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2.1.1.1 Lairage
Teil 3 Seite 2-3
As a rule, the delivered animals are kept in sheds for a short time before they are con-
veyed into the slaughtering hall.
The wastewater produced during the cleaning and disinfection of the sheds and the de-
livery lorry (lorry washing lot) contains components of the residues such as faeces, urine,
bedding material, and possibly cleaning agents and disinfectants.
2.1.1.2 Slaughter
The single slaughterhouses differ, among others, in their capacities and their degree of
full usage as well as in their technical equipment. The slaughtering takes place in highly
technical slaughtering lines and belts at capacities of up to 90 cattle or a maximum of 600
pigs per hour. One tries to achieve an even distribution of the slaughtering throughout the
week; this, however, is hardly achievable, particularly in municipal plants.
Personnel who slaughter animals or get into contact with fresh meat must wear clean
working clothes at the beginning of each work day; if need be, they have to change their
clothes several times during the day.
Generally, pigs are slaughtered in larger numbers on all work days; the number of
slaughters per day, however, varies. The slaughtering of cattle, calves, and sheep mostly
takes place in separate slaughtering halls, and often only on some days of the week.
2.1.1.3 Bleeding
The bleeding mainly serves to kill the slaughtering animal. Furthermore, a decent bleed-
ing ensures the preservability of the meat, as in case of contamination the micro-
organisms do then not find sufficient breeding ground.
For the bleeding – as well as for other slaughtering processes – the animals are sus-
pended freely. This measure contributes to the hygiene and enables a higher bleeding
degree than if the animals were prostrate. The emerging blood is either directly caught in
special containers or conveyed into a collector tank (blood tank) via the inclined blood
gutters.
One differentiates between blood harvesting as food and blood harvesting as confiscate.
For the harvesting of blood as foodstuff, a hollow knife must be used. It must also be
guaranteed that the blood is cooled immediately.
2.1.1.4 Hide removal from cattle and sheep
After bleeding, pigs are scalded and their hairs removed, but as a rule they are not
skinned in Germany. In contrast, with cattle, calves, and sheep the bleeding is followed by
a process of hide removal. The hide of the hanging animals is partly loosened with electri-
cal hide-removal knives and then pulled off by a winding machine (hide removal machine).