The impact of environmental factors on the occurrence of DFD-type of beef in commercial abattoirs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.9755/ejfa.2020.v32.i7.2125Abstract
The aim of the study was to analyse the causes of increased beef pH value measured 36-hours after slaughter (pH ≥ 5.8) taking into account the cattle type and the slaughter season. The pH36 data were collected on 235,555 and 237,563 animals in the season one and season two, respectively, harvested at two commercial abattoirs. The following sets of interactions were significantly associated with the incidence of pH36 >5.80: cattle type x cattle breed; cattle type x ante-mortem resting time; cattle type x hot carcass weight, cattle type x carcass conformation class and cattle type x fat cover class. During the entire period under analysis the overall incidence of pH ≥ 5.8 was 10.89%. In 2017 and 2018 pH ≥ 5.8 amounted to 12.25% and 9.47%, respectively. The type and breed of cattle type and the slaughter season also impacted the following beef production parameters: live weight, hot carcass weight, carcass dressing yield percentage and the carcass conformation and fat cover classes in EUROP classification.