Processed Products

Processing of certain livestock products on farm has been a traditional activity of farmers in almost all countries. The making of butter and cheese, for example, and selling directly to neighbours or in the village has been a small scale complementary activity to farming and income supplement where production has been surplus to domestic needs. There are also farms that have larger scale processing enterprises, and which contribute a substantial proportion of farm-household and business income. Such activities allow the farmer to come closer to his market-place and to generate added value to livestock products.

The Advantages of Processing Meat Processing: Slaughter Houses and Abattoirs Milk Marketing and Processing Cheese, Yoghurt and Other Processed Dairy Products Processing of Other Livestock Products References and Further Reading

Processing of livestock products is closely linked to product perishability. Those products, such as milk, which are the most perishable have long traditions of processing into other products such as ghee, cheese, or yoghurt. Similarly there is a long tradition of dried meat - which if correctly done will keep for considerably longer periods than the fresh product. Product perishability is now also closely linked to the marketing and supply of livestock products for consumers and reliable transport links play an important role in the marketing of livestock products.

The processing of livestock products may help in overcoming problems of transportation, whilst adding to their value. The tasks associated with the slaughter and cutting of livestock may be seen as the first steps in the processing to produce meat for consumption. The marketing problems associated with the perishable nature of livestock products, such as meat and milk, may be alleviated by chilling and hanging of meat, plucking and eviscerating broiler chickens, processing of by-products, cooling and pasteurizing or souring of milk.

Further processing of meat may involve drying, salting or smoking, and of milk into cheese, or yoghurts. Such processes extend the potential shelf life of the product and may facilitate transport, although the cost of refrigerated transport per tonne-kilometre is much higher than that of ordinary transport. However, this is counterbalanced by the considerable value added, per tonne of produce, by processing.

All these processing operations require capital equipment and some are subject to economies of scale. Hence the supplies of animals or milk from many small-scale livestock producers must be brought together, to justify the establishment of sophisticated slaughter facilities or processing plant. In remote rural areas, where road and rail communications are poor, few processing facilities are available. This is possibly less of a problem for small-stock producers than for those that raise cattle, buffaloes or other large stock for meat or for milk.

Economies of scale in slaughter facilities arise from the high costs of establishing hygienic working conditions, cold storage and by-product processing facilities, together with the employment of skilled staff. Refrigerated vehicles are needed to transport meat to avoid deterioration of quality in transit. Such facilities are established in many countries for the slaughter, processing and transport of cattle and other large stock, by public sector marketing agencies or by private companies, specially where an export trade has developed.

However, some large abattoirs established in developing countries, operate at well below full capacity, so the fixed costs are spread over a less than optimal throughput with a consequent increase in average cost per animal slaughtered. Smaller, less sophisticated slaughter facilities may be more appropriate where a low throughput is expected, for instance where animals are slaughtered in production areas.

This is generally the case for small ruminants, pigs and poultry raised under so-called "backyard systems" and other smallstock, which may be slaughtered within the household or by local community butchers. Similar arrangements are likely to apply, even in the towns and cities, to which smallstock are trekked or transported alive and sold for slaughter by individual households or local butchers (see Berning & Potgieter 1996).

With widely dispersed, small-scale slaughter of animals, the supervision of hygiene and meat inspection to prevent the spread of animal and human disease, is very difficult and costly to arrange. In meat exporting countries, costly control of animal disease is necessary to comply with developed country import regulations. Apart from the sanitary requirements of export markets, meat inspection is important for the protection of human health, and should be publicly funded. The cost of employing skilled meat inspectors is more easily justified at a central abattoir, with a large throughput, than when distributed over many small scattered slaughter points.

In the case of poultry, there are major economies of scale in the mass production and marketing of a standardized, plucked and dressed product. Private sector processing and marketing agencies often control much of the national supply. (See the section on BROILERS). A similar situation may exist where the processing of pigmeat to produce ham and bacon is concentrated in a few large firms.

Milk marketing differs from that of other products in that it is produced every day over the lactation period and it is very bulky, consisting largely of water. Raw milk is a highly perishable product, which deteriorates in quality within two to three hours from milking. Hence markets for raw milk are limited to potential consumers that can be reached within this short period. Most of the milk produced in developing countries, including that of sheep or goats, is consumed as raw milk, without further processing, other than in simple small-scale cottage industries.

The useable life of the product may be extended by cooling, normally using electrical power, or by low-technology fermentation, to make yoghurt or cheese. These technologies are relatively unsophisticated and, although control of hygiene is essential to avoid microbial and other contamination, can be managed by farmers and justified economically for relatively small-scale operations. Thus in producing areas where there is sufficient density of milk producers, a network of small dairies based on these technologies may be justified and economically viable. The products may be marketed locally but may also be transported somewhat longer distances, if all-weather roads exist, in tanker-lorries to urban centres for sale or further processing.

