Effect of age of young Simmental bulls on the class carcass and degree of fat tissue carcass covering

Abstract

The quality of slaughtered animals is a subject of interest, of both primary production and the meat industry. The aim of the study was to analyze the effect of age of Simmental young beef cattle (bulls) on the class and degree of fat tissue carcass covering in a slaughterhouse in Raska district, according to the standard applied in the European Union (Council Regulation (EC) N 1234/2007, Commission Regulation (EC) N 1249/2008; European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development). The rules defining the quality of meat have been partially applied in Serbia (Official Gazette of the SFRJ 34/74, 26/75, 13/78). The quality assessment, classification and determining the degree of the carcass fat tissue covering is performed immediately after a veterinary examination and measurement of the carcasses weight. The study was conducted on 116 young cattle (young bulls) carcasses of domestic Simmental breed from redemption, which are divided into two age groups. The first group were cattle of age from 269 to 350 days (n = 78) and the second 351- 450 days of age (n = 38). The results showed that the tested groups differed significantly (P <0.05) in the values of animals weight prior to slaughter and carcasses weight after primary processing. The average weight of cattle in the first group was 508.89 kg and 531.2 kg in the second, while the average slaughter weight of the hull in the first group was 268.83 kg and 279.97 kg in the second. Both observed age groups had identical average class 4.66. Fat tissue coverage degree of carcass in the first group was estimated an average score of 3.09, while the average rating of fat tissue coverage degree of carcass in the second group was somewhat higher (3.21), but this difference was not statistically confirmed (P> 0.05). The given results show that it is necessary to intensify the upgrading of primary production in order to achieve better quality of meat.