primarily of collagen protein. This protein is made up of long molecules, that overlap like roof tiles. Chemical cross-links are also formed for strengthening inside and between these molecules.

the collagen component may vary widely from muscle to muscle -> the less collagen the more tender the meat is , the more collagen the tougher the meat is

What can you tell me about adipose tissue (vetweefsel)?

Fat cells occur in the connective tissue, which is present everywhere in the carcass. These fat cells are not distributed diffusely, but combine into larger groups of fat islands = adipose tissue

adipose tissue is not present everywhere in the carcass to the same extent, but is concentrated in particular locations


developing adipose tissue looks gelatinous and is often reddish in colour as a result of the strong blood circulation

Which 4 types of fat depots can we distinguish?

1. Subcutaneous fat -> under the skin
2. Intermuscular fat -> between the muscle
3. Intramuscular fat -> in the muscle
4. Kidney, pelvic and belly fat

What is the average growth rate?

May be indicated as the increase in weight perr unit of time, and is usually calculated by dividing the change in weight (W2-W1) by the time period (t2-t1) during which this increase too place
(w2-w1)/(t2-t1)

What is the relative growth rate?

Is the growth rate at a particular point as fraction of the weight attained at that point, so growth over period t1 to t2, divided by Wt2

What can you tell me about the allometric equation?

Log Y1 = Log a + b Log Y2
a = the scale coefficient
b = the growth coefficient
Y1 = the weight of the body component being studied
Y2 = the body weight W


b-value = 1 --> Y1 increases relatively as quickly as Y2 = isometric growth
b-value < 1 --> Y1 is full grown sooner than Y2
b-value > 1 --> Y1 is full grown later than Y2

What is hereditary predisposition?

Located on genes, and is known that there arer a large number of genes that influence growth directly or indirectly

Growth-rergulating substances can be subdivided into?

1. Growth stimulators
2. Growth suppressos

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