Investigation on Lamb Meat Production Hygiene in Facilities with Low and High Production Capacity (original) (raw)

Microbial performance of food safety management systems implemented in the lamb production chain

Journal of food protection, 2012

The actual microbial status of the lamb production chain at three slaughterhouses, one processing plant, and five butcher shops selling whole or cut lamb carcasses to consumers was assessed with a previously developed microbial assessment scheme. All studied establishments had a food safety management system (FSMS) that was implemented according to legislative requirements. Microbial safety level profiles were constructed for each establishment and provided clear indications of which pathogens, hygiene indicators, or utility parameters required attention to improve the performance of the microbiological control protocols of the implemented FSMS. The highest contamination was found in the slaughterhouses in samples taken from the meat products (aerobic mesophilic plate counts [AMPs] of 3.40 to 6.63 log CFU/cm(2) and Enterobacteriaceae counts of 1.00 to 4.62 log CFU/cm(2)), contact surfaces (AMPs of 2.44 to 8.92 log CFU/cm(2)), and operators' hands and/or gloves (AMPs of 2.84 to ...

Microbiological counting in lamb carcasses from an abattoir in São Paulo, Brazil

Ciência Rural, 2009

The consumption of lamb meat in Brazil has increased in the last years but little information about the microbiological quality of this product is available. To evaluate the hygienic-sanitary conditions of lamb carcasses, the quantification of microorganism populations indicators (mesophiles and psychrotrophs; total and thermotolerant coliforms; Escherichia coli; moulds and yeasts) and the pathogenic microorganisms indentification (Salmonella sp. and Listeria spp.) were performed. A total of 60 lamb carcasses were sampled from one abattoir in São Paulo. Swab samples were collected from three points (forequarter, back and hindquarter) on the muscle surface after carcasses final washing. Statistical analysis consisted of descriptive evaluation of the results whose counts were grouped by intervals of microorganism populations. Counts ranged from 1.0 x 10 1 to 8.0 x 10 4 colony-forming unit cm -2 (CFU cm -2 ) for mesophiles; 1.0 x 10 0 to 4.4 x 10 4 CFU cm -2 for psychrotrophs; < 1.0 x 10 0 to 4.4 x 10 4 CFU cm -2 for moulds and yeasts; < 0.3 to > 32.0 most probable number/cm 2 (MPN cm -2 ) for total and thermotolerant coliforms and Escherichia coli. Salmonella sp. and Listeria spp. were not found in any of the carcasses. Most carcasses presented low counts for all microorganisms. Overall results may be explained by the small size of the industry where the study was taken. Results suggest that good microbiological quality lamb meat is possible to be obtained, but improvement in hygienic-sanitary conditions is still required.

Microbiological characterization of lamb carcasses at commercial processing plants in the United States

Journal of food protection, 2007

Although the United States produces 203 million lb (ca. 92.1 kg) of domestic lamb and mutton each year, thorough studies of the microbiological safety during lamb processing are lacking. To address this missing information, a total of 2,548 sponge samples from pelts, preevisceration carcasses, and postintervention carcasses were collected from multiple large commercial lamb processing plants to determine aerobic plate counts, the prevalences of Escherichia coli O157:H7, non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), and Salmonella. The averages of the aerobic plate counts from pelts, the preevisceration carcasses, and the postintervention carcasses were 6.3, 4.4, and 2.4 log CFU/100 cm2, respectively. The prevalences of E. coli O157:H7 from the pelts, the preevisceration carcasses, and the postintervention carcasses were 12.8, 1.6, and 2.9%, respectively. The average Salmonella prevalences were 14.4, 4.3, and 1.8% for pelts, preevisceration carcasses, and postintervention carcasses,...

