LAISHA
Open Laisha

EBVS European College diplomas Meat Science, Abattoir Practice & Animal By-products Technology: practice questions

EBVS European College diplomas (e.g. DipECVS, DipECVIM-CA) · Europe · European Board of Veterinary Specialisation and the individual colleges

Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papers
10worked here, free
17written to this exam in this subject
8syllabus units

About EBVS European College diplomas

EBVS European College diplomas (e.g. DipECVS, DipECVIM-CA) is a specialist certification exam run by European Board of Veterinary Specialisation and the individual colleges, for candidates in Europe. College-specific: residency and exam.

Source: ecvd.org.

Checked against the exam body's published information. Formats and fees change; confirm the current edition there before you book.

Meat Science, Abattoir Practice & Animal By-products Technology in EBVS European College diplomas

From live animal to packaged meat: abattoir design, stunning and slaughter, carcass fabrication, the conversion of muscle to meat, meat and poultry products, and by-products including wool.

Our 17 EBVS European College diplomas questions in this subject: 2 easy, 8 medium, 7 hard, across 8 units.

10 practice questions, worked

Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.

These 10 were written to EBVS European College diplomas and are not shown on any other exam's page.

Question 1 · hard

The main welfare criticism of high-concentration carbon dioxide stunning of pigs is that:

  1. The gas is aversive; pigs gasp and try to escape before losing consciousness
  2. It requires pigs to be restrained individually in a V-restrainer before exposure
  3. It fails to stun pigs above 100 kg
  4. It causes more blood splash and bone fractures than electrical stunning does
Answer and working

A. The gas is aversive; pigs gasp and try to escape before losing consciousness

CO2 at high concentration is pungent and causes breathlessness before unconsciousness. Group stunning actually reduces restraint stress, and carcass damage is usually lower than with some electrical systems.

Question 2 · easy

Under EU law, carbon dioxide used for stunning pigs at high concentration must be at least:

  1. 99 percent argon
  2. 30 percent
  3. 80 percent
  4. 50 percent
Answer and working

C. 80 percent

Regulation 1099/2009 requires a minimum of 80 percent CO2 for the high-concentration method. Lower concentrations are used only in staged systems for poultry; argon is an inert gas alternative, not the CO2 standard.

Question 3 · medium

In EU law, slaughter without prior stunning for religious rites is:

  1. Allowed only for poultry
  2. Allowed by derogation in a slaughterhouse, though certain member states or regions require stunning
  3. Prohibited throughout the EU since the 2009 slaughter regulation replaced the earlier directive
  4. Allowed anywhere, including on farms and at home, without restriction, provided a trained person does it
Answer and working

B. Allowed by derogation in a slaughterhouse, though certain member states or regions require stunning

Regulation 1099/2009 allows a derogation for religious slaughter in slaughterhouses; member states may adopt stricter national rules, and some countries and regions require all animals to be stunned.

Question 4 · hard

Using the USDA beef yield grade equation (YG = 2.50 + 2.50 x fat thickness in inches + 0.20 x KPH percent + 0.0038 x hot carcass weight in pounds - 0.32 x ribeye area in square inches), what is the yield grade of a carcass with 0.6 in fat, 2.5 percent KPH, 800 lb hot carcass weight and a 13.0 square inch ribeye?

  1. 3.38, i.e. yield grade 3
  2. 0.34, i.e. yield grade 1
  3. 4.18, i.e. yield grade 4
  4. 11.70, i.e. yield grade 8
Answer and working

A. 3.38, i.e. yield grade 3

YG = 2.50 + 2.50(0.6) + 0.20(2.5) + 0.0038(800) - 0.32(13.0) = 2.50 + 1.50 + 0.50 + 3.04 - 4.16 = 3.38; the whole number gives yield grade 3. Adding the ribeye term instead of subtracting gives 11.70, impossible on a 1-5 scale; leaving out carcass weight gives 0.34.

Question 5 · medium

In the EU EUROP classification of adult cattle carcasses, the letters describe:

  1. Fat cover, from E (extreme) to P (poor), with a separate number scale for conformation
  2. Eating quality predicted by marbling
  3. Conformation, from E (excellent) to P (poor), with S used for superior in certain cases
  4. Age of animal
Answer and working

C. Conformation, from E (excellent) to P (poor), with S used for superior in certain cases

EUROP letters describe conformation (muscling and shape); fat cover is scored separately from 1 (very low) to 5 (very high). Age is recorded by category, and marbling is not part of EUROP.

Question 6 · hard

Which combination of hurdles primarily ensures the safety of a shelf-stable, uncooked, dry fermented sausage?

