Evisceration

Subsequent to slaughter, meat is prepared before preparation. Particularly for poultry such as chicken and turkey, this preparation includes evisceration, a process in which organs and fluids are removed. These degrade quickly over time after the slaughter and impart unpleasant flavors and odors to the meat. To counter this effect, the undesirable innards are scooped out and placed in the proper disposal system. This is effective but takes time. As technology advanced, vacuum was incorporated into the evisceration process, using separate handheld orifices that are connected to a vacuum source. The source is powered on, and operators hold the orifice in the poultry. This results in a more effective cleaning, shorter operation times per product, and simpler method of cleaning that is easier to instruct upon. Each handheld orifice must be taken into consideration when sizing the vacuum pump.

The evisceration can be thought of as a vacuum source connected to many holes, or leaks. Knowing the diameter and length of these leaks aids greatly in determining the vacuum level and capacity required of the vacuum pump to draw the innards towards the large septic tank that is installed on the other end of the vacuum pump.

The vacuum pump is not to take in any of the innards, but it inevitably does. Evisceration is an incredibly rough, wet, and dirty process that leaves coagulated blood, skin, feathers, and giblets in the vacuum pump. Much routine maintenance must be done in order to extract more life out of the pump.