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High speed slaughter:

Efficiency of meat inspection
Panel Veterinary Public Health
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Freie Universitt Berlin, Germany
Postal address: Brmmerstr. 10, 14195
Berlin, Germany
fries.reinhard@vetmed.fu-berlin.de
reinhard@friesconsult.info

Summary

Without understanding the line, it is not possible to

understand and to hinder transfer of agents throughout
the line from the feed chain up to the product.
An attribution of lesions to particular
circumstances is possible, e.g.
Animal wellbeing in the holding and animal
welfare in transport
Pathological anatomical lesions indicating a
disease or a technopathy
Visual contamination reflecting the hygiene
of processing
During ante mortem inspection, individual
interpretation takes place, in post mortem
inspection, fatigue, personal judgement in case
of fit or unfit for consumption are a major issue.
Sometimes, in different regions seizure is different.
Standardization is needed.
Post mortem meat inspection serves in the
sense of monitoring and elimination, with lesions,
inspectors are asked to remove and simultaneously
to record their quality (feed back mechanism to
improve the next herd or to pick out heavy cases).

So, meat inspection may change from an

instrument of final approval (traditional) to an
instrument of supervision/ verification and approval
of efforts done by the producer. For this, camera
based inspection systems are available and should
be further developed.
Concerning zoonotic agents or residues, no
information can be achieved using macroscopic
examination. The worth of the post mortem
instrument lies in the recognition of general animal
welfare (technopathy), general animal health (e.g.
weight distribution), hygiene (visual contamination,
evisceration) or quality aspects (e.g. bruises).
Reinhard Fries

he aim of supervision of food animals is to

provide a healthy and wholesome meat
without lesions or conditions, which might be
adverse to consumers health or consumers
esthetic mind, hygienically produced and under
ethical acceptable circumstances.

Birds having been condemned are frequently the

tip of the iceberg, individual birds may carry the
same lesion and pass the inspection post mortem
unnoticed.

Introduction
The global role of poultry meat
Poultry meat is widely accepted without any
religious or socio-cultural restrictions, which is
one of the reasons of the ever increase of poultry
consumption worldwide.
During the recent decades, concerns with poultry
meat in the EU (and predecessor organisations)
were different (Petersen, 1997), beginning with
the need for supply of high quality animal protein,
followed by the technical ability to stock high
numbers of birds independent of the climate in
combination with keeping the animals healthy in
such large numbers. Consecutively human concerns
(amount of work load, consumers protection) were
raised, and finally the environmental impact and
animal wellbeing. These days, also animal rights are
discussed intently. In 2002, Germany was the first
country to grant the animals rights in the rank of the
constitution (Cherney, 2004).

History or: Meat

traditional sense

Inspection

in

its

Meat inspection (MI) has been prosecuted

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XXIV
already in early times of human civilisation, be it
on a religious base or based on the understanding
of the time. During medieval times in Europe,
inspection was performed on a low level. In the
19th century, scientific insight advanced far enough
to establish a clinical and pathological inspection
for slaughter mammals, by then being the only
available techniques. In addition and because the
farms of that time were small, MI was performed
at the slaughterhouse, where all animals were
gathered and could be observed easily. This basic
procedure was frequently taken over by other
counties worldwide.

Reinhard Fries

Not much changed then for about one century,

which made this type of inspection, in the beginning
very modern, the traditional one, as it is called
these days. It is, what the wording indicates: Clinical
observation of slaughter animals and post mortem
necropsy, aiming at the detection of diseases and
zoonoses and prevention of their spread. Later on,
the idea was extended to other areas, so in the 70ies
also into the poultry sector and to the detection of
foreign substances (residues and contaminants).
Reliability: With development in animal keeping
and emerging of other risks such as subclinical
presence of zoonotic agents, controversy on efficacy
of this type of meat inspection commenced and
carried on for years.

New Ideas: Integrated Chain Systems

The idea of integrated chain systems is based
on interrelations and impacts, which were observed
between the single stages of production (husbandry,
transport and processing) demonstrate, that these
stages are closely interlinked and that an impact
from different stages on the end product does
exists. If these interrelations turn out to be useful in
practical performance, surveillance and control can
be expanded to the living animals on the farms with
more technical (lab based) options of investigation.

