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Query: UMLS:C0849640 (skin damage)
 1,516 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A polychotomous logistic regression was used to assess the risk factors for skin damage prior to slaughter. A total of 116 deliveries (15,695 pigs) from commercial farms to five Spanish pig abattoirs were surveyed. The skin damage condition was described as an ordinal response (1: no damage; 2: very slight damage; and 3: slight or more damage). The abattoir by the season (p<0.01), the floor surface of the lorry (p=0.02), and the mixing of unfamiliar pigs at loading (p=0.01) influenced the occurrence of skin blemishes. Skin damage increased with on-farm fasting time (p<0.01), loading time (p<0.01), lairage time (p<0.01), as well as with carcass weight (p<0.01). In winter transports the risk of skin damage decreased (p<0.01) at higher space allowance in the lorry. The risk of developing PSE and DFD pork increased with the skin damage score (p<0.01). The nn genotype for the RYR1 gene was less prone to skin damage but at the same time it is more sensitive to skin damage in relation to PSE risk. It is concluded that the skin damage score can be used as a rapid indicator of animal welfare and pork quality.
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PMID:Risk assessment of skin damage due to pre-slaughter conditions and RYR1 gene in pigs. 2041 60

In order to minimize the high proportion of carcass and meat quality defects recorded in commercially slaughtered pigs, the optimum handling, stunning and bleeding-out conditions must be implemented. In this study improvements in pig handling resulted in the elimination of electric goading within the raceways, which reduced the skin blemish score by 50%. Furthermore, the application of higher stunning voltage (200 V) and the immediate bleeding-out in the prone position improved the post-mortem acidification rate in the Longissimus thoracis (LT) and Semimembranosus (SM) muscles. This resulted in a sharp reduction of the PSE incidence in both muscles. A positive effect on muscle metabolism was also showed by the lower release of CPK into the bloodflow. These results show that, under commercial conditions, the design of slaughter handling systems and the slaughter procedures can have an effect on skin damage and on the quality of the pig meat.
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PMID:The effect of two handling and slaughter systems on skin damage, meat acidification and colour in pigs. 2206 Aug 4

A total of 116 deliveries, comprising 15,695 commercial pigs delivered to five abattoirs, were surveyed during winter and summer. Information about on-farm fasting, transport duration and stocking density, and lairage time was collected. Cortisol, creatine phospho-kinase (CPK), and lactate, and DNA for halothane genotype were analysed in a subsample of pigs at exsanguination in every journey. Electrical conductivity (PQM) in semimembranosus muscle (SM) and carcass characteristics (Fat-o-Meater and skin damage) were measured in each carcass. pHu of SM was analysed in the laboratory in a subsample in every journey. Carcasses were identified as PSE or DFD based on PQM and pHu, respectively. The n gene frequency ranged among abattoirs from 54 to 8%. Mean lean content was 58.9% for nn, 57.3% for Nn, and 55.8% for NN pigs, though a difference of 2.5% lean was observed between two abattoirs with the same n gene frequency. A straight relationship of the incidence of serious PSE carcasses and n gene frequency was found. The overall incidence of serious PSE and DFD carcasses was 6.5 and 12.5%, respectively. A higher incidence of PSE carcasses was found in summer; in deliveries with <12 h on-farm fasting; with transport stocking densities >0.40 m(2)/100 kg pig; and in transports of <2 h duration. A higher incidence of DFD carcasses was found in winter; with transport stocking densities <0.40 m(2)/100 kg pig; transports of >2 h duration; and lairage times >9 h. Cortisol level in blood increased in winter and decreased after 12-18 h fasting time. A rise in the lactate concentration was observed in pigs transported in high stocking density (<0.40 m(2)/100 kg pig) and for a longer time (>2 h). All blood stress indices increase as increasing lairage time. Carcasses with more skin damage had higher levels of cortisol, CPK and lactate, and higher incidence of DFD meat, compared with non and low skin damage carcasses.
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PMID:A survey of pre-slaughter conditions, halothane gene frequency, and carcass and meat quality in five Spanish pig commercial abattoirs. 2206 Sep 9

The effect of two different lairage times on meat quality was investigated in pigs with different halothane genotype previously submitted to controlled pre-slaughter treatments. One hundred and ninety nine Italian heavy pigs were loaded by ramp or lift and transported unmixed for 1 h to the abattoir at a stocking density of either <0.4 or >0.6 m(2) per 100 kg pigs. After unloading, an equal number of animals within each previous treatment was held in lairage for 2 h or overnight (22 h) before slaughter. Carcass and meat quality and incidence of skin damage were evaluated. Longer lairage did not negatively affect carcass traits and reduced the incidence of PSE meat without increased DFD occurrence. It also seriously increased the amount of skin damage due to fighting, resulting in long fasting. Pre-slaughter treatments and halothane genotype showed a negligible effect on the response to the resting time.
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PMID:Combined effects of pre-slaughter treatments and lairage time on carcass and meat quality in pigs of different halothane genotype. 2206 11