Aims: To evaluate halal criteria of beef microbiological quality intended for export in two slaughterhouses. Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Khartoum State, Sudan between August and November 2022. Methodology: Samples were collected by using the non-destructive dry swab method for microbiological quality sampling of beef and a standardized checklist to evaluate good manufacturing practices (GMPs) and good hygienic practices (GHPs). Restraining methods were categorized as “modern method” where the full inversion rotary casting box was used which resembled slaughterhouse “A” or “conventional method” where a large-sized hammer for blowing the skull was used and this resembled slaughterhouse “B”. A total of 80 male beef cattle were investigated after arrival in the lairages of the designated slaughterhouses. Forty carcasses from each slaughtering method were randomly chosen and swabbed. Results: The results revealed that halal criteria for the slaughtering methods in slaughterhouse (A) was 100%, while slaughterhouse (B) was 83.2%. Also, this study revealed poor personal hygiene as slaughterhouse A scored 53.2%, while slaughterhouse B scored 33.2% for personal hygiene evaluation. The mean total bacterial count (TBC) was found to be 4.556 x 10⁵ cfu/ml and 5.53275 X 10⁵ cfu/ml in slaughterhouses A and B, respectively with highly significant differences compared to the standard permissible limits (1x 10⁵cfu/ml) with p ≤0.05, while there were no statistically significant differences (0.847) within slaughterhouses with p ≤0.05.  Furthermore, the mean total coliform count (TCC) was found to be 16.4795 X10²cfu/ml and 47.8670 X 10²cfu/ml in slaughterhouses A and B, respectively with a highly significant difference compared to the standard permissible limits (1x10²cfu/ml) with p ≤0.05 and also with highly significant differences (0.000) between slaughterhouses themselves with p ≤0.05. Conclusion: The study concluded that both slaughterhouses failed to meet the requirements of the various beef halal criteria.

Lactoperoxidase enzyme (LP) is a natural component in milk with broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity applications in in vivo and in vitro. LP system (LPS) was developed to eliminate the growth of bacterial pathogens and augment the shelf life of raw milk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of activation of LPS on the growth and survival of bacterial pathogens and preserving raw milk quality. A checklist was developed and filled in ten farms at the time of milking to detect the hygienic measures in these farms. Two liters of milk were collected in sterile containers and warmed to 37°C/15min. LPS was activated by dissolving 40mg and 30mg of sodium thiocyanate and sodium percarbonate, respectively, in one liter of milk and followed by thorough mixing. 50ml from this liter of milk was added to two new containers and designated as group B and C. Moreover, group C was supplied with E. coli (106-107 cfu/ml). While milk in group D, LPS was not activated, instead milk was only supplied with E. coli (106-107 cfu/ml). Group A was considered as the control group (neither activated nor supplied with Escherichia coli). Tenfold serial dilution was performed to determine the bacterial total viable count (TVC) and milk clotting time (per seconds) in each group for 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 hrs. The TVC and the milk clotting time in each group were statistically expressed as pairs between the groups (A versus B; C versus D) with significance probability of P≤0.05. The checklist analysis reflected the bad hygiene measures in the dairy farms. For TVC, in 2hrs incubation; no significant difference was observed between group A versus group B. While group C versus group D showed high significant difference. After 4hrs incubation, TVC showed prominent significance difference between the control compared to group B. While group C versus group D showed no statistical significance differences. At 6hrs time period, a significant difference was observed between the compared groups. However, no significance differences were observed between the groups after 8hrs and 10hrs of incubation. For clotting time, in 2hrs incubation, a significant difference between the compared groups was observed. After 4hrs incubation, a significant difference between the control compared to group B was prominent, while group C versus group D showed no statistical differences in clotting time. However, no significant differences were observed between the groups after 6, 8 and 10hrs of incubation in the clotting times. Taken together these results indicated that the LPS system was efficient until 6hrs and could prolong milk shelf life and prevent milk clotting.