Manual Hot Water Cleaning – Meat, Water-based
Industry: Meat (NAICS 3116)
NAICS process:
311611 Animal (except poultry) Slaughtering
Process Brief: Carcasses are cleaned with hot water to reduce contamination
Energy source: Hot water/natural gas
Energy Intensity: 200-300 Btu/lb
Slaughtered carcasses are sprayed with hot water after dehiding and after evisceration to clean the surface of the carcass. The carcass is hung from the overhead conveyor and an operator uses a high-pressure sprayer to wash the surface of the carcass. Water must be at least 170°F and may contain acetic or lactic acid to help kill all microorganisms. Most facilities pretreat the wastewater before discharging the water to the public sewer system. Due to higher labor input, manual hot water cleaning is used in smaller slaughterhouse operations.
Energy Efficiency
Meat Processing – Carcass Cleaning
More Information
Carcass Cleaning – Steam Vacuuming
EPA http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/ch09/final/c9s05-1.pdf Open as PDF 
Source: Overview GRI-03/0075; Beef processing photos from http://www.mps-group.nl/en/red_meat_slaughtering/cattle_slaughtering/ 3/2007;