Abstract

Preslaughter handling emphasize the importance of proper animal handling techniques before slaughter, suggesting ways to improve handling practices to protect animal welfare, enhance carcass and meat quality, and ultimately maximize profits for meat processors. During marketing and transportation, cattle are exposed to various stressors that trigger specific behavioral and physiological responses, including increased heart rate, body temperature, and corticosteroid levels. These stress responses can lead to losses in carcass yield due to tissue mobilization and dehydration, resulting in losses ranging from 1% to 8% after a 48-hour fast.Improper handling can cause bruising, leading to trimmed tissue, reduced yield, and downgrading. Moreover, pre-slaughter handling can significantly impact lean meat quality by affecting muscle glycogen stores. Chronic stress can deplete glycogen stores, resulting in reduced postmortem acidification and the production of dark cutting beef (DCB), which is prone to spoilage.Therefore, it is crucial to adopt proper animal handling techniques to minimize stress, prevent bruising, and maintain optimal carcass and meat quality.

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