Worlds Poultry Congress 5 - 9

August - 2012 Salvador - Bahia - Brazil

slaughtering and further processing line, lesions may

be observed in the abattoir, which will serve as a
monitoring aid for farm management and diseases,
transport as well as impacts from the slaughter and
processing line.
In any case, basic condition for systems like this
is the availability of an appropriate infrastructure in
animal production and the applicability of control
parameters.

Targets of poultry meat inspection

Poultry meat processing has to observe issues of
human and animal health, must consider for animal
well-being and must provide a wholesome meat/
meat product for consumers (product quality).
Important issues of control and surveillance are in
particular
Foreign
substances
(residues
and
contaminants) in slaughter animals
Occurrence of resistance
Presence/ absence of zoonotic agents
Zoonoses and animals diseases
Explanation of macroscopic appearance
of carcasses as related to diseases or other
impacts (technopathia) or damages from
post mortem)
Interpretation of test results obtained during
the life time of the birds
Animal welfare issues
Hygiene of the processing line including the
product as well
Workers protection might be an additional
task.

This paper
This contribution presents sanitary and hygiene
issues in highly integrated poultry production chains
with high capacity abattoirs under the particular
issue of the individual post mortem visual meat
inspection (visual, if necessary also by cutting),
which aims at the detection of abnormalities of the
carcasses and of the organs.

The other way round, one accident may affect

the whole line. So, the integration may contain
weak points also:
Impact from the farm of origin (litter quality
and product quality: Skin)
Impact from transport to the slaughterhouse
(dead in transport, mechanical bruises)
Breed and sex as impacting on the sudden
heart death of male broiler chickens
Transfer of Salmonella into the abattoir and
the spread into the establishment

Poultry production chains can be highly

industrialised with closely interlinked stages from
primary production up to the carcass and further
on. In particular for broilers, an almost total
automatisation has been achieved with line speeds
of up to 13,000 birds/ h.

Because all animals are inspected during the

Accordingly, in primary production we find large

Area: Poultry Welfare and Environment August 06

The food chain Poultry

Organisation

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herds supplying these abattoirs, for which feed

supply must be provided. Transport-technology of
the birds fits into the equipment of the abattoir,
and at the end of the chain; marketing is highly
organised with a rapid release and distribution of
the perishable products.

Management: Logistic slaughter in order to

prevent Salmonella- transfer from herd to
herd

Regional differences:
The extend of technology in the abattoir
depends largely on the region: In threshold or in
developing countries with low labour cost, we find
establishments with a lower grade of mechanisation,
machines are adapted to that very purpose and the
local requirements. In addition, a split market exists
in these countries, for export purposes or for the
local market (wet markets). In these countries
and for primary production, we find different
structures, too: Local backyard or free range systems
and (international) farming technology with far
developed housing systems as mentioned.

The bird on the farm of origin and during

transport:
Primary production covers animal breeding,
raising of grandparent and parent generations (for
meat or egg producing animals) and husbandry (for
meat broilers about 30 - 40 days and since some
years longer again).

Improvement and development:

To reach such a high status of integration, in
each of these stages, important improvement have
been achieved (more still to come), e.g.:
Transport of birds in containers (animal
welfare adjusted transport)
Slaughter line (stage scalding tanks and
steam techniques)
Evisceration line (design of evisceration
techniques which make these line speed
possible)
Product diversification (establishment of
automatic cutting lines)
Management (use of electronic identification
(tags) enabling individual steering of carcasses
and cuts including rapid distribution of the
product)
Stable and housing technology enabling to
maintain a huge density and simultaneously
to keep the animals healthy

The number of birds kept in a flock, e.g., broiler

flocks amounts to 15,000 to 40,000. Moreover, a
farm might include several flocks resulting in some
500,000 animals (even more) on the whole farm
area. Fattening flocks are usually kept on deep litter.
Factors known to be of influence on the outcome
are
Origin of the flocks
Nutrition
The stables
Diseases including medication
Pest control
Environment
Organisation of farming (frequency of
fattening periods)
Hygiene of farming (biosecurity measures)

