The Effects of Some Pre-Slaughter Stress Factors on Meat Quality Characteristics in Beef Cattle

Farm animals are always transported for various reasons such as sales, breeding and slaughter; and lairage is applied on the beef cattle with various durations after transportation. Transportation is stressful even if it is carried out under proper conditions. Several factors which damage for meat quality and bring about stress affect beef cattle during the transportation. Transportation and lairage duration are important for meat quality. Increased transport duration and short lairage duration causes decreases in muscle glycogen level and the failure in decrease in meat pH value. Therefore, DFD (dark, firm, dry) meat and economic losses occur. Thus, transport time and lairage time should be applied as short as possible to prevent the adverse effects on meat quality. The aim of the review was to inform the related about the effect of transport and lairage time on meat quality in beef cattle