Rough handling during the last 5 minutes prior to slaughter increases PSE, because pigs become overheated. Handlers must be taught behavioral principles of pig handling. Lower temperature Gentle handling, rest, and showering helps lower body temperature. Heat damages the meat, both in live pigs and shortly after slaughter, making proper chilling important. Sometimes carcasses are jammed together or there is insufficient refrigeration.
Some managers make the mistake of maximizing pig numbers by overloading the cooler.
They are saving a few pennies on numbers and throwing dollar bills away in carcass shrink losses. It is easier to quantify pigs per hour and person hours than shrink loss and customer dissatisfaction. To succeed in the marketplace of tomorrow, quality must come first and quantity second. A segmented market causes losses to be passed from the producer to the next person in the marketing chain. A producer who sells pigs live-weight has no motivation to improve quality.