Stress associated with improper pre-slaughter handling of livestock has
been associated with undesirable pH, water-holding capacity, cooking
loss and colour. Tenderness—as the most variable and important
determinant in meat eating quality—along with the degree of lipid
oxidation are among the traits of major concern in the meat industry.
What happens to the animals prior to slaughter usually influences the
physiological state, particularly energy metabolism of the skeletal muscle.
This, in turn, affects the post-mortem muscle metabolism whereby most
of the meat-quality characteristics are eventually attained. However,
differences in metabolic and contractile characteristics between different
groups of skeletal muscles also explain most of the differences in postmortem
changes and ultimate meat quality as a response to the physical
activity and stress experienced by the animal pre-slaughter.