Abattoir Practices and Animal Products Technology

PRESSING, DRYING AND MILLING

Pressing

• The drained meat is put into conical pockets made from ordinary jute or sisal bags.
• After the bags are filled, they are tied with string at the top and put on a sloping wooden, stone or cement surface with the pointed end downward, covered with a board and pressed down with a few heavy stones.
• After, about an hour, the water will have to be drained off and the mass can be crumbled easily and laid out for drying.

Drying

• Natural drying (sun drying) on mats, concrete platform or boards, can be relied on only if it can reduce the moisture before putrefaction, discoloration, rancidity or contamination takes place.
• This is possible only under very dry and hot climatic conditions. So, artificial methods of drying have to be devised.
• For this, trays made of galvanized iron sheets with reinforced by a few flat mild iron strips are excellent.
• When sun is sufficiently strong the meat can be dried on these trays without fire.
• At other times, the tray is placed on 6” stones and fired from beneath.
• When fire is applied, it should be gently and gradually increased and the mass should be turned continuously and broken upto achieve uniform drying.

Milling

• Although some manufacturers of stock feed will purchase unmilled meat meal, a better price and a standard product will be obtained by milling it.
  • Any hammer mill grinder with a screen will do.
  • Where large quantities of meal are produced, a grinding and sacking unit is used.