M03026: Empirical determination of Central Nervous System (CNS) and Dorsal Root Ganglia (DRG) contamination of carcasses and its reduction using alternative procedures
Thursday 9 October 2003
This research project aims to determine the extent of contamination of carcasses with CNS tissue during dressing and develop methods to reduce this contamination.
Background
During conventional, universal methods of dressing carcasses of ruminant meat species, there is a potential risk of contamination of edible meat with CNS tissue. The objectives of this project are as follows:
- To provide definitive information on the presence of DRG in meat cuts as currently there is uncertainty on the distribution of DRG.
- To refine techniques to quantitatively determine the extent of contamination of carcasses, and subsequent tissues, with CNS tissue and the use of these techniques to monitor contamination during alternative carcass handling procedures.
- To develop and evaluate methods, including boning of intact carcasses, to reduce or eliminate CNS contamination of edible product.