Review article
The slaughter of animals, the founding of slaughter houses and inspection of meat throughout history up to the 19th century
Petar Džaja
; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb
Krešimir Severin
; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb
Magdalena Palić
; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb
Jozo Grbavac
; The Faculty of Agriculture and Food Technology (APTF) of the University of Mostar
Nevio Zdolec
; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb
Abstract
The first data on the slaughter of animals, the place of slaughter and the inspection of meat were found at the time of the ancient Egyptians, Jews, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and other peoples, who were then closely connected with their customs and religious beliefs. In ancient Babylon, the butcher's trade was legalized and the selling price of meat was prescribed. Animals were slaughtered in temples, squares, forums and in special rooms. In ancient Egypt and Rome, slaughter was performed by priests, who would later be replaced by merchants. The inspection of meat in ancient Egypt and the Jewish state was performed by priests, by special officials in Greece, at the beginning of the Roman Empire by administrative officials, and later by the inspector lanionius, i.e the butcher's supervisor. Charlemagne (800-814) passed regulations on the butcher's trade, and in 1577 King Henry III of France (1551-1589) allowed butchers to choose meat inspectors from among themselves. In some German cities, as early as 1582, we come across orders according to which animals are inspected by a three-member commission before slaughter, and after the inspection of meat they determine whether the meat is for sale or not. From 1660, a slaughterhouse record book was introduced in Germany. The first slaughterhouse was built in 977 in La Gironde, France, then in 1189 in Hamburg, and from the 13th century in Germany we find corporate slaughterhouses known as “kuttelhäuser”, in which the animals and meat were examined. A slaughterhouse was built in Oxford, England, in 1338, where a butcher's guild has existed since 1080. In the 18th century the Venetian authorities banned the consumption of meat from sick animals under threat of the death penalty. The Phoenicians did not eat pork and beef, but they highly valued dog meat. The Egyptians ate neither cow nor pork, and the consumption of dog meat, as in Carthage, was strictly forbidden. For the Egyptians, the cow was a sacred animal, while the pig was considered the most unclean animal. This was later accepted by the Jews, and many peoples of the Islamic faith. The Persians, Greeks, Romans, Gauls and French ate ungulate meat. The ancient Egyptians and Jews considered horse meat unclean, but later Muhammad recommended horse meat to his followers, with a ban on consuming donkey meat. The Greeks and Romans differed from other peoples in that they ate pork. The nomadic peoples, the Tatars, Kyrgyz, the Chinese and Kalmyks ate horse meat. The first data on the examination of cattle and meat for slaughter, which were closely related to religious beliefs and customs, are found in ancient civilizations in Egypt, Israel, and in the Phoenicians.
Keywords
slaughterhouse; meat; meat inspection; butchers’ guilds; history
Hrčak ID:
245244
URI
Publication date:
5.10.2020.
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