Reinhard Fries

In particular in industrialised countries, poultry

meat production is characterised by fully automated
machinery including electronic steering and a high
level of integration of its single stages. This way,
poultry production is much more transparent than
it may be the case in mammal lines. Main stages of
large scale poultry meat production are
Primary production with depopulation of the
stables
Service period on the farm site
Transport of birds, lairage and deloading
Slaughter and processing
Further processing (cutting and meat
products)

The vertical sequence of the birds through

the stages

Service period (in the stables) and shipment

The term transport covers catching and
depopulation, loading on trucks (cages or larger
transport crates), transport, unloading and lairage
as well as shackling.
Having the birds out of the stables, stables are
prepared for repopulation. Removal of litter and
dead birds (with appropriate composting respectively
rendering), would be followed by thoroughly
cleaning and disinfection. Such dormancy should
last between 7 and 14 days.
Especially during catching as well as shackling
the animals, bruises and bone breakages may
occur, resulting in downgrading or condemnation
of the whole carcass. Transport to the abattoir
carries simultaneously the risk of vertical transfer of
(zoonotic) bacteria.
For broilers, either portable cages for about
15 birds or integrated cage systems are available.
In such cases, also appropriate buildings and
equipment at the farm and in the abattoir must be
Area: Poultry Welfare and Environment August 06

Reinhard Fries

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available. Before catching, feed must be withdrawn

8-12 h prior to catching.

muscle by rupture of capillaries. Bone breakages

also occur.

Cages are difficult to clean (decontaminate),

edges make it sometimes impossible to remove the
agent. Having an eye on the cage washing machines
is a central issue, which contributes (as only one
point) to preventing transfer.

To a certain amount, the carcass takes up process

water, which depends on the type of processing.
E.g., water-chilling, spray or air chilling impact
differently on the carcasses. Mandatory limits are
available for chilling techniques.

The abattoir:
The main line consists of three (four) subsections:
Slaughterline (line 1) with shackling, (mostly)
electrical stunning, bleeding, scalding,
defeathering, removal of head , trachea and
windpipe,
Removal of feet and automatic transfer to
the evisceration line
Evisceration line (line 2) including cutting
around the cloake, opening the vent, removal
of offals and separating edible offals, washing
the carcasses along the line and final inside-/
outside washing.
For chilling, two options exist: Automatic
transfer to the chilling line (line 3) and chilling
by air or spray or chilling in a counterflow
spinchiller system
Automatic sorting depending on weight and
destination (mostly cutting, line 4).
Current technical development concerns
electronic steering of the line, which can take
into account more easily customers requirements
(convenience products, parts or whole carcass
products) or attempts to use camera- aided systems
in order to ensure product flow or to detect lesions
on the carcasses.

Limits are for the particular stages of

sampling as well as chilling techniques acc.
to Reg. (EEC) No 1538/91 as amended
water uptake
in the plant

drip
losses

1.5 %

spray (evaporation)

2.0 %

3.3 %

immersion

4.5 %

5.1 %

chilling type
air

Hygiene
Starting with the farm of origin, it is largely the bird
which links the single stages together. Horizontally,
water, air or personnel have a considerable impact on
farm level and during the procedures in the abattoir.
In such integrated poultry chains exists a permanent
transfer of agents from primary production into the
abattoir. Even an elaborated and reliable hygiene
programme in the abattoir cannot prevent such a
transfer, because effective hurdles or barriers do not
exist (Fries, 2002).

Zoonotic agents
Zoonotic agents may still be present in the

Improvement in poultry processing in the last two decades:

Stage

Position

Result

Unloading

transport modules

improved animal welfare

less human fatigue

conveyors

automatic transfer

evisceration

development of techniques

improved hygiene

* by hand
* using automatic devices
* separation of carcass & organs
chilling techniques counter- current system
air- chilling

improvement of hygiene
control of cross-contamination
reduced uptake of water

evaporative chilling
Improper stunning (high voltage, too long an
interval between stunning and sticking) may lead
to increased occurrence of haemorrhages in the

Area: Poultry Welfare and Environment August 06

premises prior to placing the birds from the herd

before or they come in any time during the present
raising period via different carriers from outside.