Pasteurization can further extend the useable life of milk and reduce or eliminate risks of disease transmission to humans. However, the process is capital intensive since the necessary equipment is expensive and subject to economies of scale. High levels of capacity utilization are necessary, in treatment, storage and transport, to keep unit costs low. Levels of production of milk from sheep, goats or camelids are unlikely to justify the establishment of pasteurization facilities specifically for these types of milk. Similarly the large-sale, commercial processing of milk from smallstock into other dairy products is unlikely to occur, other than by co-operative group activity (see Bal 1996). Specialized markets for cheeses made from sheep and goat's milk exist, and where conditions favour the keeping of milking breeds, small-scale cheese making industries are possible.

To preserve milk it is necessary to destroy or inhibit the action of enzymes and contaminating bacteria. Milk is a low-acid food which contains all of the nutrients required for bacteria to grow. It is therefore a potential cause of food poisoning if not adequately processed. The four main methods of preservation suitable for small-scale operation include:

• Cooling to extend the shelf life of fresh milk by a day or two, or pasteurization to destroy enzymes and microorganisms. (See above)
  
• Production of Yoghurt and related products through acidification to inhibit bacteria from growing. This also changes the physical characteristics.
  
• Separation of the milk components.

Acidification

The acidification of milk occurs by the presence and growth of certain types of bacteria (lactic acid bacteria). These convert milk sugar, or lactose, into lactic acid. This increases the acidity of the milk and causes the formation of the characteristic consistency of yoghurt and inhibits bacterial growth. Yoghurt keeps for several days longer than milk and the changes in flavour and texture make it a popular product in many areas. The technology involved can be very simple, and basically consists of inoculating milk in a covered container with some of the previous day's batch and allowing it to ferment at room temperature for several hours. More sophisticated developments include the use of new starter cultures for each batch and packaging in plastic pots.

Cheese

Most dairy products, including yoghurt, have a comparatively short shelf-life and loss of milk, and therefore of the valuable milk nutrients, occurs particularly during periods of high milk production. There is therefore a need to manufacture products with a long "shelf-life" and a number of cheese varieties exist which provide the ideal vehicle for the preservation of the nutrient value of milk.

The greatest volume of cheese is made from cows milk, but the milk from both goats and sheep is highly suitable for the production of a range of cheeses, and these can be made on a relatively small-scale.

Separation

Milk contains fat and a complex mixture of proteins, vitamins, minerals and water. Cream is produced by separating the fat component from the water. This product is highly susceptible to spoilage by bacteria and is not recommended except for experienced dairies. However, by churning cream it is changed to butter which, if prepared and stored correctly, can have a shelf life of several weeks. Clarified butter or ghee has a shelf life of several months. Both are high value products for which there is often a ready market.

Other food products, such as honey, after extraction from the comb, and eggs, require no further processing before sale in local markets. However transport, to more distant, urban or even international markets, necessitates packing and is relatively costly since the products are still perishable. In seeking larger markets, there may be economies of scale in packing, labelling and marketing these products (on egg marketing see FAO).

Wool production, in the developing countries, is restricted to temperate regions, or high altitude tropical regions as in Bolivia, Peru, South Africa and Nepal, where wool-sheep thrive. Washing, carding and spinning or felt-making may be carried out locally, with transactions occurring between near neighbours and acquaintances. However, where manufacture of woolen goods or international markets are important, industrial scale processing is likely to take place in urban centres. Traders and other intermediaries are likely to be involved. Contractual agreements with agents may be used to limit transaction costs. A similar situation exists where silk is produced.

Hides and skins are a by-product of meat production. There is very little processing of hides and skins from home-slaughtered animals, other than karakul pelts. The necessary salt is not always available and the returns may be insufficient to justify the cost. Tanneries are usually associated with large-scale abattoirs, and livestock producers are not directly involved in the associated transactions (see notes on HIDES AND SKINS).

Bennett, A., Draaijer, J., Dugdill, B., Lambert, J. and Thapa, T. (2001). Report on the FAO E-mail Conference on Small-scale Milk Collection and Processing in Developing Countries, 29 May to 28 July 2000. FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Animal Production Service, Animal Production and Health Division Rome.

Clottey, S.J.A. (1985). Manual for the slaughter of small ruminants in developing countries. FAO Animal Production and Health Paper 49. FAO, Rome.

FAO (1998). Animal feeding and food safety. Report of an FAO Expert Consultation Rome, 10-14 March 1997. FAO Food and nutrition paper – 69. FAO, Rome.