Beef carcass microbiota after slaughtering and primary cooling: A metataxonomic assessment to infer contamination drivers

•Primary cooling did not affect qualitatively the composition of the potentially active microbiota.•Slight changes of like volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were observed after cooling.•Co-occurrence and co-exclusion analyses underline competition for the colonisation of the carcass surface.•Carcass microbiota composition was mainly influenced by the animal’s origin.