Hygienic measures of abattoir with reference to different disinfectants

Abstract

A crucial control point for good hygiene is the process of cleaning and disinfecting the slaughterhouse, the animals, the environment, and the hands of the workers. It is a crucial phase in the biosecurity process. By counting the aerobic bacteria, coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, salmonella, moulds, and yeasts, the current study was designed to assess the abattoir's contamination and its effects. A total of 120 samples were collected, including swabs from the floor, wall, workers' hands, animals' skin, and the outside of the carcass (20 samples/each). Results of aerobic plate count clarified that the highest mean value was recorded in the abattoirs' floors and walls (1.48x10⁶±2.29x10⁵, 9.54x10⁵ ±1.44x10⁵ respectively), which were then followed by the skin, hands of workers and the outer surfaces of the carcass (5.71x10⁴±1.26x10⁴, 5.39x10⁴±1.15x10⁴, 4.50x10⁴ ±1.68x10⁴ respectively). After using disinfectants, chloroxylenol was the most effective disinfection across all tested samples, with the best reduction percentage. The highest mean value of staphylococcus count was recorded in the hands of workers (1.95x10⁵±1.03x10⁵) had the greatest staphylococcus count, followed by the outer surface of the carcass and the skin (6.66x10⁴ ±2.47x10⁴, 6.47x10⁴±1.22x10⁴ respectively). The highest mean value of coliforms count was recorded on the outer surface of the carcasses 43.45±10.61 MPN/cm², followed by the skin and the hands of the workers (33.90±8.27, 28.90±11.57 MPN/cm² respectively. Several spp of coliforms were detected such as Citrobacter diversus, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes and Klebsiella pneumonia. Staph. aureus was reported depending on coagulase test, the incidence of infection was higher in Carcass than in hands and skin. Moreover, Salmonella incidence was higher in the hands followed by carcass. The abattoir's air samples had high mean value of mould 25.93±2.83 compared to yeast 17.80±3.58 (cfu/plate/minute). Regarding mould, H2O2 showed the best reduction rate followed by chlorine. While regarding yeast, chlorine was the best followed by chloroxylenol. Results of microbiological examination of the collected samples reflected a clear state of contamination in abattoirs environment and the effect of disinfectants.