Only cleanest for slaughter, please

4 July 1997

Only cleanest for slaughter, please

SLAUGHTER of animals with dirty, wet fleeces should be delayed, suggests a report in the Veterinary Record, May 31, 1997.

P Hadley of the Meat Hygiene Service and J S Holder of the University of Bristol, found that carcasses of dirty sheep carried up to 1000 times more micro-organisms. Modifications to the skinning process were unsuccessful in preventing contamination and exacerbated the problem due to increasing handling of the carcass.

The results of this work reflect the importance of ensuring that meat animals presented for slaughter are as clean and dry as possible so that contamination is minimised. &#42