WHAT DETERMINES THE TASTE OF MEAT?

Factors like animal’s breed, gender, age, the way and place it feeds, the way and process of slaughtering and cooling after slaughtering affect the taste of meat. 

Race of the Animal

Race of the animal affects meat’s qualities like fat rate, color, tissue and smell. And, it is directly related to the taste of meat. This is because these qualities can change according to the animal’s breed.
The most suitable stock races in our country are culture breeds like simental, hereford, holstein, jersey, montafon, kobe, wagyu, charolais, angus, brangus, limousin, local black, black- white - yellow mix, brunette and their crossbreeds. These breeds have a high rate of marbling (dispersion of fat between muscle fibers), and their meat is more delicious than other breeds.

Gender and Age

Gender of the animal is one of the factors that determines the taste of meat. Male animals are usually preferred for stock.  Due to physical reasons, female cattles can’t reach the weight gain speed as male cattles. It is stated that male cattles perform better than female cattles when it comes to stock.
Fat accumulation in carcass by gender determines the taste of meat. The accumulation of thick fat around muscle hardens the meat. The accumulation of a thin fat layer around the muscle cell in a mosaic shape softens the meat.

Age is one of the most important factors of stock performance that determine taste. Animal being young or old affects the structural qualities and accordingly, the taste of meat. As the animal grows old, the bone rate in carcass decreases. Its meat is hard, fat-free and less crispy. A young animal’s carcass consists of a higher bone rate. Their meat is soft, rich and crispy. Delicious meat is obtained from young animals. Legally, cattles under 18 months can’t be slaughtered.

Animal Feeding

Stock is a special feeding program, used to raise the quality and effectiveness of animals. The purpose of stock is to carry out the necessary process for a rich and delicious meat. The best season for stock is fall.
For well-fed animals, fats accumulate between muscle fibers and that makes meat more delicious. The unique taste and aroma originate from fats. Feeds in Namet Farm are prepared in a nutritious, healthy and 100% natural way by Agricultural Engineers, and because there are no substances like hormones or antibiotics in their feeds, their meat is more delicious.

Stock Place  

 Catters kept in a semi-closed barn system will be more productive and healthier. In areas with severe winters, the directions to be exposed to wind and rain should be covered, and the other two sides should be open. If necessary, a portable curtain system should be installed to cover open parts.
In this system, animals are kept long or short tied. Long tying system provides comfort for animal to move and feed while short tying system provides saves the space of base plate. Semi-closed barn system:

Free-roaming barn system: It is an area of 30-40 animals, and it doesn’t limit the movement of them. With the advance of the technology, shared automatic feeders and water bowls are preferred in free-roaming places.

Open Stock: 

Labor is easy, costs are less and it doesn’t require much investment for barn construction. Fertilizers are cleaned easier. Plenty of fresh air is provided, there is no smell of fertilizer and urine, fat accumulation will be less, and stocking can be performed for 12 months of a year.

Considerations for Stocks

• A stress-free environment must be created, and precautions should be taken in this respect.
• Rough and compact feeds to be used must have good quality and be fresh.
• Feeds should be given in clean feeders, and those feeders should not be left empty.
• Moldy, frozen or spoiled feed should not be given.
• Expired feed should not be left in feeders.
• To increase feed consumption, the feeder area must be lightened.
• Animals can be groomed and applied extra care.

Slaughter of the Animal

In order to have quality meat, animals should not be under stress before slaughtering. Transportation is one of the main reasons affecting animals before slaughtering. Factors like long duration of transportation, weather conditions during it, mixing of foreign animals, starvation cause tension and fear.

In slaughtering places; keeping water in front of the animals, the behaviors of workers and resting the animals at least 5 hours before slaughtering will be beneficial in terms of quality (color, tissue, softness) of the meat. Slaughtering at Namet Farm is done in accordance with all pre- and post-slaughtering rules. Therefore, meats of animals slaughtered by experts are transported to the tables in the most delicious way.

Legally, slaughter animals must be slaughtered in slaughterhouses. Slaughterhouses are divided into 3 groups in our country. These are municipal slaughterhouses, combines owned by the meat-fish organization, private sector combines.

After the animals are sedated in accordance with halal slaughtering means, they are lifted from their hind legs by a lifter and hanged. There are 3 hanging methods:

Full Hanging: It is an upside down hanging process by a lifter while the animal is live. Head cutting, skin peeling, removal of internal organs and exsanguination are done in this position.

Semi Hanging: The head of the animal is cut on the floor, and then it is lifted from its hind legs by a lifter and hanged. Removal of internal organs and skin peeling are done while the animal is hanged.

Slaughtering on the Ground: In our country, small enterprises usually use this method. The slaughtering is performed on the ground.

