Evaluating remote post-mortem inspection in bovines: Challenges, limitations, and future potential in assessing post-mortem outcomes in cattle offal

In the European Union, effective meat inspection is crucial for safeguarding public health and animal welfare, particularly through post-mortem inspections, which act as the final barrier against zoonotic and animal diseases. This study explores the feasibility of using remote video transmission as a modern solution to enhance oversight in meat inspections. Furthermore, it aims to collect and analyze data from routine post-mortem veterinary inspections of bovine viscera, as there is still limited knowledge in this area. A comparative study involving the routine post-mortem inspection of bovine viscera from 2983 animals was conducted, with simultaneous evaluations performed by two veterinarians: one on-site and the other remotely via tablet. The findings of the present study revealed that 14.08 % of bovine viscera were free from lesions. The most common observations were lung-related issues, including pleurisy in the 79.89 % of animals, followed by pulmonary interstitial emphysema (16.26 %), and pneumonia (16.19 %). Cysts of Echinococcus and tuberculosis lesions were identified in 2.18 % and 0.10 % of the inspected animals, respectively. The on-site veterinarian recorded a total of 4479 findings, surpassing the number documented remotely; however, both veterinarians reported similar prevalences for most findings. These results can offer valuable insights for farmers and veterinarians, highlighting aspects that current surveillance systems may overlook. Ultimately, this study suggests that remote inspection holds promise as a supplementary approach to traditional methods, provided that standardized protocols and adequate inspection time are established.