Livestock Conditions and Meat Quality

Abnormal and Pathological Conditions in Livestock and Their Impact on Meat Quality

• Poorness is a physiological state caused by food shortage or over milking, resulting in a lack of fat and dark, tough meat.
• Emaciation is a chronic pathological condition, characterized by atrophied muscles, reduced fat, and wet, gelatinous appearance of tissues.
• Animals affected by emaciation should be treated as suspects on ante mortem inspection, and carcasses must be differentiated from leanness.
• Pregnant animals in advanced stages or recent parturition are not allowed for slaughter until ten days after parturition or abortion, and carcasses must be examined for evidence of septic or systemic infection.
• Fetal flesh, also known as "slink meat," is the flesh of unborn or stillborn animals, and is unfit for human consumption due to its grayish-white color, flabby muscles, gelatinous fat, and collapsed lungs.
• The only immature food animal that may be sold is the calf, and any immature carcass that is edematous or in poor physical condition is unfit for human consumption.
• Exhausted animals have acidic meat due to the accumulation of lactic acid, resulting in dry muscle fibers, hemorrhages, and ruptures, making the meat unfit for human consumption.
• Carcasses of poorness and emaciation may be used for manufacturing purposes, such as sausages and cooked meats.
• Carcasses of animals in advanced pregnancy or recent parturition may be passed for consumption if no evidence of infection is present.
• Fetal flesh and exhausted animals are subject to total condemnation.
• It is important to differentiate between emaciation and leanness on postmortem examination.
• In Egypt, carcasses are considered immature if less than 40 days old and are condemned due to the possibility of brucellosis or congenital tuberculosis and low nutritive value.