  1. High pH and high water activity
  2. Low pH, low water activity, salt and nitrite
  3. Retort sterilisation and vacuum packing
  4. Freezing and irradiation alone
Answer and working

B. Low pH, low water activity, salt and nitrite

Uncooked fermented sausages rely on acidification, drying (low aw), salt and nitrite acting together. They are not retorted, and high pH or aw would favour pathogens.

Question 7 · medium

Under EU rules, what is the minimum average current per bird for water-bath stunning of chickens at frequencies below 200 Hz?

  1. 1.00 A
  2. 100 mA
  3. 250 mA
  4. 45 mA
Answer and working

B. 100 mA

Regulation 1099/2009 sets 100 mA for chickens and 250 mA for turkeys below 200 Hz; higher frequencies require higher currents. 1.00 A is the head-only value for sheep; 45 mA is the quail value.

Question 8 · hard

Under EU animal by-product rules, the standard pressure sterilisation method requires:

  1. 100 degrees C for 60 minutes at atmospheric pressure
  2. Particles of 50 mm or less at 133 degrees C or more for 20 minutes or more at 3 bar or more
  3. 121 degrees C for 3 minutes at any particle size
  4. 70 degrees C for 60 minutes after mincing to 12 mm
Answer and working

B. Particles of 50 mm or less at 133 degrees C or more for 20 minutes or more at 3 bar or more

Method 1 of Regulation (EU) 142/2011, under Regulation 1069/2009, specifies 133 degrees C, 20 minutes, 3 bar, particle size 50 mm maximum. 70 degrees C for 60 minutes (12 mm particles) is the pasteurisation condition used before biogas or composting, not pressure sterilisation.

Question 9 · medium

Under EU Regulation 1069/2009, specified risk material removed at slaughter belongs to:

  1. Edible by-products
  2. Category 3
  3. Category 1
  4. Category 2
Answer and working

C. Category 1

Category 1 is the highest-risk category, including SRM and TSE-suspect animals, and must essentially be destroyed. Category 2 includes manure and digestive tract content; Category 3 comes from animals fit for slaughter.

Question 10 · hard

Low-concentration carbon monoxide in meat packaging is permitted in the United States (0.4 percent) but not in the EU. The main reason given against its use is that:

  1. It reacts with nitrite to form nitrosamines
  2. It stabilises a red colour that can mask spoilage
  3. It can cause rapid browning of meat
  4. It is a strong antimicrobial that selects resistant bacteria
Answer and working

B. It stabilises a red colour that can mask spoilage

Carboxymyoglobin is a stable red, so meat may look fresh after it has spoiled. CO is not a meaningful antimicrobial at that level and does not brown meat.

A study plan for Meat Science, Abattoir Practice & Animal By-products Technology in EBVS European College diplomas

This plan follows where our questions actually fall, so the time goes where the marks are likely to be. It is our reading of the syllabus, not the exam body's weighting.

  1. First, the heavy units (65% of the 17 questions): Stunning (5, 29%); Carcass fabrication (3, 18%); Utilisation of by-products (3, 18%).

    Read the manual chapters for these first and do every worked question you can find on them.

  2. Then the middle band: Slaughter methods, including religious slaughter (2, 12%); Abattoir design (1, 6%); Meat packaging (1, 6%).

    Aim for one sitting per unit, then mixed questions across them.

  3. Then the lighter units: Meat products (1, 6%); Poultry processing (1, 6%).

    Learn the definitions, classifications and standard numbers; these units are more often recalled than worked.

  4. Leave time for the hard ones: Meat packaging (1 hard of 1), Meat products (1 hard of 1), Stunning (3 hard of 5).

    Come back to these after a first pass, untimed, and read every explanation, including for the options you rejected.

  5. Bank the easy marks: Carcass fabrication (1 easy of 3); Stunning (1 easy of 5).

    Do these early in revision so they are fast on the day.

  6. Finish timed. Sit the subject as a timed set without notes, mark it, and send each wrong answer back to its unit above.

Last updated · How Laisha writes and checks its pages · Report a mistake

Ask Laisha about this

Opens Laisha's chat with your question ready to send. Sign in or start free.

Unlock every question — EBVS European College diplomas Meat Science, Abattoir Practice & Animal By-products Techno

US$10 a month · one price worldwide · cancel any time

  • Every practice question in this subject, with full working
  • Timed exam papers and progress by unit
  • Ask Laisha to explain any answer — up to 1,000 questions a month
Free or Smarter
FreeSmarter
Grow guides, pest pages, articlesRead allRead all
Ask Laisha5 a dayUp to 1,000 a month
Exam practiceThe sample on each pageEvery question, timed papers
Crop calendar and pest alerts—For your own fields
Calculators and tools—All
Uploads and reports—100 a month, real files
Try Smarter free for 10 daysOr subscribe now — US$10/month
10 days free for every new account, no card.