The levels of hygiene and safety in food handling/processing facilities across the world are extremely crucial. And, the UAE is no exception. Having a relatively recent history, the country has developed magnificently in the last 30-40 years with state-of-the-art facilities, strict standards and procedures and increasingly updated technology. The abattoirs across the UAE reflect these developments over the years.

The Dubai Abattoir is one such establishment. Having been established in 1989, it has been the main centre for local and commercial slaughtering of animals including goats, sheep, cows and camels. This 27-year old slaughterhouse has constantly updated its equipment – slaughtering and cleaning equipment included. It has placed strict mandates on hygiene and safety over the years and even achieved the HACCP certification in the year 2013. Currently, the main abattoir, located at Al Qusais, has the capacity to slaughter around 1,200 small animals and 100 large animals per day.

 

Dubai Abattoir

With the holy month of Ramadan having arrived, the consumption of meat across Dubai has increased. Ahmed Hassan Al Shammari, Head of Abattoirs Section, Public Health Services Department, Dubai Municipality, says, “From an average of 13,000-15,000 animals slaughtered during the rest of the year, the month of Ramadan sees at least 20,000 animals being slaughtered monthly, and numbers are only increasing.” Currently, Dubai Abattoirs includes three abattoirs – the headquarters in Al-Qusais, and one each Dubai-Al Ain Road and Hatta. The establishment has upgraded its entire system with special focus on customer service where the customer will get the benefit of a complete service online that takes care of the entire process of buying, slaughtering and delivery. The abattoir has also started a campaign to make the public aware of the need for healthy meat from safe and hygienic slaughtering during Ramadan.
 

Hygiene specifics

In 1990, Dubai abattoir sought the services of Gebran Roumie, now Managing Director, Leo International L.L.C. in the use of high-pressure cleaners to clean and maintain the abattoirs. Roumie relates the story, saying, “When I got the call from Dubai Abattoir, I asked to go and examine the equipment; at that time, not much was known about cleaning of abattoirs. After asking around, we finally got in touch with a principal supplier in Denmark and understood the entire cleaning procedure and system that is adapted worldwide.” Roumie describes the various cleaning and hygiene procedure in an abattoir.

The entire process includes several stages – beginning with the removal of residue that is the most tangible result of the slaughtering process. Once the slaughtering process is complete, the spilled blood and other discharge along with chunks of skin and meat are removed using high-pressure cleaners. Throughout the cleaning process, the temperature of water is essential since killing microorganisms requires the water to be at a minimum of 87 C. The second stage of cleaning involves a thorough flushing of the processing area - the rails, bins, floors, walls, hooks and equipment – everything involved in the dressing process of the carcass.

Water is splashed across all surfaces and then foam cleaner – usually alkaline and water-based – is sprayed. The chemical composition of this cleaner ensures that the foam sticks on the surfaces for at least 8-10 minutes (depending on the size of the hall) and all the fat from the slaughtering process is attacked, dissolved and removed completely from the surface. This is then washed away with high-pressure water on low flow to prevent the spread of micro-organisms across the surfaces.

The third process is that of disinfection or sterilisation. In any abattoir, the elimination of microorganisms, which cannot be seen, felt or smelt, is important to be dealt with swiftly and completely. One cannot leave the disinfection process for the next day because these organisms can grow and affect the next day’s batch of slaughtering. Once the foam cleaner is flushed away, the disinfectant is sprayed on low pressure to prevent dispersion of the microbes. This is left on for at least 20 minutes to 6 hours, depending on the kind of disinfectant used. All the chemicals used are safe for human touch and of food-grade quality. Once the disinfectant is finally flushed out using high pressure, several abattoirs have their laboratories test swabs for any unacceptable levels of microbial growth. If the count is more than acceptable, the abattoir is closed for the next day. This is the standard across the world and the UAE.

