Abstract
Meat is regarded as one of the main sources of food-borne diseases; its evaluation can constitute a valuable source of information that can be used in the design of collective prophylaxis programs in public health. In order to assess the level of contamination of certain meat products by coagulase-positive staphylococci and the influence of the storage temperature of these products, we conducted a study in three types of trade in the region of Algiers (Algeria). In total, 25 samples divided between meat products from red meat (minced meat, Merguez) and white meat (turkey, chicken) were taken at three different sales outlets (covered market, supermarkets and independent butchers), for bacteriological analysis. The mean of coagulase positive staphylococci were 1.60 ± 0.33 log10 cfu/g for minced meat, 2.02 ± 0.46 log10 cfu/g for Merguez, 2.02 ± 0.47 log10 cfu/g for turkey and 1.63 ± 0.21 log10 cfu/g for chicken. In addition, the descriptive analysis of the storage temperature data for these meat products revealed that, these temperatures have low correlations with variations in bacterial levels for minced meat, Merguez and turkey (minced). These results reflected insufficient hygienic conditions in the preparation, preservation and sale of these meat products. Thus, the consumption of these products can present a real health risk to public health. Key words: Algeria, coagulase positive staphylococci, contamination, meat products, storage temperature.
Highlights
Meat is considered as a food of choice because of its nutritional value
This study investigates bacterial contamination by assessing and counting coagulase positive staphylococci and taking the storage temperature of certain meat products, widely consumed in Algeria in three different sales outlets, in order to assess their risks to public health
For other products, the enumeration results are below the threshold set by the Algerian regulations (2.70 log10 cfu/g), they are 100% compliant (Arrêté interministériel, 1998)
Summary
Meat is considered as a food of choice because of its nutritional value. Its richness in protein and the nature of these make it an indispensable food for a balanced diet (Bender, 1992). Because of its nutritional qualities, meat is a very favorable ground for most microbial contamination (Bender, 1992). Meat and meat products are ranked among the foods, most involved in collective food-borne outbreaks (TIAC) in Algeria (Mouffok, 2011). These diseases are responsible for serious health problems worldwide and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that, diarrhea kills 1.5 million people, and 70% of these cases. Foodborne outbreaks have a great social and economic impact: work stoppages, stoppages of agribusiness companies and restaurants involved, which can go as far as bankruptcy, court costs, bacteriological analysis and medical costs (Corpet, 2014)
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