Meat By-Products

(also called offal), the commercial name for food products, exclusive of the carcass, obtained from the slaughter of animals and the dressing of their carcasses. Meat byproducts are subjected to veterinary sanitary inspection immediately after slaughter in order to determine their quality. If pathological changes are detected in organs and tissues, an evaluation is made, following veterinary sanitary rules. If necessary, microbiological, physicochemical, and histological tests are performed. Meat by-products are also used in the manufacture of medicines and livestock feeds.

The most valuable food by-products of meat—the liver, brain, kidneys, and tongue—are used to make various dishes and canned goods. The heart and the lungs, as well as the flesh of the esophagus, diaphragm, head, and trimmings, are used to make sausage. The heart, lungs, trachea, liver, and diaphragm constitute the pluck. Meat by-products are shipped for sale chilled to a temperature of 0°–4°C, and in the USSR must meet sectorial standard (OST) 4954–73: Processed Meat By-products.

For the manufacture of medicines and related substances, meat by-products are quick-frozen to a temperature of (– 20°C) immediately after the carcasses are processed. Vitamin B₁₂ preparations are made from liver, and gastric juice, pepsin, and rennet are made from the mucosa of the abomasum of ruminants and from the stomachs of swine. Livestock feeds are manufactured from meat by-products with little nutritional value or flavor, such as the spleen and omasum of sheep and goats, as well as the head, lungs, trachea, and abomasum. Meat by-products that have been declared unfit for human consumption are also used in the manufacture of such feeds.