Animal Products For Consumption

In primary agriculture, production is a term that is widely used. But to what is it referring? It refers to the growing process of products that can be used either for human consumption or animal consumption.

In animal production, most of the products produced are used for human consumption like meat, milk, honey, etc. these products are included but are not limited to meat, milk, bones, feathers, fibre or animal derivatives such as semen and ova.

• How do you identify animal products that can be used for human consumption?
• What is the origin of these products?
• How would you estimate the value of these products?

Meat

There are a variety of products on the market for human and animal consumption that are products produced by animals. Most of these products like hides, meat, fibre, milk and other by-products such as bones and hooves are used widely. Insect products such as honey and beeswax are also very much in demand.

The term animal production is, therefore, a well-known term and referred to a lot of specific goods that are in demand. It will be difficult to handle all the aspects of harvesting the above products. In the previous level, we have looked at the harvesting of fibre products like wool and mohair.

Red meat is the collective name for meat that originates from cattle, sheep and pork. White meat is the collective name for meat that originates from chicken, turkey, duck, pigeon, guinea fowl, etc. Livestock production has developed to supply the world's demand for meat. In order to obtain the final product, it has to go through certain production and processing procedures.

Meat is very versatile, and its uses are limitless. To ensure the best quality product, there are certain parameters that give you an indication of its quality according to its specifications and grades and be aware of meat safety. If meat is handled and stored correctly, its shelf life could be prolonged, for example by using the correct packaging.

Uses of Meat

Meat is available in fresh, frozen, canned and cured forms. Fresh meat is raw meat. Frozen meat is also available, and it has the same food value as fresh meat. Tinned meat has been sealed in a metal can and then heated. Meat is often canned with other ingredients, such as vegetables or gravy. Cured meat, such as ham, bacon, sausage and biltong has been treated with salt and/or sodium nitrate to control bacterial growth.

Origin

Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Meat consists largely of muscles, but fat and other animal tissue are also considered meat. The most commonly eaten meats come from animals that are raised for food. These animals - and the meat that comes from them - include cattle (beef and veal), pigs (pork), and chicken and sheep (lamb and mutton). The meat from cattle, pigs and sheep is all classified as red meat. Chicken and fish are classified as white meat. There are several different types of meat. The names for meat from cattle and sheep also indicate the age of the animal from which the meat was taken.

Veal is the flesh of calves less than 14 weeks old. It is light pink and contains very little fat. Veal is more tender than beef and has a milder flavour. Beef is the flesh of full-grown cattle. Most beef sold in shops comes from animals one to two years old. Beef is bright red and has white or yellow fat, depending on the food the animal was raised on.

Lamb is the flesh of sheep slaughtered at a young age (younger than 6 months). It is red and has white fat. Lamb has a milder taste than mutton.

Mutton is the flesh of sheep older than 6 months. It has a deep red to purple colour. Mutton has a stronger flavour and a coarser texture than lamb.

Pork is the flesh of pigs. Pork has a light pink colour with white fat. It has a mild taste. Many cured types of meat, such as ham and bacon are made from pork.

Chicken is the flesh of broilers. Chicken has a white colour with slightly yellow fat.

Offal is the general name for various organs and glands of animals. Common offal includes brains, hearts, kidneys, livers and tongues of animals. Other offal includes sweetbreads (thymus gland) and tripe (the lining of the stomach).

Value

The value of the product depends on the following factors:

• Availability.
• Demand.
• Readiness.
• Quality.
• Genetic parameters – age, fertility, reproductive performance.

Fibre

In fibre production, we distinguish between wool and mohair. Woollen sheep produce wool at an early stage, but that wool is of less value due to the lack of length. The older the sheep gets the longer the wool. Between 8 - 12 months the wool is at optimum length and the value is more, but it depends on the fineness of the wool (six months).

Mohair is also produced at an early stage, but here the product has the best value relative to adult goats (the fibre diameter of mohair can vary a lot from very fine fibre produced by young kids up to six months of age to coarse fibre production by rams at the adult stage).

Semen

In animal derivatives such as semen and ova the animal has to be mature and should be able to reproduce (fertile) before collection can be made.