Cooling

Cooling the meat as required per technique and keeping them in the cold will prevent them from losing their natural conditions such as appearance, flavor, color and texture, especially their nutritional values. The temperature of the carcass after slaughtering is 37 °C. It is kept in 10-12 ° C to drop its temperature from 37 ° C to 25 ° C.  Then it is cooled in half carcass storages at 0 ° C. The temperature of the meat must be reduced for processing and disintegration. The temperature is expected to drop to 2-4 ° C within 24 hours.  

Cooling processes and degrees:

Fresh storage temperature: 0 -+2 °C

Quick Freezing: -40 °C

Frost storage: -18 °C

Small castles have different meat thickness, fat and muscle structure than cattles. This is important for carcass cooling technique.  Therefore, cooling duration also varies. Cattle carcass cooling process is longer, and small cattle carcass cooling process is shorter.

Halal Meat

Halal meat certificate is given to the enterprises that have completed certification processes related to meat and meat products, and fulfilled requirements of halal meat. These requirements consist of qualities of animals to be slaughtered, the tools to be used in slaughtering, qualities of slaughterhouse, aging, pre- and post-slaughter controls, slaughtering processes, packaging materials, inputs used in production, storage, transportation, in accordance with Islamic rules and food safety.

• All animals must be healthy, free from diseases and scars.
• Animals must be treated calmly before slaughtering. Acts that may make them ill, hit them or cause tension or fear are absolutely forbidden.
• Halal slaughter must be performed by a Muslim person, who has to be sane, and an adolescent.
• Animals to be slaughtered must be a proper animal for a Muslim person to eat and under halal conditions.
• During the slaughter, the animal must be alive and look vibrant.
• Slaughter is performed by cutting trachea and esophagus. Slaughter must be performed only once. Multiple slaughters are not accepted.
• Exsanguination must be by itself and fully completed.
• After the animal dies, one has to start peeling its skin off.
• Halal slaughter of normal-necked animals must be initiated by cutting the trachea, just below the mouth area.
• Before slaughtering the animal, one must pray, saying “Bismillah, Allahuekber” out loud.
• The purpose of slaughtering must only be for the sake of Allah.
• The product must be prepared, processed and manufactured by using tools that are cleansed of animal feces and pollution. It should not contain any components or products of animals that are not halal or not slaughtered under Islamic rules. The product should not contain any substance that might be considered dirty, regardless of its amount. Preparing, processing, packaging, storing, transporting the product must comply with these requirements and should be completely separated from foodstuffs that are considered dirty in Islamic rules.
• Tools and machines must only be used in halal food processing.
• Packaging materials must be halal and free of any prohibited raw materials.
• Places, tools and clothes used for processing or manufacturing food must comply with personal hygiene requirements.

Hygiene

Hygiene is one of the most important factors for Namet. Therefore, production facilities are built in accordance with the most hygienic conditions. Walls, ceiling, cooling fans, water pipes and electric cables are manufactured with stainless materials. Every day at the end of shift, the production department is cleaned by ISS international cleaning company, and samples from production are checked every week. The air filtered through hepa filters comes inside and creates a sterile environment.  In each process from farm to table, Namet works carefully with expert staff, fulfills all the hygiene requirements and delivers delicious meat suitable for the Turkish taste to consumers.

• In order to keep the meat hygienically, the rooms and corridors in which the meat is produced, cooled, packaged, and transported must be made of easily cleanable and disinfectable material.
• The walls in cooling, freezing and storage rooms should be covered with a washable, disinfectable, durable and impermeable material. The height of the walls in the slaughtering room should at least 3 meters, and at least 2 meters in other rooms and areas.
• All external windows that can be opened must be covered with window screen in order to prevent flies, insects and rodents from entering. An appropriate system must be provided for ventilation.
• The ceiling must be smooth and easy to clean.
• There are faucets in workplaces and cleaning areas. There are liquid cleaning material, disinfectant, one time used towel and a waste bin opened with foot in these lavatories.
• Tools, tables, transport containers, conveyor belts used in slaughtering and all material in contact with meat must be easily cleanable and made of stainless material.
• For the storage of wastes, water-proof, stainless, easily cleaned and disinfectable transport vehicles are available.
• In packaging areas, there must be an additional room for hygienic storage.
• There is a room with the necessary tools and equipment for the vet to perform an examination.
• There should be rooms, lavatories, shower, toilet and a cabinet for them to put their clothes, depending on the number of employees.
• Adequate means must be provided for the tools to be cleaned and disinfected, and for the cleaning of meat transportation vehicles.
• There should be hygienic rooms with thermometers for shredding, devoting and packaging processes.
• Packaging materials must be transported in hygienic conditions.
• There should be separate rooms with the necessary equipment for emptying and cleaning the stomach and intestines.