Abstract
Food production needs to double, with minimum waste, if hunger and poverty is to be alleviated in South Africa. The condemnation of liver during meat inspection represents a huge waste of a protein food resource. This paper measures the quantity of liver condemned in three abattoirs in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa and assesses the causes and the monetary loss associated with these condemnations. A retrospective study (RS) (n = 51 302) involving the use of abattoir slaughter records from 2010–2012 and a post-mortem meat inspection (PMMI) (n = 1374) was conducted from July to December 2013. The RS revealed the leading cause of liver wastage as fasciolosis (5.95%, 4.48%, and 2.7%), fibrosis (2.74%, 2.37%, and 1.0%), and abscessation (1.11%, 2.78%, and 1.5%) for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 respectively. During the PMMI, the same factors caused liver condemnation in addition to calcification (8.3%, 6.8%, and 3.2%), Cysticercosis bovis (1.7%, 2.4%, and 1.3%) and improper evisceration (4.8%, 12.4%, and 27.1%) for the abattoirs X, Y, and Z respectively. A total of R 343, 330 (USD 45,271.07) was lost due to the condemnation of liver between 2010 and 2012. The further loss of 3290.4 kg of liver was calculated for the six month in 2013, and its financial value was R 59, 227.2 (USD 5889.82). The result of this study provide baseline information on major causes of liver wastage in cattle slaughtered in South Africa as well as the direct financial losses and demonstrate the huge waste of ideal protein food source.
Highlights
The world population is currently estimated to be seven billion but is expected to rise to eight billion by 2030 and over nine billion by 2050 [1]
The Retrospective Study (RS) revealed the leading cause of liver condemnation of the total number of animals slaughtered as fasciolosis (5.95%), fibrosis (2.74%), and hepatitis (1.44%) in 2010
The losses in retrospective study (RS) were calculated for whole liver condemnation, whereas during the post-mortem meat inspection (PMMI) both whole liver and partial liver condemnations were recorded, necessitating the use of kg weight in the estimation of financial losses
Summary
The world population is currently estimated to be seven billion but is expected to rise to eight billion by 2030 and over nine billion by 2050 [1]. Several biological and non-biological factors affect livestock production negatively, leading to post-slaughter losses. The impact of biological factors such as animal diseases far outweighs other factors because it increases livestock mortality as well as reducing the safety and quality of food supplies. Meat provides a rich source of animal protein and is an important staple food that is highly demanded in many parts of the world. Many studies have alluded to the decline in food production even as population increases [3,4,5]. The liver is basically condemned due to preventable lesions/diseases detected during routine post-mortem meat inspection. For livestock productivity to be doubled and to help mitigate food insecurity, the reduction in food wastage, especially along the production line, is crucial
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