contd

PORK BUTCHERY

Carcasses under chilled storage after slaughter are butchered and it's from this here that pork prime cuts are obtained.

Breaking stage

Carcasses are removed from the chillers, weighed and then moved to the breaking stage of the butchery. Here each carcass halves are cut each into three parts namely: pork shoulder, pork middle and pork leg. Before breaking pork shank/knuckles and fillets are separated from each half.

Each of the three parts is distributed to butchery tables where butchers cut up the parts to obtain the various prime cuts.

Pork leg

From leg comes black forest ham, leg steaks, gammon ham, boneless rind-on rolled, flesh meat, rump steak.

Middles

From middles pork boneless loin rind on/off, kassler, streaky bacon, belly bacon, belly spare ribs, baby spare ribs.

Pork shoulder

From the shoulder come collar bacon, rind less bacon, neck fillet bone in, shoulder spare ribs, shoulder chops and pork shank.

Packing

The prime cuts are then packed, weighed labeled and vacuum-sealed and sold or blast frozen awaiting sales.

Other products from the section are semi lean, back fat and off cuts for sausage processing.

Fat

The fat got from pork has several uses i.e. the back fat goes to sausages making, the soft fat also goes to sausages processing. Celestine is used to manufacture pure lard. While flare fat and cooking fat goes to sausages making.

Quality assurance personnel monitor aspects such as hygiene inside butchery, meat temperature, and examination of meat for foreign objects, how meat is cut up and floor temperatures, which should be, less than 18^oC and packaged product presentation.