Meat roasting stove | Mechanization (Agro-Machinery)
Description of the technology or innovation
Meat is a highly perishable food product that requires use ofappropriate technologies to reduce post-harvest losses. Meat roasting has beenproven to increase shelf life; but, mechanisms for effecting proper meatroasting are limited. The development of this technology (the meat roastingstove) was informed by many factors such as the need to; improve the quality ofroadside roasted meat, promote safety and standards, save energy and keep theroasted meat product warm for a longer period of time.
The Hygiene, Quality, Safety, Standard, and Enabling Environment(HYQUASSEE) stove, code named “HYQUASSEE meat roasting stove†is an improvedmeat-charcoal roasting stove suitable for roadside food vendors. The stove isdesigned to promote hygiene, quality and safety of the roasted meat, as well ascleanliness of roasting areas. Depending on the volume of meat roasted, it canalso contribute to reduction of amount of charcoal used. Uptake and utilization of the HYQUASSEE meatroasting stove will restore consumer confidence, increasing demand for roastedmeat from roadside vendors.
The meat roasting stove has the following attributes:
1) HYQUA-Hygiene and Quality Attributes
§ A compartment for washing hands
§ Three compartments for the three meat roasters that workconsecutively to ensure hygienic process flow of meat roasting;
§ An enclosed chamber where meat is roasted to minimizecontamination of meat by airborne and physical hazards; and
§ Sealed base to prevent ash and charcoal from dropping to theground. This ensures the cleanliness of the surrounding environment.
2) SS-Standard and Safety Attributes (adapted from National Bureau ofStandards guidelines for Good Processing)
§ Four process (meat roasting) levels i.e. fresh, semi roasted,fully roasted and ready to serve meat toensure serving warm and ready- to-eat meat; and,
§ A shutter to lock out intruders, cats, dogs and rats.
3) E E-Enabling Environment
§ A chimney to direct smoke away from the meat roaster and thesurrounding environment;
§ Provision for ash outlet
§ The stove is raised above ground level (at 1.5 metres) to enablestanding while roasting.
§ A shutter that concentrates the heat inside the stove and preventsheat loss to the surrounding environment thus saving energy
Figures 1 and 2: Sketch andprototype of HYQUASSEE meat roasting stove |
Assessment/reflection on utilization, dissemination & scaling out or up approaches used
The target users of the HYQUASSEE meat-roasting stove technologyare mainly the roadside meat roasters. Five (5) steps, illustrated in Figure 3,were generated to guide the process for validation and adaptation of theimproved meat roasting technology.
Meat roasting and vending of roasted meat account for over 70% ofbusiness activity at the two road side markets namely: Namawojolo (in Mukunodistrict) and Kafu (in Masindi district). The system involves supply of freshmeat from the butchers, roasting sticks, charcoal, salt; and then meatroasting, followed by roadside vending of roasted meat. Figure 4 shows theprocess flow of meat roasting and roadside vending.
Figure4: Process flow of roadside meatroasting and vending at highway markets (AFID, 2011)
The HYQUASSEE meat-roasting stove was developed by Agency forInter-regional Development (AFID) and ASARECA in Uganda around 2011 and hasbeen validated. Technology pilot-testing was done at three (3) meat roastingroadside markets in the country, namely Namawojolo located 32 kms along theKampala-Jinja highway en route to eastern Uganda; and Kafu and Kigumba located120 kms along the Kampala-Masindi-Gulu highway, northwestern Uganda.Performance evaluation of the pilot testing exercise was done, during whichincreased consumer confidence was registered. The main challenge has beenlimited compliance with regard to implementation and recommendations forincreased uptake. The main lesson for dissemination of the technology is that, effectivepilot testing increases uptake.
Current situation and future scaling up
The technology is a marked improvement upon conventional practiceof open air meat roasting. It caters fora comprehensive range of meat quality, food safety and energy efficiencyconsiderations, which adds to its appeal to end-users. Roadside meat roastingbusiness is popular in urban centers thus making the TIMP highly usable and canpotentially provide employment for youth. Raised at 1.5m above ground, thetechnology is user-friendly/convenient for women and children, the mainstakeholders in the meat roasting business. The technology has energy-savingattributes and has strong food safety attributes as it promotes hygienic meatroasting for improved health of end-users and consumers. The stove should bepromoted among roadside meat vendors in urban centers.
