ORGANOLEPTIC AND

OTHER PROPERTIES
AND ABNORMALITIES
OF MEAT

 Colour (myoglobin, haemoglobin content)

Odour/taste
Flavour (Free amino acids, creatine, nucleotides,
IMP, carnosine, glucose, lower fatty acids, Ncontaining compounds: pyrazine, oxygen and/or
sulphur containing ompounds)
Body condition
Imperfect bleeding
Rotting
Stuffiness
OTHERS

Colour

THE NORMAL COLOUR

Scarlet (purple-red) (not exposed to atmospheric oxygen yet)
Cherry-red (oxymyoglobin)
Brownish-red (methmyoglobin, e.g. fish food that is rich in
unsaturated fatty acids)
AFFECTED COLOUR
Green (verdochromin: decomposition or bacterial decay)
Yellow 1. Pigment of internal origin, e.g juidance that is
pathologic or
2. Pigment of exogenous origin, e.g. mainly plant lipochromes
from feed)
MEASUREMENT OF COLOUR
Photometrically

CHANGES IN COLOUR-YELLOW

NON-PATHOLOGIC (Developed on alimentary basis)

LIPOCHROMATOSIS: Yellow discoloration is found usually in the
liver of cattle (Overfed with caroten. Palmitin) (Lipochromes:
ether-soluble)
Judgement:
Approved for human consumption (Only the liver is
condemned: partial condemnation)
Condemned for human consumption (If accompanied
with abnormal/musty odour)
YELLOW BACON: At slaughter when the meat is warm this kind
of disorder cannot be seen. It appears at 24 hours after slaughter
(Low level of antioxidants and high level of unsaturated fatty
acids in the diet. Lipofuschin-like material is deposited)
Judgement:
Approved for human consumption (It is suggested for
industrial processing).

CHANGES IN COLOUR-YELLOW

PATHOLOGIC

ICTERUS (Pathologic deposition of bile pigments: alcoholsoluble)

Ante-mortem: conjuctiva and mucosa of the mouth
Post-mortem: So called white points are yellow:

Joints
Tendons
Fat deposits
Serous membranes
Aorta ascendens
Sternum

CHANGES IN COLOUR-YELLOW

Judgement:

In EU, any degree of icterus:Condemned

PIGMENTATION: BLACK

Pathologic deposition of melanin (Normally only in skin, hair,

claw and hoof)
Localization: Subserously, Intramuscularly: fascia)
Size: from lentil up to humans head
Judgement:

According to the general (overall) judgment of tumors

(Frequency, pattern of localization and shape)

Approved for h.c. (If they are in low number and easily can be
removed) (It is suggested for industrial processing)

Condemned (If those are large-extended, metastatics cannot

be trimmed perfectly)

EXAMINATION OF ODOUR (AND

TASTE)

BOILING (meat) and ROASTING (fat)

TESTS
Carried out 24 hours after slaughter (The
meat easily takes up and releases odour,
aeration of meat):

METHODS

Pour water into an empty pot enough to cover the

meat and heat under cover. At boiling, put a fistsized meat into the pot for 5-10 min. Take off fast,
cut and take the smell immediately (smell escapes
rapidly) (Odour is trapped by a shell of coagulated
proteins and at cut it escapes rapidly)
Cut small pieces of meat into the pot that is filled
with water. Boil under cover. Sometimes take off the
cover and take the smell.
At roasting, the fat&bacon is cut for small pieces and
it is started roasting slowly and continuously taking
the smell

POSSIBLE JUDGEMENTS RELATED

TO THE BOILING TEST

No abnormal odour: Approved for human

consumption
Strong abnormal odour: Condemned for
human consumption
In EU: detected abnormality: condemned

SPECIFIED CASES WHEN BOILING

TEST MUST BE CARRIED OUT

On occasion of any kind of special slaughter

(emergency, casualty)
In case of cryptorchism
In the presence of purulent-suppurative
processes/inflammation
In case of supplementary laboratory meat
examination
When toxicosis is suspected
At re-examination of frozen meat (after defrosting)
(freezing can hide abnormalities)

ORIGIN OF ABNORMAL ODOURS

(and taste)

Alimentary (Fed on fish flour, beet root,

mouldy, yeast)
Sexual (boar, scatol, androgens)

5 alpha androszteron
Skatole
Warm meat Most intensive
Judgement after 24 h chilling, boiling test

ORIGIN OF ABNORMAL ODOURS

Intravital

Perforation of rumen-reticulum
uraemia,
ascaridosis,
purrulent-suppurative, and lab findings,
stuffiness,
medicines, chemical subst.)

Post-mortem: (Garlic, disinfecting agents,

synthetic paints, anise)

Ventillation ( at 7C or -18C)

Judgement: boiling test

CHANGES IN BODY CONDITION

Thin (poorness)(alimentation) (Non-pathologic)

Emaciated (Pathologic)
Cachexic (Pathologic)
Thin:
The musculature is firm, surface is dark, dry,
reduced quantity of fat around kidneys and the fat
is hardening upon chilling, pH is normal.
Judgement: Approved for h.c. (Suggested for
industrial processing)

CHANGES IN BODY CONDITION

Emaciated:
The musculature is soft, light red, wet
surface, fat around kidneys is in reduced
quantity and is hardening upon chilling but at
some areas it is substituted for gelatinous
material. pH is not characteristic.
In EU: Condemned

CHANGES IN BODY CONDITION

Cachexy:
The bulk of musculature is reduced
Muscles are soft with oedematic feature
(palpation)
There is no adipose depots and are
substituted for gelatinous material
Internal organs are smaller
pH is not characteristic
Judgement: Condemned for h.c.

