Hygienic Status of the Carcass Surfaces of Cattle, Buffalo, Sheep, and Camel Carcasses and their Contact Surfaces

Abstract

A main task for the food safety and animal hygiene sectors is to ensure safety and adoption of strict hygienic measures during the entire chain of the meat industry. To fulfill this task, continuous monitoring of the hygienic status of meat of different animal species and their contact surfaces is mandatory. In this study, the hygiene indicators including total bacterial counts (TBC), most probable number (MPN) of coliforms, total Staphylococcus aureus (TSC), and total mold and yeast counts (TMYC) of the surfaces of cattle, buffaloes, camel, and sheep retailed in Sharkia governorate Egypt were tested. Besides, such parameters were also investigated for the carcass contact surfaces including, the batcher hands, knives, cutting boards, and walls of the butcher shops. The obtained results indicated microbial contamination of the meat of different animals and their contact surfaces at variable rates. In general, cattle carcasses followed by that of the buffaloes had the highest microbial contamination. While, walls and cutting boards showed the highest microbial contamination among the examined contact surfaces. In conclusion, adoption of strict hygienic measure during handling of the animal carcasses, sterilization of the carcass's contact surfaces is highly suggested to produce meat of high keeping quality.