The Slaughtering and Dressing Procedures of Livestock Inside the Butcher Shops Generate High Levels of Bacterial Contamination

Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, 2018

Background and Objective: Raw meats from animal carcasses are most frequently contaminated with bacteria during the slaughtering and dressing process. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the bacterial quality of raw meat from lamb, goat and beef carcasses immediately after slaughtering at butcher shops in Al-Mafraq city-Jordan.Materials and Methods: A total of 243 meat samples were aseptically cut from the hand, leg and back of carcasses at three butcher locations, designated as site-C (the central part of the city), site-N (the north side of the city) and site-S (the south side of the city). Samples were processed and then cultured on nutrient agar and xylose lysine deoxycholate (XLD) agar plates aerobically at 35 °C for 48 h for enumeration of bacteria and total Enterobacteriaceae count (TEC) by aerobic plate count (APC). APC and TEC were expressed as colony forming units per gram of meat (CFU/g).Results: APC and TEC in the raw meats ranged from 11.6-28.1 X 106 CFU/g on nutri...

Effects of shearing and fleece cleanliness on microbiological contamination of lamb carcasses

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2011

The meat industry in Norway has developed national guidelines for Good Hygiene Practices for slaughtering and skinning, based on categorisation of animals. These include shearing sheep and lambs in the abattoirs immediately before slaughter. The aim of this study was to investigate microbiological carcass contamination associated with: (i) different shearing regimes; (ii) fleece cleanliness; and (iii) the slaughter process. In addition, the efficacy of the national guidelines in reducing microbial contamination was evaluated. A total of 280 swab samples were collected from the brisket areas (100 cm 2) of 140 naturally contaminated lamb carcasses in a commercial abattoir. Half the samples were collected at skinning of brisket areas at the start of the slaughter-line and half of them were collected at the end of slaughter-line, just before chilling. The lambs were divided into four groups (n = 35) according to the duration of the period between shearing and slaughter: (i) 0 days (shorn at the abattoir immediately before slaughter); (ii) three days; (iii) seven days; and (iv) not shorn. Mean log colony forming units (CFU) per 100 cm 2 at skinning were 5.78 and 6.95 for aerobic plate count (APC) (P b 0.05), 1.65 and 2.78 for Escherichia coli (P b 0.05) for shorn and unshorn lambs, respectively. For shorn lambs, divided according to the period between shearing and slaughter, the mean log CFU per 100 cm 2 were 5.45, 5.75, 6.12 (APC) and 1.77, 1.46, 1.71 (E. coli) for the 0-days, 3-days and 7-days groups, respectively (P b 0.05 for the difference between 0-and 7-days groups in APC results). A four-category scale (0-3) was used for assessing fleece cleanliness before skinning. Visually clean lambs (score '0') had lower levels of APC on the carcass surfaces than those categorised as dirty (score '2-3') (Pb 0.05). The carcasses at the end of the slaughter-line had lower levels of APC than they had at skinning. However, the statistical significant reduction of E. coli on carcass surfaces at skinning point for shorn lambs, were impaired and no longer significantly different from the unshorn group at the end of the slaughter-line. The increased E. coli level at the end of the slaughter-line might be explained by weaknesses related to slaughter hygiene in particular suboptimal evisceration in the abattoir which was used as a basis for our trial, and thus the national guidelines concerning shearing had not the fully intended effect on reducing microbial carcass contamination.

Microbiological and Physicochemical Parameters of Beef and Lamb Meat Produced in Slaughterhouses in Northern Greece. Preliminary Results

2020

Meat quality and hygiene are perquisites for the marketing of meat and meat products. In this research paper the results of the monitoring of meat quality from abattoirs of Northern Greece are reported. Samples of lamb meat and beef were collected in order to examine the physicochemical parameters (pH, moisture, total fat and total proteins) and microbiological quality indicators (total mesophilic count, total psychrophilic counts and coliform count) of meat produced in these plants. Concerning beef, the most contaminated area was the hindquarter, followed by the forequarter and the abdomen. Differences were observed in the microbiological quality of the lamb carcasses prepared at different abattoirs, pointing the importance of personalized hygiene measures. Small deviation was observed in the physicochemical parameters examined, with lamb meat having a pH of 6.17 (SD=0.24), humidity of 63.2% (SD=4.5%), total fat 5.4% (SD=4.1%), and total proteins 20.8% (SD=4.5%).

