Microbial Status of the Retailed Meat Products in Sharkia Governorate, Egypt

Abstract

Ensuring food safety and strict hygienic practices adopted across the meat industry's whole supply chain is a primary responsibility of the food safety sector. Monitoring the sanitary status of the retailed meat products is necessary to complete this task. Meat products including luncheon, sausage, burger, and minced meat retailed in Sharkia governorate, Egypt, were evaluated for hygiene indicators such as total bacterial counts (TBC), total coliforms counts (TCC), total Staphylococcus aureus (TSC), and total mold counts (TMC). Furthermore, isolation of some pathogenic microorganisms such as Salmonella spp., and Listeria spp., was done. The results showed varying rates of microbial contamination in the examined meat products. Minced meat was generally the most contaminated with microorganisms. Salmonella spp., and Listeria spp., were isolated from the examined samples at varying rates. In conclusion, to produce meat products of excellent keeping quality, it is strongly advised to follow stringent hygiene procedures when handling meat from the time of slaughter and though out all manufacture process