Case studies demonstrating the benefits on pH and temperature decline of optimising medium-voltage electrical stimulation of lamb carcasses

Abstract

The efficacies of electrical stimulation practices at Australian abattoirs that process significant proportions of Australian lamb and sheep meat were assessed. Several abattoirs used medium-voltage electrical stimulation system (MVS) units suboptimally and many carcasses at these abattoirs exhibited a poor rate of pH decline and, consequently, a low proportion of carcasses attained pH 6 at a carcass temperature of 18−35°C, according to Sheep Meat Eating Quality pH–temperature guidelines as adopted by Meat Standards Australia. In the present communication, we describe the causes of suboptimal results with electrical stimulation and discuss procedures for optimising the stimulation dose delivered by MVS units. Carcass pH responses to various levels of current and pulse width were assessed to determine the best MVS settings for individual abattoirs. The MVS units at the abattoirs involved in the present study have now been programmed for optimal efficacy and carcass quality will be monitored on an ongoing basis. Evaluation of methods for assessing the proportion of carcasses that fall within the optimum pH–temperature window showed that a random regression model is more accurate than the current approach.