Pork carcass injury in slaughterhouse waiting area and nutrient addition in pre-slaughter fasting

Objective. Two experiments were conducted on a slaughterhouse located in Brazil, which the first aimed at evaluating the injuries on pig skin and carcass resulting from slaughterhouse waiting area management and the second aimed at assessing how glucose (G), sodium bicarbonate (SB) and vitamin E (VE) added to water during pre-slaughter fasting may affect carcass yield, organ relative weight and pork meat quality characteristics. Materials and methods. First trial included 1000 pigs, which were observed in the slaughterhouse resting area until the moment they entered the stunning process area. In the second trial were used 500 animals distributed on the last pre-slaughter day in a completely randomized design, including ten treatments and ten replicates. The treatments were: water; 50 g/L G; 50 g/L G + 200 mg/L of VE; 75 g/L of G; 75 g/L of G + 200 mg VE; 0.45% SB; 0.45% SB + 200 mg/L of VE; 0.55% SB; 0.55% SB + 200 mg/L of VE; 200 mg/L of VE. Results. Carcass yield and relative organ weight were not affected by treatments. The addition of 0.55% SB + 200 mg VE reduced the final pH of meat, and of 0.45% SB reduced the red pigment intensity. Conclusions. The main occurrences of injuries to the skin and carcass of pigs are due to fights. Also, adding glucose, sodium bicarbonate, and vitamin E to diet did not affect the carcass and viscera yield and meat quality.