Abstract
Background: Contaminated food products are responsible for causing various food borne diseases all over the world. Microbial contaminants are present in various food products, particularly raw meat. Among the most common microbial contaminants in meat and meat products are coliform bacteria. This study aimed to determine the coliform quality of raw beef with special emphasis on Escherichia coli in Herat city, Afghanistan and to compare the coliform contamination levels in the slaughterhouse and butchery levels. Materials and Methods: In this study, 150 samples of raw beef were randomly selected from butcheries and slaughterhouses of Herat city. Coliform identification was performed by standard bacteriological methods. Findings: The findings of this study revealed that coliform bacteria were detected in 70% and 75 % of beef samples from slaughterhouses and butcheries respectively. A total of 58 % of positive samples were upon the standard accepted ratio of coliforms contaminant per gram. The E. coli contamination ratio of samples in slaughterhouses and butcheries were 52% and 72% respectively. Our study demonstrates a significant difference in coliform bacteria contamination between slaughterhouse samples and butcheries. Conclusion: It was concluded that more than half of the coliform contamination in raw beef from the slaughterhouse and butcheries was exceeded the maximum limit which highlights the need to focus on effective monitoring of the slaughterhouse and butcheries in Herat city for prevention of meat borne intoxication and infection.
Published Version
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