Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate a possible relationship between blood parameters related to animal welfare and defined beef meat quality characteristics during winter and summer seasons in one small-scale slaughterhouse. At exsanguination, blood samples were collected, and serum concentrations for total proteins (TP), albumin and C-reactive protein (CRP) were evaluated. After 24 h of chilling, ultimate pH was measured and meat samples were used for drip loss and cooking loss determination. Dehydration was not observed during seasons, while elevated concentrations of TP accompanied by higher CRP values pointed to summer as a more stressful season. Analysing the meat quality parameters, it was observed that during the two seasons, ultimate pH values were in the range for normal meat acidification, but values for drip and cooking loss were significantly increased during the summer season. In conclusion, CRP could be used as potential biomarker for beef meat quality estimation, in the first instance drip loss and ultimate pH.
Highlights
Beef meat quality has increasingly become an important production trait worldwide, both from the aspect of customer satisfaction and of the economic profit of the industry [1,2]
The objective of this study was to investigate a possible relationship between blood parameters related to animal welfare and defined beef meat quality characteristics during winter and summer seasons in one small-scale slaughterhouse
Dehydration was not observed during seasons, while elevated concentrations of total proteins (TP) accompanied by higher C-reactive protein (CRP) values pointed to summer as a more stressful season
Summary
Beef meat quality has increasingly become an important production trait worldwide, both from the aspect of customer satisfaction and of the economic profit of the industry [1,2]. Conditions and procedures with animals, starting from the farm, during transportation and in the lairage period are just some of the elements that could greatly affect the quality of meat [3]. Inadequate handling during transportation, dehydration, limited space in trucks, climatic conditions, mixing of animals in the lairage, and social dominance are some of the disturbed procedures that impair animal well-being and affect the level of the individual’s stress response [6,7].
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