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Kept on the floor, birds take up agents such as

Salmonella, and horizontal transfer will commence
within the herd.

The three solutions for chilling lead to different risk

of cross contamination (immersion> evaporation>
air) with pathogen bacteria.

Identical strains of salmonellae or Campylobacter

have been found over days and throughout
the line, vertically as well as horizontally, and at
several positions, the bird brings in its burden from
prior stages. Such events are at present - either
an unavoidable part of the technology, or they
happen because of failures accidentally. The other
way round, at some positions, also the birds get
contaminated (cross contamination).

Surfaces play an important role, too:

Contamination and the efficacy of cleaning and
disinfection have to do with the quality of the
surfaces and of the material itself.

Over the years, Salmonella was found most

frequently in low numbers: Recently in the
Netherlands, Dufrenne et al. (2001) detected in
most samples Salmonella in numbers of <10/
carcass, which is still comparable to the quantitative
data from broiler carcasses (end product) some 20
years ago, where most frequently positive cases
did not exceed a contamination rate of <10/ total
skin (Fries, 2002). The prevalence of Salmonella
and Campylobacter in live poultry results also in the
presence of these agents in the slaughterhouse and
further on in the food chain.

Especially in Scandinavia efforts have been made

to fight the prevalence of these agents in the flocks,
which was principally successful.

Spoilage microflora on the skin during

processing
With regard to shelf stability, the general
spoilage microflora and their pattern throughout the
processing line should be considered, too. A dense
abattoir technology goes without any hurdles for
agents, thus opening options for transfer via several
carriers. In particular the bird as such is a connecting
link between primary production and the processing
line, but also trucks carrying the birds or outgoing
waste are important mediators.
In particular water is used frequently and
differently: Transport of offals, during scalding,
during chilling or for cleaning & disinfection.
However, also aerosols are heavily contaminated,
and air deserves more attention, data so far are scary.

Weak points from the hygienic point of view are:

scalding tanks (built up of bacterial load,
temperature 50-60 C)
defeathering (surface of rubber fingers,
which are difficult to control:
Plucking
fingers with a high bacterial colonisation
evisceration (ruptures of intestines)
chilling (cross-contamination by water even
in the spray-technique)
From living poultry downwards, a high bacterial
burden would be transferred into the processing line
in the abattoir, with consequences for shelf stability
and also the presence of zoonotic agents. It is the
bird as well as the highly industrialised processing
line as such, which forms a specific bacteriological
profile on the skin and other closely connected
materials such as defeathering fingers or water.

Reinhard Fries

EU: With the ban of antimicrobial feed additives

and more to be expected, control of hygiene in
animal stocking as well as hygiene in the abattoir
becomes more pressing. With Regulation (EC)
2160/2003, the freedom of poultry of Salmonella
has been put on the agenda, including eradication
of flocks in special cases.

Finally, with ever growing line speed, the time for

service (hygiene and technical equipment) becomes
shorter.

The following data stem from surveys in several

poultry abattoirs during the years 1981 1993 in
Germany (using polytroph blood containing media).
Identification of the strains was done using flow
charts (Fries, 1988, 2005; Fries and Kobe, 1997;
Fries and Graw, 1999). Altogether, 1,781 strains are
presented here, representing the most important
fractions of microbiological associations during the
procedures in an abattoir.
Micrococcaceae: Most strains of this family
were isolated from the skin. During the course of
processing, members of this family decreased,
however they remained predominant. Also from the
feet, in particular Micrococcaceae were obtained.
Streptococcus: Members of this genus increased
quantitatively and qualitatively during defeathering
and in particular during evisceration (at this point of
processing, the most positive results were obtained
on the skin with the highest percentage of the APC).
Grampositive irregular rods and filaments
(GPIR): The source of these coryneform
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XXIV
bacteria might be litter as well the content of the
guts. Frequently, members of this group were
quantitatively predominant in the whole line,
in particular during defeathering and during
evisceration.
Lactobacillus: Members of this genus were
obtained mainly from the skin, from the feet and
from the chilling water. Most isolates have been
found on the skin, after evisceration. As inhabitants
of the guts, lactobacilli have been found in particular
after evisceration.
Bacillus: In particular in the scalding liquid,
bacilli have been found. This may be explained by
selection of the high temperature in scalding, with
the consequence of increasing numbers of this
sporeformer in the scald water.

