Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXVIII, Issue 2
Written by Ionuţ RĂCĂŞANU, Sabina-Gabriela RĂCĂŞANU (GHIZDAVEŢ), Dănuț-Nicușor ENEA, Alexandru MIHAI, Gheorghe Emil MĂRGINEAN, Laura-Florentina VLĂSCEANU, Livia VIDU
Among animal products, meat ranks first due to its high content of high-quality protein, high digestibility, and complex chemical composition that covers the needs of the human body. The notion of 'quality' represents a combination of several factors such as sensory, nutritional, technological and hygienic. Regardless of the breed, the quality of cattle carcasses is influenced by internal factors related to the animal, namely the age of the animal - young animals have more tender meat at slaughter, sex - males give a greater amount of meat in the carcass, but the quality is superior to females, as they have a better feed conversion, the meat-to-fat ratio being better, health status - sick cattle lose weight, thus producing carcasses of poorer quality, and external factors such as nutrition - this influences the quality both through the type of feeding and its level, microclimate and exploitation conditions, the method of slaughter - starting from transport to slaughter.
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