Rwanda Inspectorate, Competitors and Client Safety Authority (RICA) has warned of animal stress earlier than being slaughtered which ends up in low-quality meat.
In keeping with Gaspard Simbarikure, Veterinary Hygiene and Quarantine Specialist at RICA, poor situations earlier than an animal goes into slaughter can have an effect on the standard of meat.
Discussing the significance of security and the necessity for animals to relaxation earlier than slaughter in keeping with the continuing “Secure and High quality Meat” marketing campaign throughout the meat worth chain, he emphasised that low-quality meat might result in well being issues.
“Pressured animals give low-quality meat as a consequence of chemical reactions occurring of their our bodies and this may occasionally result in manufacturing of undesirable physique secretions which reduces the standard of meat. Low-quality meat has low nutritive worth and this may occasionally impression the well-being of the buyer,” he mentioned.
Animals nonetheless expertise stress on their solution to the slaughterhouses, and Alex Mvunabandi, a slaughterman in Gakenke District, typically faces this problem when animals are being transported as a result of “some vehicles don’t observe rules.”
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It is strongly recommended that giant animals relaxation for at the least 24 hours, whereas poultry ought to relaxation for at the least two hours to cut back stress because it impacts the standard of meat.
“When an animal destined for slaughter is burdened shortly and proper earlier than slaughter, glucose and particularly glycogen shops are activated and metabolised to supply power within the type of ATP by way of glycolysis, Krebs cycle, and electron transport system.
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“This excessive metabolic charge continues till after the animal is shocked and bled out. With out the blood to move the oxygen wanted for the Krebs cycle and the electron transport system, glycogen metabolism turns into anaerobic, and lactic acid is produced and gathered. The buildup of lactic acid leads to a pH lower to as little as 5.3. Such a low meat pH leads to pale, mushy, and exudative (PSE) meat,” Simbarikure mentioned.
Regardless of the dangers of well being issues from consuming low-quality meat, customers have the correct to obtain merchandise which can be equal in high quality to the worth, as Simbarikure acknowledged.
If the animal for slaughter experiences extended stress earlier than it’s slaughtered, glucose and glycogen shops are activated and used to supply power throughout that lengthy stress.
After beautiful and bleeding the animal, most of its glucose and glycogen shops may have been used up, and the ensuing low accumulation of lactic acid results in meat with the next pH of as much as 6.5.
Such a excessive meat pH leads to darkish, agency, and dry (DFD) meat. Good high quality meat sometimes falls between pale, mushy, and exudative (PSE) and DFD, with an final pH of 5.6 to five.8, Simbarikure famous.
“It might be contradictory to the correct of customers to entry high quality merchandise and it violates the precept of equal pay, whereby the buyer shall have the product which is equal when it comes to amount and the worth,” he added.