Microbial deterioration of lamb meat from European local breeds as affected by its intrinsic properties

Small Ruminant Research, 2021

Although sheep meat has a small share of ~1.5 % of the total meat production in the EU, sheep farming is of great importance to rural development and the environment. Enhancing the quality of lamb meat of local breeds is essential to ensure both profitability for sheep producers and the conservation of endangered breeds. This study aimed to (i) characterise the evolution of spoilage microorganisms in refrigerated vacuum-packed lamb meat from a total of 10 farms housing 8 local breeds of Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Slovenian origin raised in intensive, extensive or semi-extensive regime; and (ii) elucidate how intrinsic properties of meat can affect its microbial spoilage. Cold carcass weight (CCW), ultimate pH (pH 24) and proximate analysis were quantified on carcass/meat from each of the 285 animals raised and slaughtered for this purpose; while mesophiles, lactic acid bacteria, Pseudomonas spp. and psychrotrophic bacteria were enumerated during 15-day storage at 4 • C. Substantial variability in all attributes were found between the ten farms. CCW of intensively-raised lambs (21.4 kg; 95 % CI: 20.6-22.1 kg) were higher (p < 0.05) than the ones in semi-extensive regime (14.9 kg; 95 % CI: 14.4-15.4 kg), and in turn these were heavier (p < 0.05) than the extensively raised lambs (12.4 kg; 95 % CI: 12.0-12.7). Mean contents of protein (76.5-87.4% db), fat (3.78-13.1% db) and ashes (4.62-5.65% db) in lamb meat were highly dependent on the farm. Although meat from some farms was associated to higher microbial levels, in general, microbial growth was found to be modulated by intrinsic properties of meat. Higher pH 24 (p < 0.05), moisture (p < 0.05), protein content (p < 0.05) and ashes content (p < 0.01) accelerated spoilage rate; whereas meat from heavier carcasses (p < 0.001) and of higher fat content (p < 0.01) presented slower growth of spoilage bacteria. In order to improve the microbial quality of lamb meat, animal handling must be enhanced to minimise pre-slaughter stress; slaughtering practices and hygiene must be improved; and a carcass classification system could be adopted towards the selection of fatter animals and chilled carcasses of optimal pH 24 .

Evaluation of the effect of cooling on the microbiological quality of lamb carcasses

Food and health, 2021

This study aimed to determine the effects of cooling on microbiological quality of lamb carcasses. Total Aerobic Bacteria Count (TABC), Enterobactericeae counts and the presence of Salmonella spp. were investigated in accordance with the Turkish Food Codex Regulation on Microbiological Criteria and European Union Commission Regulation 2073/2005. Sampling was carried out on aseptic conditions from the surface of 25 randomly selected lambs brought to slaughterhouse. The results showed that the mean TABC were 2.24±0.087 log cfu/cm 2 before cooling and 2.41±0.061 log cfu/cm 2 after cooling (P>0.05). The mean Enterobactericeae count was 0.21±0.11 log cfu/cm 2 before cooling and 0.69±0.13 log cfu/cm 2 after cooling (P<0.01). Furthermore, Salmonella spp. were determined on 3 carcasses before cooling and one another carcass after cooling. The influence of cooling on categorisation according to the legislations presented that it could potentially improve the numbers of acceptable carcasses for TABC and Salmonella spp. Nevertheless, the results exhibited that the hygiene and cooling stage of the slaughter line must be re-evaluated in terms of HACCP requirements and that corrective measures/actions must be taken.

Evaluation of Bacterial Contamination Sources in Meat Production Line

Journal of Food Quality, 2016

Bacterial contamination during slaughtering process is a safety problem and concern for shelf life in meat production. We compare two different slaughter lines, sheep and cattle samples from Iranian slaughterhouse using PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis for evaluation the sources of bacterial contaminations. Bacterial diversity was significantly different between and within cattle and sheep slaughter lines. Samples are contaminated most frequently with Salmonella enterica (28% and 30%), Enterococcus fecalis (18% and 20%), Escherichia coli (13% and 14%) and Pseudomonas fluorescens (8% and 6%), either on equipment surfaces after general cleaning and sanitizing treatments (56%). Biodiversity of carcasses samples is increased during skinning and evisceration process and may indicate similar sources of contamination from hides and rectums of the animal to carcasses and environment. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS 16S rDNA based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis-PCR is a method for assessment of microbial diversity, source of contaminations and changes of microbial population in slaughterhouses.