Study of major causes and associated economic losses of carcass and organ condemnation in cattle and sheep slaughtered at two abattoirs in the north of Algeria

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Asma Dahmani ¹

Safia Zenia ²

¹ Institute of Veterinary Sciences, University Blida1, B.P. 270, Road of Soumaa, 09000, Blida, Algeria.

² Laboratory Research «Animal Health and Production» Superior National Veterinary School, Issad Abbas, El Alia. Algiers, Algeria.

10.22067/ijvst.2026.95661.1599

Abstract

Inspection at slaughterhouses is an important step for providing a safe meat for human consumption. A cross-sectional study, involving antemortem and postmortem inspection was conducted from January to April 2025 to establish condemnation reason in cattle and sheep slaughtered and inspected at two slaughterhouses of Blida, northern Algeria. A total of 1091 animals, comprising 805 sheep and 286 cattle, slaughtered during the period of the present study, 14.78% sheep and 32.51% cattle were condemned. Among the animals examined, the most dominant condemnation patterns were pneumonia (38.65%), hydatidosis (16.80%), abscess (15.96%) and respiratory strongylosis (15.96%) for sheep and tuberculosis-compatible lesions (52.68%), hydatidosis (15.05%), abscess (11.82%), and pneumonia (10.75%) for cattle. Condemnation rate of lungs, hearts, livers, and heads for sheep were 84.87%, 2.52%, 7.56% and 4.20% respectively and for cattle were 91.39%, 49.46%, 26.88%, 1.07% respectively. Also, 4.30% carcasses, 3.22% stomachs and 1.07% udders were condemned only in cattle. Main causes of lung condemnation were tuberculosis-compatible lesions (56.47%), hydatidosis (14.11%), pneumonia (11.76%), abscesses (7.05%), and emphysema (7.05%) for cattle, whereas pneumonia (45.54%), abscesses (18.81%), hydatidosis (13.86%), hemorrhagic lung (7.92%), and emphysema (5.94%) for sheep. Liver was condemned mainly associated with abscess (36%), hydatidosis (32%) and tuberculosis-compatible lesions (24%) in cattle, while hydatidosis (55.55%), hepatitis (33.33%) and abscesses (11.11%) were the main causes in sheep. For the hearts, tuberculosis-compatible lesions (97.82% for cattle and 66.66% for sheep) was the major cause of condemnations. The total estimated economic losses was 30610.00 USD. Improving slaughterhouse facilities and conditions would facilitate the work of veterinary inspectors. Similarly, analyzing the collected data would enable the development of action plans to reduce the prevalence of specific pathologies.

Keywords

Abattoir

cattle

food safety

condemnation

sheep

Subjects

• Food hygiene

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