Reinhard Fries

Gram-negatives in general: In particular

Flavobacterium, Acinetobacter, Alcaligenes and
Moraxella were present in the samples. The
Moraxella-Acinetobacter group is associated with
spoilage of foods.
Enterobacteriaceae: The Gramnegative section
consisted mainly of members of this family. Isolates
came frequently from the skin and from the chilling
water. With regard to the number of the isolates as
well as the quantitative percentage, this family had its
peak on the skin prior to technology and after chilling.

Foreign substances
With respect to foreign substances, residues
from veterinary application, legal application
(growth promoters being banned in the EU) as
well as substances from environmental pollution
are under observation, residues correspond with
resistance in bacteria.
The general advantage of line production is to
get more information about residues in slaughter
animals or the avoiding transport of animals to
the abattoir, who are obvious not fit for human
consumption. The other way round, antimicrobials
might trigger the upcoming of resistance, in
zoonotic agents and environmental bacterial cells
as well. Thirdly, looking back into the feeds chain,
disasters with dioxin indicate clearly the importance
of incoming goods into animal chains.
The epidemiological risk of the presence
of residues or contaminants depends on the
organisation of the farm (e.g., indoor/ outdoor,
feed supply from industrial manufacturers/ homemade or not under control at all).

Area: Poultry Welfare and Environment August 06

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The sanitary issue or:

Poultry meat inspection
Traditionally, food animals undergo an ante and
post mortem inspection. It should be noted, that
ante and post mortem poultry inspection is different
from ante and post mortem inspection of mammals.
Following current legislation in the EU, the
inspection of slaughter poultry consists of a general
check of the birds in the farm of origin as well
as in the abattoir (ante mortem inspection) and
a post mortem inspection of carcass and offals
after evisceration (Regulation (EC) No. 854/2004).
Farmers as food operators are responsible for the
product bird and should be informed about the
outcome of inspection procedures of whatever type
or discipline (feed back of gathered information to
the farm of origin).

Inspection ante mortem

Inspection of herds in the primary production
means a mixture of clinical observation of the herd
as well as insight into the flock specific health
relevant criteria (food chain information), such as
mortality rate over the whole period/ losses
per week
initial number of one-day-chicks
health disorders history
treatments (including drugs and feed
additives)
vaccination history.
feed and water consumption (feed
conversion)
average daily weight gain
bird weight (individual weight distribution/
coefficient of bird weigth, which reflects the
stability of the herd body)
Data are collected and recorded, producers get
a feed back.

Inspection ante mortem at abattoir level

While health inspection of the animals is done in
their domestic environment, the second inspection
at the abattoir aims at animal welfare issues.

Visual post mortem inspection

The post mortem poultry meat inspection is
largely visual and and would be done by auxiliaries
in some, by veterinarians in other Member States of
the EU. Inspection aims at
Detection
of
unnormal
macroscopic
appearance, consistency, colour, or smell

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Recognition of major aberrations because of

the processing line
Appropriate hygiene of the processing line
If needed, sampling for residues by random
or in case of suspicion.
For that and without delay, all surfaces of carcass
and organs (visual) are to be inspected (all external
surfaces). The official veterinarian (OV) carries out
personally:
daily inspection of viscera and cavity
of a representative number of animals
slaughtered, for each shipment of identical
origin
random sampling of parts or of entire
carcasses having been declared unfit for
human consumption
any other examination necessary when there
is reason to suspect, that the meat from these
birds could be unfit for human consumption
In addition, the hygiene of the procedures is a
part of the official supervision in an abattoir.

