Abattoir Practices and Animal Products Technology

SCALDING

The factors to be considered relating to scalding and dehairing are

• Hourly rate of slaughter
• Size of pigs to be handled
• Efficiency of cleansing and corrosion.
• Vertical scalding of pig carcasses involves the use of a double-walled tunnel in which steam, generated from a water bath in its bottom, is blown over the carcasses and through a ventilator located over the condenser.
• A thermostat at 62˚ -64˚C controls the temperature of the tunnel.
• The cooling water from the condenser in the tunnel is used to flush the pig carcasses during the dehairing process.
• Before entry into the tunnel, the carcass should hang for three minutes and then lie on its side for two minutes.
• The pig carcasses are then transported to the tunnel on a rising rail so that the head is under the other parts of the body during the whole scalding process, which lasts six minutes.
• Trimming and singeing take place afterwards.

Advantages of Vertical Scalding 

• To greatly improve the bacteriological standards of the pork.
• To produce bacteria-free lungs.
• To reduce muscular degeneration.
• To reduce incidence of PSE (pale soft exudative muscle) due to the fact as here the body temperature does not go above 41˚C.
• To have better dehairing.
• To reduce operating costs.