Abomasum |
The fourth stomach of a ruminant |
AMI |
Authorised meat inspector |
Ante-mortem |
Before slaughter |
ARC |
Agricultural Research Council |
Autoclave |
An apparatus that uses superheated steam under high pressure - widely used in hospitals and laboratories to sterilise material |
BMMA |
British Meat Manufacturers' Association |
BSE |
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy |
Captive bolt hole |
The hole left in the skull of a slaughtered animal following captive bolt stunning (see below) |
Captive bolt stunning |
The process used to render an animal insensible, before it is slaughtered, by firing a bolt with a sharp circular end into its brain |
CIEH |
Chartered Institute of Environmental Health |
Collagen |
The main structural protein found in animal connective tissue |
Compounder |
A manufacturer of compound feedstuffs (compound feeds being factory-prepared pellets and nuts from various ingredients of vegetable or animal origin and including major minerals, trace elements, vitamins and other additives) |
CVL |
Central Veterinary Laboratory |
DANI |
Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland |
DH |
Department of Health |
Dressing |
Converting the carcass of an animal into sides of meat suitable for sale |
EC/EU |
The European Union (EU) came into existence on1 November 1993 as a result of the Maastricht Treaty.It incorporated but did not replace the European Community. Throughout the volumes of this Report, the term EU is generally used for consistency's sake (even if sometimes chronologically incorrect), except where specific reference is made to the functions conferred by the European Community Treaty or to its legal effect. EC (European Community) can also stand for European Commission and European Council |
ELISA |
Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay: a test to measure small amounts of a particular protein in solution |
EMEA |
European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products |
Evisceration |
Removal of the internal organs from the abdominal and thoracic cavities |
GAFTA |
Grain and Feed Trade Association |
Gelatine |
A substance derived from the hides and bones of animals and used in a wide range of products |
Greaves |
A high-protein solid which is left following the extraction of tallow from animal by-products during the rendering process. With further processing this becomes meat and bone meal (MBM) |
Gut room |
Separate area within a slaughterhouse to which abdominal organs and offal are sent for sorting and disposal |
Head-boning |
The removal of easily accessible meat from the cheeks and other parts of the bovine head |
Homogenate |
A suspension of cell fragments and constituents obtained when tissue is homogenised |
Hunt kennels |
Kennels that house hunting hounds and collect and dispose of fallen stock at farms |
IEHO |
Institution of Environmental Health Officers |
Knackers |
Persons who collect dead or diseased animals from farms in order to salvage any products of value and dispose of the remains, usually to a renderer |
Lairage |
Shed or outdoor enclosure for the temporary housing of animals, before they are transported or slaughtered |
Lamming Committee |
The Expert Group on Animal Feedingstuffs |
LASSA |
Licensed Animal Slaughterers and Salvage Association |
Lipid |
A substance which is insoluble in water, but soluble in fat solvents such as alcohol and ether |
Lymphocyte |
A white blood cell that produces an immune response when activated by a foreign molecule |
MAFF |
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food |
MBM |
Meat and bone meal |
Maggot bait farms |
Businesses that expose animal carcasses to flies to encourage them to lay their eggs therein to produce maggots. These maggots are then sold to fishermen for use as bait |
Manioc |
Another name for cassava |
MCA |
Medicines Control Agency (formerly DH's Medicines Division) |
MHS |
Meat Hygiene Service |
MLC |
Meat and Livestock Commission |
MMC |
Monopolies and Mergers Commission |
MRM |
Mechanically recovered meat |
MSF |
Midland Shires Farmers |
Mucosa |
Mucous membrane |
PDM |
Prosper De Mulder, a large rendering firm |
PFMA |
Pet Food Manufacturers' Association |
Pithing |
Insertion of a rod or coiled wire through the captive bolt hole in the skull of an animal to prevent reflex muscular action or to encourage a quicker bleeding process |
Pizzle |
The penis of a bull |
Purine |
A nitrogenous compound |
RDP |
Rumen degradable protein |
Rendering |
Processing offal and other parts of discarded animal carcasses to make meat and bone meal, and tallow |
RFB |
Ruminant feed ban |
Rumen |
The first stomach of a ruminant |
Scrapie |
A spongiform encephalopathy endemic in British sheep |
SBM |
Specified Bovine Material |
SBO |
Specified Bovine Offal |
SEAC |
Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee |
Solvent extraction |
Method of extracting tallow from animal by-products using a benzene-based solvent (popular between the 1950s and 1970s) |
Southwood Working Party |
Established in May 1988 to examine the implications of BSE in relation to both animal health and any possible human health hazards |
Sticking |
The severing of an animal's blood vessels during its slaughter |
SVS |
State Veterinary Service (part of MAFF) |
Tallow |
Fat extracted from animal by-products during the rendering process |
Thoracic |
Of the chest |
Thymus gland |
A lymphoid organ that produces T-cells for the immune response |
Titre |
A measure of concentration of a substance in a solution |
Topical |
Of drugs or treatments being applied locally to the area being treated, eg, the skin |
UDP |
(Rumen) Undegraded Protein: that part of the protein in a raw material or feed which cannot be broken down by the rumen bacteria |
UKASTA |
United Kingdom Agricultural Supply Trade Association |
UKRA |
United Kingdom Renderers' Association |