Economic Considerations
The technology is likely to boost meat roasters incomes throughincreased customer confidence. The technology is fabricated out of locallyavailable materials and should be relatively affordable. It is also an energy saving technology with lowmaintenance costs.
Gender considerations
The HYQUASSEE meat roasting stove israised 1.5 meters above ground to enable roasting while standing upright.Besides being user-friendly, the technology is also appropriate for women and childrenwho are often the main stakeholders in this business.
Contact details
Rosemirta, B.
Programme Manager, Agency for Inter-regional Development (AFID),
P. O. Box 28264,
Kampala, Uganda
Tel: +256 414 - 372291
Mob: +256-772589493
Email: rosemirta@yahoo.com; afid_eca@yahoo.com
Kayanga, S.T.
Capacity Building Expert; Agency for Inter-regional Development(AFID),
P.O. Box 28264,
Kampala, Uganda
Tel: +256 414 - 372291
Kimenye, L.
Programme Manager; Knowledge management and Up-scaling Programme;ASARECA,
P.O. Box 765, Entebbe, Uganda
Tel: +256-414321885
Fax: +256-414322593
Email: l.kimenye@asareca.org
Additional information
a) Marketsurvey
Roasted meat has been identified as an emerging popularvalue-added product. A market survey (AFID; NARO BUZARDI, 2010) conducted inselected sites along the cattle corridor and urban consumer markets in Ugandaestablished that there is growing demand for this product. Resonant, in thistrend, is the increasing popularity of roadside meat roasting points whichfunction as stop-over venues for highway travellers. However, with the increasingconsumer concern for food quality and safety; conscious consumers frequentlydecline to buy roadside roasted meat, thus affecting market opportunities forthe value-added meat. The roadside meat vendors thus lose business, especiallywhen health inspectors close and demarcate their premises as health hazards.Findings from this study further revealed that meat roasted on open stoves issusceptible to airborne and physical hazards. Most of the roadside meatroasters use open charcoal stoves which expose the meat product to:
1) Airborne hazards (biological) such as dust, car combustionpollutants and windblown impurities arising from unhygienic human behaviourlike spitting, sneezing and coughing; and
2) Physical hazards such as ash, sand, wood chips, charcoal piecesand stones.
Consumers of such roasted meat are therefore prone to disordersand diseases associated with airborne and physical hazards. Abdominal disordersculminate in pain and vomiting. The associated diseases include diarrhea,salmonella, clostridium, tuberculosis and vibrio, besides other infections.
It was therefore imperative for AFID and ASARECA to intervene eand address such vital market access constraints so as to enhance the capacityof roadside meat roasters and enable them to exploit market opportunities fortheir product.
b) Eclecticlearning points
During the process of technology validation, a number of lessonswere learnt. These included:
3) Participatory action in technology validation and adaptation,integrated with experiential learning, facilitates generation of demand-driventechnologies and transfer of developed technologies;
4) Accomplishing processes of participatory validation and adaptationof demand driven technology requires active collaboration of researchers and end-users.The approach stresses the importance of collaborative learning as a primaryaspect of the research process, including technology dissemination and uptake;
5) Achieving technology benefits such as efficiency and effectivenessmay be compromised by intervening factors like VCA behavioural practices andpolitical environment. In this case, contribution of the stove to the hygiene,quality and safety of roasted meat may be compromised by personal hygiene anduse of “nonfood grade†equipment. Therefore, there is a need to continuouslysensitize end users (meat roasters), periodic intervention of policyauthorities such as UNBS to carry out due diligence and enforcement of thestandards, and compliance to related practices, and support self-monitoring amongthe meat roasters.
Glossary
AFID and NARO BUZARDI. 2010. Rapid Market Assessment of meat andmilk value chains in Uganda. Kampala: AFID.