LPT 312: Abattoir Practices and Animal Products Technology (1+1)

COLLECTION OF GLANDS

• Glands should be collected from healthy animals.
• While removing the glands it is necessary to see that, the protective (serous) membrane is not cut since otherwise some of the active principle will leak out and will be lost.
• Cutting the membrane also opens the way for the entrance of bacteria always present in the surroundings causing damage.
• The glands have to be removed within half -an–hour after slaughter, particularly in the case of smaller glands such as suprarenal, parathyroid, pituitary.
• If they are not removed immediately, the hormones will deteriorate rapidly.
• Butchers, generally, do not remove the glands immediately but allow them to remain in the carcass for an hour or so till flaying and other operations are over with the result that almost all active principles of the glands are destroyed by autolysis.
• Glands after removal should not be washed but may be rinsed quickly with cold water if absolutely necessary to remove blood and visceral contents.
• After removal, the gland should be frozen without any delay.
• Conditions under which animals are slaughtered and flayed in India render the proper collection of glands difficult.
• Mainly abattoirs do not have facilities to freeze glands. It is therefore, suggested that, in order to enable industry to undertake manufacture of glandular products, abattoirs should be modernized so that, valuable glands could be extracted and prepared under proper conditions for sale to pharmaceutical firms.
• The pharmaceutical companies should be situated near the abattoir to reduce the fright.
• The conditions prevailing and the low number of animals slaughtered in municipal and rural abattoirs in India makes it impossible for collection of glands.