Evaluation of the components of management before, during and after slaughter and their association with the presence of DFD beef in cattle from northeastern Mexico

A total of 27 management variables (before, during and after slaughter) in 394 bovines were analyzed and used to determine their association and explanatory value with the presence of DFD (Dark, Firm, Dry) beef, using probability ratios in a multiple logistic regression model. The study was conducted from November 2016 to August 2017 on a Federal Inspection Type slaughterhouse located in northeastern Mexico. The presence of DFD beef was 13.45%. A contrast was made between classes for the factors evaluated by means of Student’s t and Chi-square according to the nature of the variable as a criterion for inclusion in logistic modeling. Ten of the variables showed statistical significance (P<0.05) in these tests, but only four of them presented explanatory value in the final multiple logistic model (P<0.01), which were: the waiting time prior to death, poor desensitization, the thickness of the subcutaneous fat and pH differential of the carcass established with 24 h of difference. The first two increased the possibility in the presence of DFD beef, on the contrary, the fat thickness and pH differential were inversely proportional. The four variables included in the final model were present at different stages and are of a different nature. For this reason, to effectively prevent this problem, a multicausal evaluation is needed throughout the slaughter process.