Abstract
Different bacterial sampling methods that are destructive or nondestructive in nature have been developed to evaluate the microbial quality of meat and determine if it fulfills criteria for distribution to the public. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of swabbing, rinsing, and grinding as sampling methodologies for recovery of indicator microorganisms on beef trimmings. A total of fifteen samples (n = 15) of beef trimmings were collected using the N60 trim sampling technique adopted by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Each of the 15 samples were divided into 3 parts, with each part assigned to a methodology (swabbing, rinsing, or grinding), and subjected to multiple sequential sampling for a total of three times. A comparison was made between the first sampling and the total bacteria recovered by each methodology. For total aerobic counts (TAC) obtained by the rinse and the grinding methodology, the first sampling as well as the total resulted in aerobic bacteria counts that were not significantly different (P > 0.05); however, swabbing yielded counts that were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than both rinsing and grinding. For total coliforms, rinsing was not significantly different (P < 0.05) from either swabbing or grinding, yet swabbing recovered the least number of bacteria. Within each sampling methodology, the decline in aerobic bacteria counts due to multiple sequential samplings was calculated. Rinsing and grinding resulted in significantly lower counts (P < 0.05) after the initial samplings, whereas swabbing did not (P > 0.05). Linear models showed strong relationships, with a coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.81 (swabbing vs. grinding), 0.67 (swabbing vs. rinsing), and 0.70 (rinsing vs. grinding). Although the sampling methodologies investigated are reliable to determine true bacterial counts of tested samples, consistency and uniformity of sampling is required for the proper interpretation of the acquired results.
Highlights
Spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms can be introduced into red meat from improper carcass dressing procedures that may lead to the transference of fecal materials, intestinal content, and cross-contamination
The decline in the bacterial numbers recovered as a result of subjecting each sample to multiple sequential samplings is presented in (Table 2)
The sequential sampling using rinsing and grinding techniques resulted in a significant decline (P < 0.05) in the number of bacteria recovered
Summary
The authors thank the College of Arts & Sciences Microscopy for generously giving us access to use their facility. The authors thank Mary Hastert and Bo Zhao for their technical support with taking the SEM pictures using the Hitachi S-4300SE/N (NSF MRI 04–511 College of Arts and Sciences Microscopy, Texas Tech University). Cross-contamination can occur from processing equipment, human contact, the structural components of the facility, and from carcassto-carcass transfer (Capita et al, 2004; Huffman, 2002). The hygienic condition of a meat processing facility can be improved by developing and implementing a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan with sound validation methods. Microbiological analysis of carcasses becomes important for validation of a HACCP plan (Capita et al, 2004). The European Union Decision Escherichia coli/471/2001 is a legislation that requires
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