Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans are omnivorous and have hunted and killed animals for meat since prehistoric times. Meat is mainly composed of water and protein, and is usually eaten together with other food. Meat consumption varies worldwide, depending on cultural or religious preferences, as well as economic conditions.

Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the eggs they produce, their meat, their feathers, or sometimes as pets. Poultry also includes other birds that are killed for their meat, such as the young of pigeons (known as squabs) but does not include similar wild birds hunted for sport or food and known as game. The domestication of poultry took place several thousand years ago. All poultry meat should be properly handled and sufficiently cooked in order to reduce the risk of food poisoning.

Poultry products are- turkey, squab, quail, pheasant, partridge, ostrich, organs, liver, grouse, goose liver, gizzards, emu, duck liver, chicken, chicken liver, duck etc.

Poultry by-product meal (PBM) is a high-protein commodity used as a major component in some pet foods. It is made from grinding clean, rendered parts of poultry carcasses and can contain bones, offal and undeveloped eggs, but only contains feathers that are unavoidable in the processing of the poultry parts. Poultry products (broiler meat in particular) have the highest per capita consumption in the United States. Liquid egg is used in a variety of institutions including hotels, restaurants, hospitals, and if dried, included in numerous other products, such as cake mixes.

Fresh poultry-The birds are generally cut into a number of pieces, which are placed on plastic foam trays and covered with a plastic film.

Frozen poultry-Most frozen poultry is vacuum-packed in plastic bags and then frozen in high-velocity freezers. The birds are kept in cold storage until needed.

The annual growth rate is 8-10% in egg and 12-15% in the broiler industry. With the annual production of 33 billion eggs, India is the fifth world’s largest egg producing country. It also produces 530 million broilers per year. The annual per capita consumption in India is only 33 eggs and 630 grams of poultry meat. This is much lower as compared to the world average of 124 eggs and 5.9 kg meat. The National Committee on Human Nutrition in India has recommended per capita of 180 eggs (about one egg every two days) and 10.8 kg meat. With rapid urbanization , and increasing demand from the present 250 million economically strong ,consumer market base (which is likely to go up to 350 million by year 2010 ), there is bright future for this industry in India.

Milk, meat, and egg consumption in India is rising much faster than that of cereals.  Not surprisingly, 37% of agricultural output growth came from animal products. Of India's agricultural output, 31% comes from animal products: milk, meat, egg, fish and others such as silk and honey.

Further information:

Preservation of meat and poultry products describes the detailed information on the subject. The major contents of this book are- Principles of Various Preservation Techniques, Standards and Quality Control Measures for Meat, Meat Food Products Order (MFPO), Eating Quality and Sensory Evaluation of Meat, Preservation of Poultry Meat, Structure, Composition and Nutritive Value of Eggs, Luncheon Meats, Meat Loaves, and Meat Spreads, Meat Dishes, Meat Loaves, and Meat Patties using Plant Protein Extenders, Miscellaneous Canned Meat Products, Frozen Meat, Meat Dishes, Sauces and Gravies etc.

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