The weak points of current inspection of

poultry

Discussion or: Ways out of

the dilemma
The meaning of lesions
We do not always know the meaning (and the
causative background) of lesions observed. Thus,
removal of carcasses from the line as unfit remains
somewhat superficial and arbitrary. In a few cases, an
assessment of the lesions with respect to the level of
danger/ risk to humans, animals or the environment
has been performed. Bisaillon et al. (2001) classified

Lesions obtained during poultry meat

inspection: What do they reflect?
The list of lesions, which are frequently obtained
during visual post mortem inspection of broiler
herds, offers different explanations and different
risk levels as well:
animal welfare parameters in the holding
(food pad dermatitis, litter burns, outcome of
beak trimming) or in transport
diseases or hygiene in the holding (coefficient
of variance of weights indicating different
growth speed, infections of the herd cannot
be excluded)
pathological anatomical lesions indicating a
disease or technopathy
ruptures, bone breakings indicating failures in
the technical procedure mostly ante mortem

- Small animals

high variation (s%)

indicating an
infection of the herd

- Abnormal shape

feed imbalances

- Scabby skin

technopathy
(coccidiostats)

- Bursitis sternalis

litter quality

Reinhard Fries

Apart from the different mechanisation level

worldwide, i.e. with more or less fast running lines,
the limitation of visual inspection by inspectors is
obvious. For zoonotic agents, resistance genes,
foreign substances, the traditional ante and post
mortem type of meat inspection fails almost
completely, and the recognition of lesions is
hampered by line speeds as already indicated. In
addition, ante mortem inspection has to take into
account the status of the complete herd with high
numbers of birds and post mortem the inspection
of every single bird piece by piece. Concerning
interpretation of findings, lesions observed during
post mortem inspection may differ widely with
regard to character, intensity, extension, location,
thus offering a huge diversity from bird to bird.

143 grossly detectable abnormalities and conditions

(GDAC) with respect to their risk for consumers.
Results clearly indicate a need for more analysis on
this field of inspection:
Potential of human concern not known
(n=46)
The agent not being associated with human
diseases (n=47)
The agent not yet identified (n=3)
Risk Management-Options needed (n=37; in
particular chemical contaminants)

- Incomplete exsanguination dead on arrival or

septicaemia
- Fractures

technopathy (from
catching)

- Deep dermatitis

frequently
Gramnegatives, E. coli

- Ascites

breed, environment
or infectious

- Ruptures

technopathy (from
catching)
Area: Poultry Welfare and Environment August 06

XXIV
- Inflammation of the cavity different agents, e.g.
Ornithobacterium,
E.coli)
It is important to note the infectious or
mechanical character of a lesion, the frequency of
a lesion (herd or individual) and finally the location
of an observation with consequences for seizure
decisions. Not only lesions caused by diseases,
also unappropriate conditions in the holding
(technopathy), during transport (animal welfare)
or at stunning may be observed and appropriate
measures should be taken.

Reinhard Fries

Infective vs. mechanical damage and the

state of generalisation
In case of an infection, and based on the
judgement requirements of Reg. (EC) 854/2004, a
decision is necessary on the generalisation character
of the lesion. In case of a generalisation, the carcass
should be condemned.
The flock vs. the individual bird
Post mortem inspection concentrates on the
individual inspection and decides on an individual
base. However, in many cases, reasons of a lesion
are not known or an assessment has not yet been
performed. The other way round, in case of a flock
being infected with an agent, lesions may reflect
such an infection at herd level, leaving herd based
decisions open.
Unspecific lesions are the majority of
condemnations. In case of the presence of a nonhuman-pathogen, such an infection may alter the
body condition that severely, that the carcass ends
up condemned. Mostly, the causative agent cannot
be identified. In case of a notifiable disease (OIE
list), there is no need for individual judgement: In
such cases, the herd as such undergoes the legal
consequences.

