Impact of the Duration of Stress Steps before Slaughter and at Slaughter on the Physicochemical and Biochemical Characteristics of Meat in Camels

Aim: Animals intended for slaughter are subject to a number of stress factors abattoirs (unloading, stabulation and slaughtering conditions of animals) which can have negative effects on their physiological functions and on the quality of their meat. In this work, an investigation of the durations of transport, unloading, driving to the slaughter room, slaughter and bleeding was carried out, and the impact of the duration of each of these stages on physico-chemical and biochemical parameters of meat was assessed in camels.

Methodology: A survey was carried out in the municipal slaughterhousse of Casablanca in Morocco, to assess the stress duration during different pre-slaughter operations from the arrival of camels at the slaughterhouse until bleeding. The correlations between these stress factors and the physicochemical and biochemical composition of the meat were analyzed.

Results: The transport, unloading, accompagniment to the slaughter room, slaughtering and bleeding of the camels used in this survey were respectively, from 1 h to 11 h, from 3 min to 20 min, from 5 min to 20 min, from 4 min to 20 min and from 5 min to 10 min. Mean exudate and cooking loss values, and carbonyl and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents were significantly (P<0.05) higher, while catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were significantly (P<0.05) lower when transport, unloading, driving to slaughter and slaughter times were longest. Transport, unloading, driving to the slaughterhouse and slaughter times were significantly (P<0.05) and positively correlated with exudation, cooking loss, MDA and carbonyls, while they were significantly (P<0.05) and negatively correlated with CAT and SOD activities.

Conclusion: The durations of the stages to which camels are exposed in slaughterhouse, from transport to slaughter could induce oxidation of their meat and alter its quality.