This study aimed to assess the influence of transport on the occurrence of carcass bruising of cattle slaughtered in the Pantanal, by quantifying the number and size of bruises, locating the frequency of occurrence of bruises in the main commercial cuts standardized for interne market. From a total of 121 carcasses assessed, 102 (84.3%) had one or more bruises, totaling 270 bruises, which resulted in the removal of 56.1kg meat. The frequency of carcass bruises of cattle showed significant difference, according to the conditions of transport. The highest proportions of bruises found in animals submitted to road transport for more than one hour in distances longer than 70km, a great part of which on dirty toads. The conclusion is that the animals submitted to the successive series of handling and transported on dirty roads for long distances caused the highest proportion of bruises, whereas the animals submitted to lot IV presented the highest number of bruises.
beef cattle slaughtering; truck; commercial cuts; bruising incidence
