1. Introduction
Kosher food based on biblical origins grew into a $200 billion food
industry in 2009 (Regenstein & Regenstein, 2012). The kosher slaughter
process is performed by a trained religious slaughter man with no
stunning of the animal prior to exsanguination. However, this procedure
alone does notmake an animal acceptable for kosher consumption.
Internal organs, specifically the lungs,must be inspected for any defects.
Lungs have been inspected since biblical times as a guard against
disease. Pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses are among the
most common causes of lung leisons today (Schneider, Tait, Busby, &
Reecy, 2009). Lung adhesions are of primary concern and may result
in an animal failing to qualify as kosher. We hypothesize that there
are differences between cattle that qualify as kosher and those that do
not, that pre-slaughter stress may affect carcass and meat quality of
steers and heifers kosher slaughtered, and there may be differences in
carcass and meat quality between kosher-qualified cattle and nonkosher-
qualified cattle. The objective of this study was to determine if
there are differences in pre-slaughter stress measurements and carcass
characteristics between carcasses that qualified for kosher versus those
that did not qualify as kosher.