Special treatment during slaughtering in Finland of cattle carrying an excessive load of dung; Meat hygienic aspects.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the microbiological consequences of the Finnish special hide regulations. These were agreed upon, by a committee including members representing meat production, industry and the state, to reduce the number of cattle carrying excessive loads of dung. The changes in the number of excessively dungy cattle in one beef abattoir have been recorded since the adoption of the special rules. The effect of excessive dunginess of the hide on microbial contamination of the carcasses was measured in the same abattoir using excision sampling technique. From 1983 to 1990 the proportion of excessively dungy cattle has decreased 85%, with the majority of them arriving from October to March. Excess dunginess resulted in statistically significantly increased microbial contamination at both sampling sites. Results indicate that the regulations are reasonable from the point of view of meat hygiene and that, for commercial-scale slaughtering, the drawbacks caused by the excess dunginess of the hide cannot be compensated for by greater care in the work procedures.