IMPERFECT BLEEDING

1.Technical reason (Sticking)

2.Diseases (Tetany, Pseudorabies=Aujeszkys d., etc.),
Exhaustion, Stress.
FINDING
Musculature is dark-red
Parenchymal organs are rich in blood (congested)
The vessels of the parietal serous membranes are full of blood
(engorgement of capillaries) and appear to the eye (Normally
cannot be seen)
The vessels of subcutaneous connective tissue are well
observable following removal of skin. Due to the developed high
blood pressure, these vessels may be ruptured and the blood is
streaming down (spleshing).
Judgement
In EU: Any degree of imperfect bleeding: Condemned

Rotting

Rotting is the result of bacterial activity that takes

place:
Intravital infection upon stress or exhaustion when
microbes can get into the circulation from the
intestines.
Post-mortem (Storage at higher temperature, core
temperature is higher, storage at room
temperature).
All those bacteria may be involved that have at
least proteolytic enzymes.

Aerobe rotting

(Pseudomonas spp capable of decomposing protein, fat, carbohydrates,

Proteus spp., Achromobacter spp, Micrococcus spp., Alcaligenes spp.)
Bacterial decomposition: polyamines, putrescine, cadaverine, volatile
carboxylic acids, indol, scatol, phenols, S-containing compounds,
mercaptain, ammonia, H2S (small quantiy), acetic acid, butyric acid,
proprionic acid, etc.

Starts developing superficially but deeper layers may also be

affected (Penetrate into deeper layers along with connective tissues
and vessels and fat is also decomposed).

Peptonization (The surface of muscle is covered by mucinous,

sticky, grey layer and the fine structure of the muscle cannot be
seen).

Aerobe rotting

Judgement:

Superficial layer is removed and from the lower layer

sample is taken for bacteriological evaluation and if it is
negative, the meat is approved for h.c. (It is suggested
for industrial processing)

Anaerobe

ANAEROBE (Clostridia)

It occurs mainly in the bulky muscles (Gas production,

Malignant oedema-Gas gangrene in any usual species)

Judgement: Condemned for h.c.

Rotting

Tests are based on the identification of the presence of

ammonia.

Nessler test (Very sensitive) (Small watch-glass+meat+

Nessler reagent: KJ, HgJ2 and KOH)

In the presence of ammonia an orange-colour complex (turbid)

is formed: mercury-ammonium iodide.

Eber test (Chloride ions) (Mixture of

HCL:Alcohol:Ether=1:3:1)

Stuffiness

Stuffiness is the result of chemical process/decomposition

upon some heat-surplus and H2S is formed from Scontaining amino acids.
It occurs when carcasses are touched at storage
(Only the overlapping surfaces are involved) and
also after delayed evisceration.
The meat is light, soft, having particular sweatishsour smell.
Judgement:
In EU: Condemned

stuffiness

Tests based on the identification of H2S

Lead acetate or nitrate test

Cut small pieces of muscle into an Erlenmeyer flask. Pour on

10% sulphuric acid to cover the meat sample. Damp a paper
strip that is already soaked by lead-acetate with distilled water
and fixate hanging it by a cock inside the Erlenmeyer flask.

10 min later the test is positive if the strip becomes brown or

black (Lead sulphite).

SOME OTHER CONDITIONS AND

ABNORMALITIES OF MEAT

Anaemia: if mild conditionally approved, if body condition is

poor: condemned

Oedema with good body condition, sets well, dried out during
12 hours rest: approved for human consumption

Tumors: localised and emovable: approved for human

consumption, if extended, multiple malignant and not
removable: condemned

Atrophy, hypertrophy, hyperplasia, dysplasia, aplasia: if

localised partial condemnation if accompanied by emaciation
or extended: condemned

SOME OTHER CONDITIONS AND

ABNORMALITIES OF MEAT

Unborn, stillborn: total condemnation

Congenital and hereditary malformation: condemnedand

parent approved or partial condemnation (depending on the
body condition)

Abscesses:: Multiple septic foci (even if chronic) condemned.

It is also condemned if even is single but is accompanied by
toxaeia or anaemia or emaciation or septic, gangrenic wound

Meat of young animals is unfit for human consumption

(disgusting, veal less than 8 days and pig younger than 14
days, lamb younger than 3 weeks). Pregnant females and up to
8 days after parturition.

SOME OTHER CONDITIONS AND

ABNORMALITIES OF MEAT

Gangrene (e.g. ergot), abscess: depending on extension and

if the abscess is encapsulated and no evidence for
general/systemic changes and bacteriology, residue testing are
negative, partial condemnation, otherwise total condemnation