000168604 001__ 168604 000168604 005__ 20260211123813.0 000168604 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.1016/j.meatsci.2026.110051 000168604 0248_ $$2sideral$$a148025 000168604 037__ $$aART-2026-148025 000168604 041__ $$aeng 000168604 100__ $$aPastrana-Camacho, Adriana P. 000168604 245__ $$aRisk factors and prevalence of carcass lesions associated with pre-slaughter logistics and ultimate meat pH in finishing pigs under mountainous tropical conditions 000168604 260__ $$c2026 000168604 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted 000168604 5203_ $$aGlobally, the pre-slaughter logistics chain in the pork industry must meet commercial demands while operating through interconnected nodes, from the farm of origin to transport and abattoir operations. The present study evaluated 1841 carcasses of finishing pigs at abattoir level, assessing six anatomical regions for skin lesions, tail injuries and claw cracks, along with ultimate pH and detailed pre-slaughter logistics. Skin lesions were highly prevalent, exceeding 97% of carcasses, with severe damage in 8% and consistent patterns in the neck–shoulder, flank and loin regions. Multivariate models showed that lesion risk depended on the production system, road quality, journey dynamics and lairage duration. Tail lesions were rare (<10%), while claw cracks (∼20%) were associated with farm size, carcass weight and transport conditions. Meat quality was strongly influenced by logistics, with 7% of carcasses classified as PSE, 27% as DFD and 34% as borderline DFD. DFD was related to long and fast journeys on paved mountain routes, whereas PSE was linked to injuries in the head–ear region. Overall, carcass-based indicators provided an integrated retrospective assessment of welfare in tropical mountain systems, where transport demands and infrastructure variability influence both welfare and meat quality. 000168604 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess$$aby$$uhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es 000168604 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 000168604 700__ $$aMiranda-de la Lama, Genaro C. 000168604 700__ $$aHuanca-Marca, Nancy F. 000168604 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0002-4647-9315$$aEstévez-Moreno, Laura X.$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000168604 7102_ $$15011$$2235$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. CC.Agrar.y Medio Natural$$cÁrea Econom.Sociol.Polit.Agra. 000168604 773__ $$g235 (2026), 110051 [11 pp.]$$pMeat sci.$$tMeat Science$$x0309-1740 000168604 8564_ $$s1313030$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/168604/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yVersión publicada 000168604 8564_ $$s2653791$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/168604/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yVersión publicada 000168604 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:168604$$particulos$$pdriver 000168604 951__ $$a2026-02-11-10:28:06 000168604 980__ $$aARTICLE