Unfitness of parts of the carcass or: The

grey zone between fit and unfit

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is an important factor, which must be considered

during the inspection, too.
A particular lesion cannot be considered without
the background against the whole herd, e.g. the
lowest weight which should pass the inspection
depends on the age of the herd (with increasing age,
the weight increases) as well as the distribution of
the weight (following the Gauss distribution curve).
Also the percentage of a lesion in a herd should be
taken into account.
It is possible to declare certain parts of the
slaughtered animals as unfit, if the other parts
appear as expected and experience says that all
aspects of quality are provided. In case of such a
local damage, the local lesion goes as condemned.
This may be true also for a localised infection. As an
example, investigations with turkeys suffering from
cavity inflammations revealed, that the process was
localised to the cavity (Fries et al., 2005). Based on
these results, in case of aersacculitis, the decision
should depend on macroscopic lesions exclusively.

Personnel in post mortem poultry meat

inspection
A heavy burden is laid on the personnel during
meat inspection: Separation of viscera and carcass,
inspection of the backside of the carcass (using
mirrors) and high speed lines leave the human
eye unprotected and unsupported. The lines with
sophisticated machinery make high speeds possible,
however, efficacy and reliability of the inspection
remains open, even with line dividers, which allow
the inspection only of every second carcass.
Efficacy of visual inspection by personnel
Following several reports on visual inspection, a
complete elimination of lesions from the processing
line is not possible. This relates to different line
speeds as well as to the individual assessment of the
same lesion by different persons (Fries et al., 1992;
Fries and Kobe, 1993).

Biological material differs widely. In post-mortem

So, it may come to either false-positive (fit for
inspection, seizure is not that easy, precise criteria
consumption but condemned) as well as falseare lacking, definitions are needed. Even in herds
negative (to be condemned but fit for consumption)
being basically healthy,
Seizure of Broilers Results from Meat Inspection and Relesions do occur, some of
Inspection of the same Carcasses based on Data Sheets by other
them frequently.
Teams (Fries and Kobe, 1993)
Seizure depends on
Done during Re-Inspection
Results of Meat Inspection
the nature of a lesion, its
Percentage of Identical Judgement
extension, the intensity of
total
fit
condemned
fit
condemned
total
the lesion as well. Also the
5,232
94.7 %
57.0%
84.4%
localization on the carcass 19,632 14,400

Area: Poultry Welfare and Environment August 06

XXIV

Worlds Poultry Congress 5 - 9

August - 2012 Salvador - Bahia - Brazil

results of inspection. With growing line speed in

poultry processing, we must realise the limits of
visual inspection done by human beings.

Pathology (Veterinary sanitary function):

Watkins et al. (1999) reported false positive (i.e.
condemned) carcasses in a percentage of 4-5
%. In addition, the authors stressed the extreme
conditions during cleaning and disinfection, which
had impact on the camera systems also. Van Hoof
and Ectors (2002) evaluated a vision system in
practical work in a poultry processing plant. With
some lesions the system worked well, with some the
authors reported detection to be difficult. Reviews
on the issue were presented by v.d.Sluis (1991)
and Fries (2003). In all, following lesions have been
reported to be detectable:
Underweight carcasses
Discolorations
Abnormal shape of the carcasses
Injuries
According to Watkins et al. (1999), US- FSIS
considers the replacement of visual control by
automatic inspection technology; Personnel could
then concentrate on other aspects such as HACCP
or the reduction of pathogen microorganisms.
A system of visual checking of carcasses is

Preventive measures (Good Practices)

and the change of inspection functions
Several options of compensating the high speed
lines especially in broiler production do exist: Along
the poultry meat chain, 4 lines of defense may be
used to protect the line from zoonotic agents or
foreign substances:
1st : The holding: Prevent infectious/ zoonotic
agents through control of access or through
prudent use of therapeuticals (biosecurity)
2nd : Meat production lines (abattoir level):
Design of machinery including elements of
management (hygiene)
3rd : Processing: Meat technology and their
impact on microbial colonisation, serving as
hurdles
4th : Retail as well as preparation of meals in mass
catering, adequate storage or home based
prevention
Preventive measures have different purposes:
Prevention of diseases in the herd (biosecurity)
in order to keep lesions under control
Biosecurity/biocontainment measures against
zoonotic agents
Good Husbandry Practice in order to
avoid technical failures in the holding and
consecutively the occurrence of technopathy
on the carcassdes during post mortem
inspection. Lesions also increase elimination
work during post mortem inspection done by
inspectors.
Improvement of the line technology in order
to prevent technical failure which would also
cause increased elimination work during
processing of the slaughtered birds
Development of new methods on the field of
inspection itself: Currently, we observe most
frequently traditional compensation aids
such as mirrors from the other side of the
line, line dividers or the implementation of
company staff (which in itself bears the same
limitation problem of inspectors dilemma
during visual inspection). Alternative
solutions would be computer aided camera
systems.
Concerning zoonotic agents or residues,
no information can be achieved using
macroscopic examination. Here, sampling
Area: Poultry Welfare and Environment August 06