Indoor air quality, too, is affected during the slaughtering process. As a solution, Roumie recommends air sterilisers that produce activated oxygen. These are fixed in the ceilings or ducts and discharge clusters of activated oxygen molecules that kill any microbes that they come in contact with. These molecules also remove organic odours. While the main Dubai Abattoir in Al-Qusais, being quite an old establishment, does not have the advantage of these sterilisers, Al Shammari says that these sterilisers and other important equipment like air cooling and air quality systems will be installed in the new abattoirs that are being commissioned.

In safe hands

Safety and hygiene go hand in hand. If the butchers and workers ensure that they strictly follow the safety procedures as prescribed, they can also ensure hygiene. All workers must wear their proper personal protection equipment. They must be covered from top to bottom – hair, body, and feet. The shoes need to be high-heeled and non-slip. The toes of the shoes should be made of metal to prevent injury, and they must have their aprons on all the time. All the equipment must be of high standards with safety features.

Dubai Abattoir ensures that it uses hygiene products of the highest standards from hand soaps to foam cleaners. The laboratory works constantly to ensure that the workers maintain their personal hygiene. Workers returning from vacation have to undergo a complete health check-up before resuming work. Pest control is conducted daily. The abattoir also has in place key performance indicators to ensure that cleaning of the floors, walls and equipment is done thoroughly. They have also introduced state-of-the-art equipment to vacuum clean carcasses to remove hair and waste.

 

Leo International represents the Freund brand of abattoir equipment from Germany. Equipment from this company comes with safety features – for instance, the hydraulic cutter is unusable unless the user pushes the lever with two at the same time. Apart from this, the slaughtering platforms do not use electricity. A lot of pneumatic and hydraulic technology is used. In fact, Freund band saws and hydraulic cutters have transformers that draw 380-400 V and convert that into 24 V in the tool. This ensures that in case of any accident, 24 V of electricity delivers nothing more than a punch to the user.
 

Apart from this, the butchers ensure that they have limited – if not zero – contact with the carcass. Any piece of equipment touching the carcass is also extremely high quality stainless steel – grade 420 as used in surgical instruments. This has much less carbon content and high quality stainless steel and chrome to make it difficult for bacteria to grow. Another risk is cross contamination. The knives touch different carcasses throughout the day and using the same instrument increases this risk. As a result, the knives are sterilised quickly by dipping in hot water of 87 C before being used on the next carcass. According to Roumie, “If the entire slaughtering process from skinning to splitting is carried out in a highly hygienic manner, there will be no need to wash the carcass.” He also emphasises on the importance of animal welfare. It is common knowledge that if an animal is happy, fed properly, raised well and slaughtered in the most efficient manner possible, then the end product is excellent. At Dubai Abattoir, this is practiced daily. Before the animal is slaughtered, the veterinarian on site examines the animal to ensure that it is suitable for slaughtering and consumption.
 

Waste is a fortune in an abattoir. While the skin can be sold to leather industries, the offal is edible and can be sold to meat markets or the client themselves. The feet and head, too, are delicacies. Blood can also be converted to protein to be used in several commercial products, while the intestinal linings are used in surgery. The rest of the waste – hair and inedible viscera - is dried and used as fertiliser or burned and made into a bio fuel. However, for all this to be done, the abattoir requires a high output of slaughtering. Roumie says, “The UAE continues to import 70-80 per cent of its meat. For that to reduce or stop, the farming culture must be inherent in the country.” Which is rather difficult, given the climatic nature of the country. As a result, currently Dubai Abattoir only has an agreement with a company that buys the skin. The offal, heads and legs are sold in the meat market, while the rest of the by-products are sent to the landfills after being treated.

The Dubai Abattoirs are focusing on ensuring that all slaughtering processes are done within its walls to ensure safety and hygiene of the final product. It is focusing on increasing centres and building mobile abattoirs to reach out faster to the public. Given its strict hygiene and safety standards and the department’s keenness to ensure that these are implemented in the best way possible, the way ahead for abattoirs in Dubai is fairly clear.