Milk

Milk is processed into a variety of dairy products such as cream, butter, yoghurt, kefir, ice cream, and cheese. Modern industrial processes use milk to produce casein, whey protein, lactose, condensed milk, powdered milk, and many other food additives and industrial products.

Skin

Skins are by far the most important by-product and must receive special treatment to prevent damage. Skins are an important export product, and many are used within this country.

Offal

Until recently it was part of the tradition to slaughter a sheep or goat for the pot at least once a week. In those days, however, offal was still much in demand but today it is virtually unknown, particularly by the younger generation. This is unfortunate because not only is offal gourmet food, but it also has a high nutritional value.

What is offal? Offal is everything removed during the dressing (slaughtering) of a carcase. This includes the brains, tongue, trotters, tripe, kidneys, liver, sweetbreads and heart.

Liver

The liver is a good source of complete proteins and is rich in vitamin A and the B-complex vitamins as well as mineral salts such as iron, calcium, phosphorus, copper and iodine.

Lamb's liver: It is fairly readily available. Lamb's liver has a fine texture and is ideal for frying and grilling. Dark-coloured lamb's liver often comes from older sheep and is less tender.

Calf's liver: This liver is very tender but very scarce. It is suitable for grills and fried dishes.

Pig's liver: Pig's liver has a stronger flavour and is generally used for pâtés and terrines. It can also be used in grills, casserole dishes or in sausage meat and meatloaves.

Ox liver: Ox liver is freely available. This liver is less tender and has a strong flavour. Soak ox liver in saltwater or milk for 20 minutes to remove some of the strong flavours. Ox liver can be used in stews, braised and casserole dishes. Ox liver is used in liver patties, liver-and-beef pies and many other well-known dishes.

Kidneys

Kidneys are considered by some to be the choicest offal item. Ox, calf and lamb's kidneys are protected in the carcase by a large amount of white fat, known as the kidney fat. Pig's kidneys have no kidney fat.

Lamb's kidneys: The shape of lamb's kidneys differs from that of ox and calf's kidneys. Lamb's kidneys can be fried or grilled successfully.

Ox kidneys: These kidneys are the largest of all the kidney types (approximately 750 g) and have a strong flavour. Ox kidneys are usually cubed and used in stews and braises.

Calf kidneys: Calf kidneys are scarce and resemble ox kidneys but are smaller. These kidneys are tender and have a less pronounced flavour than ox kidneys. Calf's kidneys can be fried or used in stews or braises.

Pig’s kidneys: Pig's kidneys resemble lamb's kidneys but are larger, less tender and have a stronger flavour. They can be fried, grilled or used in stews and casseroles.

Tongue

Oxtongue is most popular because of its fine texture and excellent taste. Lamb's tongues are delicious, small and tender but very scarce. Lamb's tongues are sold with the head as lamb's or sheep's offal. Lamb's and pig's tongues are usually served whole while ox tongue is served sliced. The tongue may be served fresh or pickled.

Tripe

This is the stomach tissue of cud-chewing animals. Tripe has a very coarse texture and is fairly tough and, therefore, requires long, slow cooking. Traditionally the stomach (tripe) is curried with trotters.

Oxtail

The oxtail is perhaps the most popular of the animal extremities. Long, slow cooking is required to make tasty stews and soup.

Oils and Fat

Edible fats are used for eating and baking and high graded oils are used for margarine. Non-edible comes from condemned carcasses and from processes during the production of gelatine and bone meal. They are used mainly for the production of soap. Animal oils are used for the lubrication of delicate machinery and during the production of certain types of leather.

Intestines

Intestines are used mainly in the manufacturing of sausage and polony and also for other purposes such as the supply of gut for the sewing up of wounds.

Blood

The blood is caught up at abattoirs, boiled under pressure, which sterilises it, dried, ground and sold as blood meal. A blood meal is an important feed supplement.

Bones

Only a limited amount of bones occurs in the abattoir and are used for bone meal, which is an important ingredient of animal licks.

Condemned Carcasses

Owing to diseases some carcasses are not suitable for human consumption and are processed for the production of animal feeds.

Click here to view a video that explains the harvesting of animal products.