Reinhard Fries

The alternative: Computer aided camera

systems
Visual work done by inspectors is tiring because
of the high speed of the line. Because of the similarity
of the carcasses to be presented, inspectors might
overlook lesions. With growing line speed in poultry
processing, we must realise the limits of visual
inspection done by human beings. This prompts
the search for reliable auxiliary systems, and camera
based systems (in line and real time equipment)
already exist, depending on the purpose, with
different wavelengths from visual to infrared). In
poultry processing, three main purposes can already
be achieved with machines:
quality assessment and steering acc. to
internal quality politics of the company or
meeting customers demands
Lesions important for meat inspection
purposes or for quality control according to
customers demands (Park and Chen, 2000;
Van Hoof and Ectors, 2002)
Contaminants: Visible indicators of fecal
contamination, which may reflect a higher
risk of Salmonella presence in the unit and
which may used as index- factor (Lawrence
et al., 2002; Thornton, 2004)

needed not only to detect lesions, but also to keep

records on the number and the character of lesions
in a herd. Monitoring lesions from a particular
holding reliably is only possible using automatic
processing aids, which also helps to keep the costs
under control.

XXIV
and lab analysis during the lifetime of the
herd is needed.
Biosecurity in primary production
Biosecurity has been described as protective
measures against risks from diseases or agents
(Gunn et al., 2008). Biosecurity programmes are
designed to minimise flock contact or contamination
from humans, other flocks, wild birds or other
animals, pets, feeds not provided by the contracting
company, unsafe water or contaminated equipment
(NACMCF, 1997). At farm level, several keystones
of biosecurity have been identified, which may serve
as a structure for appropriate standard operation
procedures (SOP), including observation of circuits
in the farm, i.e. the black and white concept.

Worlds Poultry Congress 5 - 9

August - 2012 Salvador - Bahia - Brazil

ante and post mortem inspection. So, a recording

system of reasons for rejection of birds from the
herd is needed:
compilation of a list including definitions
recording of condemnation
feed back to the farmer.
The worth of multidisciplinary instruments
like this lies in the framework of general animal
welfare (technopathy), general animal health (e.g.
weight distribution), hygiene (visual contamination,
evisceration) and quality aspects (e.g. bruises).

References

Reinhard Fries

References may be obtained from the author.

Keystones of biosecurity on farm level
(Fries, 2010):
The area as such (distribution of buildings
allocating main parts of the area to black or
white zones)
Buildings and facilities with separate premises
including control of transfer
Management of keeping the herds including
appropriate hygiene measures
Service period between stocking the herds
(and with appropriate treatment of surfaces)
Performance of cleaning and disinfection
Technology of bedding (origin, use, discard
and control)
Feed and water as vectors, feeding strategies
prior to transport
Humans as carriers (preventive measures with
regard to movements within the area)
Transport vehicles and their role in
transmission (also within the area)
Veterinary measures, prevention of transfer
from farm to farm
Verification measures at several stages with
different methods
Having implemented such Good Practices,
they need verification. So, prevention gives sense
only, when verification measures are in place,
too. Collection of information by use of records,
questionnaires and self declaration on different
issues from the farm level is mandatory for the
food chain information practice acc. to Reg.
(EC) 854/2004 as amended by other regulations
following the 2004 regulation.
Such data need to be gathered and then should
go into a construction of network surveillance, i.e.,
data from the food chain, from the direct herd
observation (at the farm or in the abattoir) i.e., from

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Area: Poultry Welfare and Environment August 06