UTICAJ FIZIČKE AKTIVNOSTI NA HISTOLOŠKE KARAKTERISTIKE MIŠIĆA DOMAĆIH ŽIVOTINJA

Meat is a product formed from skeletal muscles of animals through different biochemical processes following rigor mortis. Therefore, characteristics of muscle tissue, its structure, number, diameter and percentage of different muscle fiber types would greatly determine the quantity and the quality of meat. Having in mind that selection and nutrition led to nearly a maximum in meat production, and consumers are having higher and higher demands for „organic“ products, products from more natural production, their concern for animal welfare is rising, the implementation of physical activity in animal rearing could be of more importance in the future. Physical activity could imply outdoor systems, or semi-confinement systems with enriched environment. Also, the impact of this factor could be of higher importance in pigs and chicken, where intensive selection towards lean meat content increased the number of glycolytic fibers in muscles, leading to more pronounced problems with meat quality (PSE meat).