Condenações post-mortem de bovinos em abatedouro sob inspeção municipal: estudo retrospectivo sobre seletividade operacional e qualidade dos registros sanitários

Abstract

Post-mortem inspection ensures the quality and safety of animal-sourced products, serving as an essential tool for public health protection, sanitary surveillance, and the monitoring of technological failures during slaughter. In establishments under the Municipal Inspection Service, however, the availability and standardization of records may be limited, hindering the epidemiological interpretation of condemnations. The objective of this study was to analyze the quality and selectivity of post-mortem condemnation records of cattle in a slaughterhouse under municipal inspection in the municipality of Bambuí, Minas Gerais, and to discuss possible operational, sanitary, and regional factors associated with the observed profile. Condemnation records from July 2017 to September 2018 were analyzed, complemented by a technical interview with the veterinarian responsible for the inspection service at the time. During this period, 3,723 cattle were slaughtered, and 101 condemnations were recorded (2.71%). Hepatic condemnations accounted for 75.2% of the records, followed by cardiac condemnations (11.8%). The interpretation of the findings must consider operational factors such as incomplete and poorly standardized records, as well as the selectivity of the inspection, since only the liver and heart were systematically evaluated, coupled with the fact that only these organs were commercialized. This routine favors the overrepresentation of these organs and the underreporting of alterations in other systems, limiting direct comparisons between organs and inferences regarding the true occurrence of lesions in the slaughtered herd. In conclusion, the study highlights not only the profile of recorded condemnations but also the impact of the operational inspection routine on the quality of sanitary data generated in municipal establishments.