________________________________________________________________________________ AbstractThe objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of Kosher (Shechita) and conventional slaughter methods on shear force, drip and cooking losses of beef (m. longissimus dorsi samples) from South African feedlot cattle. Results revealed significantly lower shear force values for meat samples from cattle slaughtered by the Kosher method compared to those from cattle slaughtered by the conventional slaughter method. Cooking loss was significantly higher for meat samples from cattle slaughtered in the conventional way compared to those from cattle slaughtered by Kosher method. However, no significant difference was observed for drip loss between slaughter methods. These findings suggest that captive bolt stunning before sticking resulted in higher cooking losses and yielded less tender meat compared to the Kosher slaughter method.

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________________________________________________________________________________ AbstractThe South African Animal Protection Law, which requires animals to be stunned before slaughter, allows certain exemptions to accommodate religious slaughter. The supporters of the Jewish method of slaughter (Shechita), in which animals are slaughtered without pre-stunning, claim that the bleed-out and some quality parameters are better than when the animals are stunned before slaughtering. In this study, the percentage blood loss (BL%), presence (%) of blood in the trachea (BLT%) and blood splash % in the lungs (BS%), between the Shechita (Kosher) group and the conventionally slaughtered group of cattle were compared. Results showed no significant difference between the two treatment groups in terms of blood loss, although the conventional group had a higher bleed-out. However, there were significant differences in the presence of blood in the trachea and blood splash in the lungs, with the Kosher group having the highest percentages of these quality defects. Out of 170 animals examined for Kosher, 93% had blood lining the trachea, ranging from one to over 50%. From the 141 animals examined for the conventionally-slaughtered group, 97% had no blood lining the trachea while the remaining 3% had less than 10% blood lining the trachea. Furthermore, 65% of animals slaughtered in the Kosher way had blood splash ranging from 5% to over 50%, while the conventional group had only 0.7% incidence of blood splash in the lungs. These results show that slaughtering animals without stunning do not improve bleed-out, but increase blood in the trachea and blood splash in the lungs.

In a previous study regarding the effects of Kosher and conventional slaughter techniques on carcass and meat quality of cattle, it was speculated that electrical stimulation may have affected some of the meat qualities. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of electrical stimulation (ES) and non-electrical stimulation (NES) on key carcass and meat quality attributes of cattle slaughtered by Kosher vs. conventional slaughter methods. Carcass pH and temperature profiles over a 24 h post mortem (pm) period, meat shear force and water holding capacity were investigated in feedlot type cattle of comparable weights and breed types. Results showed that the combined effects of slaughter methods did not influence the meat quality attributes, but there were differences within the slaughter groups. The effect of ES on carcass pH lasted longer within the conventionally slaughtered group (12 h), than in the Kosher slaughter group (6 h). Muscle samples from the ES groups for both slaughter methods were more tender. Electrical stimulation also had a significant effect on the cooking loss from Kosher meat, while there was no significant difference in meat from the conventional slaughter methods. The results show that ES influences certain meat and carcass quality attributes of cattle, based on the way cattle were slaughtered.Keywords: Carcass pH, cooking loss, drip loss, electrical stimulation, shear force, slaughter technique

This study investigates the influence of timing and duration of low-voltage electrical stimulation (ES) as well as carcass weight, which are important factors affecting muscle glycolysis and meat color attributes. Longissimus samples from 147 cattle, representative of typical South African feedlot cattle, were assigned to 10 treatment groups according to the combination of carcass weight (small or heavy), time of ES (early [7 min] or late [45 min] postmortem), and duration of ES (30 or 60 s). Early ES and longer ES duration (60 s) produced the highest (P < 0.05) meat lightness (L*). The combination of early ES and heavier carcasses produced the highest (P < 0.05) chroma (C*) 2 d postmortem (butchery period). These results were corroborated by the energy metabolites, such that early stimulation produced the highest amount (P < 0.05) of muscle lactate, glucose, and glucose-6-phosphate, as well as the lowest glycogen, creatine phosphate, and adenosine triphosphate early postmortem. This shows that the application of low-voltage ES on heavier carcass is advantageous in terms of meat color, but the advantages diminish as ageing progressed from 2 to 14 d postmortem.