Butchering – Washer
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-05
2003-04-15
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3643)
Butchering
Washer
C452S074000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06547659
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the treatment of slaughtered poultry, specifically to a method of treating poultry and the system thereof for preventing bacterial contamination.
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
Conventionally, the treatment of poultry is performed based on the poultry treatment system shown in FIG.
5
.
The poultry treatment system of prior art is, as shown in the figure, composed of; a pretreatment section
50
comprising a hanging part
50
a
, a bloodletting part
50
b
, and an immersion-in-hot-water part
50
c
; a treatment section
51
comprising a plucking part
51
a
where the pretreated poultry is plucked, a hollowing part
51
b
where the plucked poultry is cleared of the internal organs, the back passage, the trachea, and the gullet, except for the kidney, and a cleaning/sterilizing/cooling part
51
c
where the plucked and cleared-of-internal-organs poultry (hereafter referred to as hollowed poultry) is cleaned and sterilized; a dissecting/dispensing/packaging section
52
comprising a deboning/dissecting part
52
a
where the constituent parts of the hollowed poultry are disjointed and de-boned by manual work, a shape arrangement part
52
b
where each constituent part is arranged of its shape manually, and a dispensing/packaging part
52
c
(pack of 2 kg); and a shipment section
53
where freezing and packaging for shipment are performed.
In the cleaning/sterilizing/cooling part
51
c
, generally two or more water tanks are used. A water tank
51
e
of upstream operation side into which the hollowed poultry is firstly immersed is for cleaning. A water tank
51
f
of downstream operation side is for cooling the hollowed poultry. Clean water doped with bactericide is supplied from a bactericide-added liquid supply tank
51
k
to the water tank
51
f
of downstream operation side. The water with bactericide overflows the water tank
51
f
to the water tank
51
e
. The contaminated water overflowing the water tank
51
e
is drained out as effluent or it is circulated passing through a filter
51
h
to the bactericide added liquid supply tank
51
k.
Each water tank is kept to low temperature by receiving cold heat
51
g
through the medium of a heat exchanger for cooling.
Thus, the hollowed poultry from the hollowing part
51
b
is cleaned, sterilized, and cooled in the cold water tanks supplied with the bactericide-added liquid from the bactericide-added liquid supply tank
51
k.
FIG. 6
is a diagrammatic illustration showing the manual operations at the de-boning/dissecting part
52
a
and the shape arrangement part
52
b
after the cleaning/sterilizing/cooling part
51
c
. The manual operations at the de-boning/dissecting part
52
a
where the constituent parts of the poultry are disjointed and de-boned, at the shape arrangement part
52
b
where peeling-off of the skin, etc. are performed, and at the dispensing/packaging part
52
c
, are performed under an atmosphere of ordinary temperatures of 18~20° C. Furthermore, the hollowed poultry is liable to stagnate at the entrance to the dissection/dispensing/packaging section
52
. So secondary contamination through worker's hands, etc., bacterial contamination through mutual contamination, and the growth of bacteria, are induced, which has been a problem in sanitation control.
It is necessary for sanitation control of the food treatment process performed in the poultry treatment system that bacteria adhered to the surface are cleared or killed before the first dissection to keep the surface in the least contaminated state with bacteria and the contamination and infection with bacteria in the succeeding dissection process is prevented.
In the case of poultry treatment, the poultry must be reduced to the least contaminated state with bacteria in the process of cleaning, sterilizing, and cooling; and the operations in the succeeding dissection, shape arrangement, and dispensing/packaging processes must be performed in an environment sufficient to prevent contamination and the growth of bacteria. Sufficient consideration must be given to the conventional processes and system in regard to the condition of sterilization of bacteria in the cleaning, sterilizing, and cooling processes; to the maintenance of the least contaminated state secured theretofore; and to the operations and temperatures of atmosphere in succeeding processes.
Regarding the contamination with bacteria, the indicator is the number of bacteria per 1 g of food article. It is said for a chicken, for example, that the quality maintenance period is 4 weeks if the number of live bacteria is 10
2
per 1 g of the meat.
Regarding the temperature of atmosphere, 6° C. is said to be the lower limit for the growth of bacteria. So, generally, the temperature should be kept below or equal to 6° C.
For the prevention of contamination and drying in the succeeding processes, immediate packaging after dissection is needed. Stepped up consideration and improvements are desired concerning the long staying period under ordinary atmosphere temperature before packaging and the manual operations, from the viewpoint of prevention of contamination.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is made in the light of the problems mentioned above. The object is to provide a poultry treating method and the system thereof, in which are performed; a cleaning and cooling capable of securing sufficient low level of the least contaminated state with bacteria for maintaining quality (the number of common live bacteria in the packed meat is about 10
2
per 1 g) and a dissection, shape arrangement; and dispensing capable of preventing the contamination with and growth of bacteria in the succeeding processes.
The present invention is characterized in that the poultry treating method comprises; a pretreatment process comprising a hanging step, a bloodletting step, and a immersion-in-hot-water step; a succeeding treatment process comprising a plucking step, a hollowing step, and a cleaning/sterilizing/cooling step in which cleaning, sterilizing, and chilling (ice temperature) are performed; a succeeding dissecting/dispensing/packaging process comprising an automatic dissection step in which disjointing of the hollowed poultry to large parts and de-boning of the disjointed breast, thighs, etc. are performed automatically in a refrigerator, a shape arranging step in which operations after the dissection is performed manually in the open space above a conveyor (the open space is prepared so that the manual operation is possible), and a dispensing/packaging step in which the shape-arranged poultry parts are dispensed and packaged; and a succeeding shipping process in which freezing, packaging and shipping are performed right after the preceding step; and the dissecting/dispensing/packaging process needed to be performed after the treatment process before the freezing/shipping process are performed in a low temperature zone of at least below or equal to 6° C.
In the method described above, the number of bacteria are minimized at the cleaning/sterilizing/cooling step where the hollowed poultry is cleared of the bacteria and the like attached thereto and then sterilized by a bactericide diluted with clean water and cooled. So it will do if the growth of minimized bacteria is suppressed in the succeeding processes.
Further, the dissection of the hollowed poultry into large parts and de-boning of the disjointed breast and thighs are carried out automatically in the refrigerator, while the manual operation is limited to the shape arranging step and dispensing step. So, contamination from outside, that is secondary contamination and cross contamination, can be suppressed.
The treatment process after the cleaning/sterilizing/cooling step before the shipping step is done under the low temperature atmosphere of 6° C. or below with which temperature the growth of bacteria is suppressed, and the packaging is accomplished in a condition with which the growth of bacteria is suppressed. So, the treated meat can secure the freshness close to that right after the completion of
Adachi Takashi
Higuchi Kiyoshi
Kumazawa Shiro
Crowell & Moring LLP
Jordan Charles T.
Mayekawa Mfg. Co., Ltd.
Parsley David
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