Effect of slaughter handling conditions and animal temperament on bovine meat quality markers

Pre-slaughter cattle welfare indicators for use in commercial abattoirs with voluntary monitoring systems: A systematic review

“…Overall, stressors appear to be additive and multiple stressors in the pre-slaughter period will result in a higher ultimate muscle pH than a single stressor alone (del Campo et al, 2010). Other studies have found that differences in ultimate pH are due to feeding system, temperament and breed (Lensink et al, 2000;Lensink et al, 2001;Amtmann, Gallo, van Schaik, & Tadich, 2006;Mounier et al, 2006;Ribeiro et al, 2012;Pighin et al, 2013;Mpakama et al, 2014), commercial category (Mach, Bach, Velarde, & Devant, 2008;Romero et al, 2013), and bruises (McNally & Warriss, 1996;Strappini, Frankena, Metz, Gallo, & Kemp, 2010;Vimiso & Muchenje, 2013). Hence, ultimate pH is a valid indicator to measure meat quality, being both reliable and commercially viable, to such the extent that many abattoirs systematically measure meat pH (María, 2008).…”

“…Different authors have used blood parameters to assess the stress response of cattle to handling and transport (Villarroel, María, Sañudo, Olleta, and Gebresenbet, 2003b;Tadich, Gallo, Brito, & Broom, 2009). Cortisol, despite its variability and short half-life, is still one of the most used indicators, followed by packed-cell-volume (Jarvis et al, 1996;Tadich et al, 2005;Pighin et al, 2013), glucose (Van de Water et al, 2003;Averós et al, 2008;Bourguet et al, 2010;Alende et al, 2014), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), insulin, free fatty acids (Jarvis et al, 1996), plasma activity of creatine kinase (CK), B-hydroxybutyrate (Broom, 2003;Tadich et al, 2005). More recently, haptoglobin and pigmap, a major acute phase proteins, have also been used as an indicator of poor welfare (Piñeiro et al, 2007;Averós et al, 2008;Giannetto et al, 2011;Werner et al, 2013;Francisco et al, 2015).…”

“…Since the abattoir is a novel environment for cattle, as compared to the farm, behavioral CWI can only be considered to be valid at the time of inspection at the abattoir, without providing valid information about prior welfare (Visser et al, 2001). On the other hand, cattle behaviour at the abattoir could be also influenced by individual characteristics like breed (Minka & Ayo, 2007;Hoffman & Lühl, 2012;Sant'Anna & Paranhos da Costa, 2013), sex (Probst et al, 2014;Hoffman & Lühl, 2012), age (Hoffman & Lühl, 2012;Hultgren et al, 2014) and earlier experience (Lensink et al, 2000;Lensink et al, 2001;King et al, 2006;Bourguet et al, 2010;Pighin et al, 2013).…”

“…María et al (2003) mention that no single factor is responsible for meat discoloration, which is probably due to a combination of factors associated with post-mortem changes. Other factors that have been related to an increase in both the color and the water holding capacity of the meat are the position of the animal inside the livestock vehicle (front vs back) (Van de Water et al, 2003), lairage time (Gallo et al, 2001;del Campo et al, 2010;Teke et al, 2014), stunning method (Onenc & Kaya, 2004;Kim et al, 2013), temperament of the animals (Voisinet, Grandin, O'Connor, Tatum, & Deesing, 1997;Lensink et al, 2000;Lensink et al, 2001;King et al, 2006;del Campo et al, 2010;Ribeiro et al, 2012;Miranda-de la Lama et al, 2013;Pighin et al, 2013;Mpakama et al, 2014;Peña et al, 2014;Francisco et al, 2015), and the carcass suspension method (Kamatara et al, 2014;Hou et al, 2014). Measurement of water holding capacity in abattoirs is limited; however, meat color could be evaluated using a color standards.…”

“…Those challenges perturb homeostasis and an adaptive response is activated in an attempt to restore balance (King et al, 2006). First, physiological responses associated with emotional reactivity (heart rate and respiratory frequency) are triggered, followed by behavioral changes (Van de Water, Verjans, & Geers, 2003;Averós, Martín, Riu, Serratosa, & Gosálvez, 2008;Bourguet et al, 2010;Pighin et al, 2013). Then, the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) and the release of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) activate the sympatho-adrenal component of the autonomic response increasing cortisol levels (Ferguson & Warner, 2008;Hemsworth et al, 2011;Romero, Uribe-Velásquez, Sánchez, Rayas-Amor, & Miranda-de la Lama, 2017).…”