The Effect of Stunning Method on the pH of Lamb

Abstract

AbstractThe postmortem pH decline of lamb M. longissimus thoracis was measured to investigate how it is affected by two methods of animal stunning at slaughter. Electrical stunning was compared to captive bolt stunning but there was no difference between the pH of these groups at any of the times postmortem. Both of the stunning techniques produced a wide range of pH values, even as early as 0.5 h postmortem, indicating that other factors are the cause of pH variability in lamb M. longissimus thoracis.