Microbiological quality of beef, mutton, and water from different abattoirs in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Abstract

Background and Aim: Abattoir processes from skinning, evisceration, to chilling usually leads to meat contamination by foodborne pathogens. Hence, continual microbial surveillance of slaughter carcasses by veterinary public health officials is key to preventing contamination and outbreak of meat-related disease outbreak. This study was conducted to determine the Enterobacteriaceae count and aerobic plate count (APC) and to detect Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. in meat from selected slaughter facilities. Materials and Methods: Retrospective data (n=100) collected in 2017 by the Provincial Veterinary Department of the Eastern Cape Province from abattoirs and prospective survey data of meat (n=50) collected in 2018 from abattoirs in the Eastern Cape Province were utilized in this study. APC and Enterobacteriaceae were enumerated from the samples. In addition, Salmonella and E. coli were isolated from samples using selective media. Results: The APC in both retrospective and prospective studies for all samples ranged between 2 and 4.50 log CFU/cm2;; similar counts of 2-4.00 log CFU/cm2 were recorded for Enterobacteriaceae. No significant difference (p>0.05) for APC and Enterobacteriaceae count across all meat types was noted. Salmonella and E. coli were detected in 50% of beef. E. coli was not detected from mutton, but Salmonella was found in 66.7%. Moreover, 91.7% of the water samples had E. coli, but none had Salmonella. Conclusion: This study satisfy regulatory conditions outlined by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, South Africa, and it is proven that meat produced from these abattoirs have good microbial quality.

Bacteriological quality and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of isolates of ready-to-eat raw minced meat from hotels and restaurants in Arba Minch, Ethiopia

“…The mean counts of TVC, TCC and TSC in mutton were found to be 5.15, 2.09 and 2.91, respectively. Our results are by and large compared to the values of TVC (4.72 for chevon and 4.39 for mutton) reported in a study conducted in Ghana [ 34 ] and South Africa (TVC of mutton ranged from 2.48 to 4.38 and TCC of mutton was between 2.48 and 3.45) [ 30 ].…”

“…The mean counts of TVC, TCC and TSC in beef were 4.19, 1.23 and 1.9, respectively. These values are much lower than that found in similar studies conducted in Addis Ababa (8.34, 4.69 and 5.36), [ 25 ] and Adama (5.2, 1.72 and 5.74), Ethiopia [ 26 ], Nigeria (4.53, 3.97 and 3.88) [ 27 ], Ivory Coast (8.1, 4.73 and 2.43) [ 28 ], Ghana (TVC ranged between 3.34 and 4.1 and TCC ranged between 2.28 and 2.87) [ 29 ] and South Africa (TVC ranged between 2.51 and 4.32 and TCC ranged between 2.58 and 3.91) [ 30 ].…”

Microbial Contamination of Horse Meat from Slaughterhouses in Jeneponto Regency

“…One of the major public issues from abattoirs and slaughterhouses was the inappropriate handling of meat. Sanitation and hygiene were substantial factors contributing to meat contamination at the abattoir (Ncoko et al, 2020). The high level of microbial contamination in horse meat affects the quality of the meat and is at risk of endangering consumers' health.…”

Food animals as reservoirs and potential sources of multidrug-resistant diarrheagenic E. coli pathotypes: Focus on intensive pig farming in South Africa

“…Biosecurity prevents direct and indirect disease transmission between animals from the same and between different batches or farms (Sahlstrom et al 2014). Within meat processing plants, pathogens can easily be transferred to meat from the animals' gastrointestinal tract, environment and meat handlers' hands, especially under poor sanitary conditions (Ncoko, Jaja & Oguttu 2020).…”