The significance of clean and dirty animals for bacterial dynamics along the beef chain

This study investigated the bacterial dynamics along the beef chain for clean and dirty cattle in the slaughter and processing lines, using classic quantitative methods and molecular analyses. In addition, the Norwegian national guidelines for Good Hygiene Practices in Norway were evaluated. In thes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of food microbiology 2015-12, Vol.214, p.70-76
Main Authors: Hauge, Sigrun J., Nesbakken, Truls, Moen, Birgitte, Røtterud, Ole-Johan, Dommersnes, Sissel, Nesteng, Ole, Østensvik, Øyvin, Alvseike, Ole
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abattoirs - standards
Animals
APC
Bacterial dynamics
Bacterial Load - methods
Beef carcass contamination
Cattle
Colony Count, Microbial
E. coli
Enterobacteriaceae
Enterobacteriaceae - classification
Enterobacteriaceae - isolation & purification
Hide cleanliness
Hygiene
Norway
Red Meat - microbiology
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
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Summary:This study investigated the bacterial dynamics along the beef chain for clean and dirty cattle in the slaughter and processing lines, using classic quantitative methods and molecular analyses. In addition, the Norwegian national guidelines for Good Hygiene Practices in Norway were evaluated. In these guidelines, cattle presented for slaughter are categorised according to hide cleanliness, resulting in separate processing lines for meat from very dirty animals and reduced prices to farmers. The study was conducted in two commercial abattoirs in Norway. Two groups were compared; 40 visually clean cattle and 40 visually dirty cattle presented for slaughter, with 20 from each group at each abattoir. The same animals were sampled at five sampling sites: hides, carcass surfaces after dehiding, just before chilling, after chilling, and meat trimmings. Meat trimmings were sampled in only one abattoir. Three hundred and sixty samples were collected by swabbing 100cm2 of the brisket area at the first four sampling sites, and sampling 200g of meat trimmings at the fifth site. The results showed that the hides of dirty cattle had more Enterobacteriaceae and higher Aerobic Plate Counts (APC) than visually clean cattle (P
ISSN:0168-1605
1879-3460
DOI:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2015.07.026