This study comparatively evaluated the performance of three industrial broiler carcass chilling methods—air chilling, combination chilling (air and water spraying), and the Thor Ice ice-slurry system—under commercial processing conditions. A total of 90 Ross 308 carcasses were analyzed (30 per method, in three repetitions). Air chilling and Thor Ice chilling were conducted for 1 h 45 min at 4000 birds/h, whereas combination chilling lasted 3 h at 7200 birds/h. For each carcass, initial and final temperature and weight were recorded to determine chilling loss. Significant differences were observed among the methods (p < 0.05). Combination chilling achieved the lowest final temperature (1.4 °C), while Thor Ice chilling resulted in the smallest chilling loss (−0.47%). The analysis of energy consumption revealed that air chilling had the highest electrical energy use (15,491.6 kWh/h), whereas the Thor Ice system had a lower energy demand (13,511.2 kWh/h). Combination chilling exhibited the highest water consumption (413.7 m³), reflecting the use of water spraying. Based on these findings, combination chilling was the most effective in reducing carcass temperature, while the Thor Ice system provided a technologically efficient alternative with minimal mass loss and reduced energy demand.

Although the refrigeration of eggs within the food supply chain is recommended by multiple studies, the official guidelines on egg storage conditions within the food supply chain remain somehow unclear and highly variable among countries. In this study, various microbiological parameters of free-range chicken eggs from a small-scale farm were examined. The aim was to evaluate the influence of different storage temperatures on eggshell microbial load. In addition, the survivability and growth kinetics of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) were determined in dependence of the storage temperature. Our results showed significantly higher counts of the total aerobic mesophilic bacteria in eggs stored at 22 °C in comparison to eggs stored at 4 °C. Furthermore, storage at 22 °C supported the growth kinetics of S. Enteritidis on the eggshell as well as its penetration to the inner shell membranes. In contrast, storage at 4 °C prevented the replication of S. Enteritidis on the eggshell and its penetration into the internal egg contents. Consistent with the findings of other studies, our results clearly demonstrate the benefits of eggs refrigeration during transport and storage.

Festive fireworks can substantially affect air quality by causing short-term increases in particulate matter (PM) concentrations. This study analysed spatial and temporal PM pollution patterns in three Slovenian municipalities—Novo mesto, Hrastnik, and Jesenice—during the 2025/2026 Christmas–New Year holiday period. Using descriptive statistics, threshold-based peak detection, temporal segmentation, Pearson correlation analysis, and normalized descriptive indicators, the study evaluated PM_2.5, PM₁₀, relative humidity, and CO₂ levels from late December to mid-January. Results revealed pronounced short-term pollution episodes, with PM_2.5 peaking at 109 µg/m³ in Novo mesto, 128 µg/m³ in Hrastnik, and 133 µg/m³ in Jesenice. Most peaks occurred during late-night and early-morning hours, although Jesenice showed a more dispersed peak pattern. Fine particles represented the dominant PM fraction, with mean PM_2.5/PM₁₀ ratios ranging from 0.91 to 0.93. Normalized indicators showed that Jesenice had the highest relative variability and peak-to-mean ratios despite the lowest average PM concentrations. These findings show that holiday-period air-quality assessment should consider not only average concentrations, but also short-term peak intensity, timing, and local pollution profiles.

Long-term environmental change and local habitat variation may affect breeding birds in the Slovenian Karst landscape. The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia), a species associated with open agricultural and wetland mosaics, was used as the focal species. We descriptively reviewed nest records collected between 2005 and 2025 from 17 nesting sites in five municipalities. Because monitoring periods differed among sites and reproductive records were incomplete, the analysis was limited to site-year summaries of nest status, egg records, recorded young, nest persistence, and selected weather variables. Nesting patterns varied markedly among sites. Planina and Nova vas showed persistent occupancy, whereas Rakitnik and Dilce had interrupted occupancy or periods in which the nest was no longer recorded. Persistent occupancy did not consistently coincide with complete reproductive records. Postojna weather records indicated generally higher annual mean temperatures and fewer snowy days in recent years, but these patterns are presented only as regional environmental context. The study demonstrates the value of standardised, long-term nest-level monitoring for identifying local changes that broader regional summaries may obscure.

The article analyses the development of the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Slovakia, Czechia and Slovenia in the frame of expert, political and administrative narratives. The argumentative part mainly focuses on the development of the narrative in Slovenia and uses the examples from the Czech Republic and Slovakia as the reference frame. Information was collected from the various national media outlets and organized into the comparative time frames and compared with the epidemiological data. Slovenian inconsistencies in communication patterns developed into the complete disintegration of the pandemic crisis management and into the struggle for the supremacy of personal political agenda. As a case study, the article shows the constructivist relativism through the comparison of data and government-media narrative. Thus, the article addresses the issues of relativism on the one hand and of narrative absolutism on the other. The main aim is a critical presentation of “a crisis event” in connection to the government authorities spin on an event according to their political goals. The given case, due to a rather short period, strong media coverage and high data availability, shows inconsistencies of epidemiological data interpretation, resulting in multiple realities, causing multiple responses that paralysed effective decision-making as well as effective policy measures.