ABSTRACT Careful handling of pigs and cattle at slaughter plants helps preserve meat quality. Cattle handled quietly have less bruising and cattle that remain calm during handling are less likely to have dark cutting or tough meat. In pigs, quiet handling and a minimum of electric prod use in the stunning chute reduce PSE approximately 10%. Quiet handling also helps reduce blood splash in pigs and kosher cattle. Meat damage from poor injection technique may be reduced in animals that are handled quietly. Proper injection technique is easier in calm animals. People manage what they measure. Objective scoring should be used to measure the quality of handling. Vocalization scoring can be used to assess handling quality. The percentage of cattle that vocalize (moo or bellow) during handling through chutes is determined. Other measures are the percentage of animals poked with an electric prod and the percentage of cattle that walk quietly into a squeeze chute. Cattle that walk quietly into the squeeze chute are less likely to get shoulder injuries, which cause extensive meat damage. Cattle that are handled quietly with a minimum of electric prod use vocalize less than cattle that are excessively prodded with an electric prod. Squeal scoring can be used in pigs to assess handling quality. Several studies show that vocalization is correlated with physiological measures of stress in both cattle and pigs. Regular auditing and measurement of handling practices will help maintain meat quality and improve animal welfare.
Implications
Regular measurement and auditing of animal handling in feedlots and slaughter plants will help maintain the quality of handling. People manage the things that they measure. Some of the variables that should be measured are percentage of animals prodded with an electric prod, percentage that vocalize and the incidence of slipping and falling. Quiet handling of pigs and cattle will help preserve meat quality and improve animal welfare.
Key Words: Dark Cutting Meat, Handling, Kosher Food, Porcine Stress Syndrome, Slaughter
© 2001, by the American Society of Animal Science. All rights reserved.
J. Anim. Sci. 2001. 79:E239-E248
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