Abstract
Many parts of pork meat processing are currently not used for human consumption in Switzerland, although they are of great nutritional value. Therefore, data on the occurrence of pathogenic organisms on byproducts is extremely scarce and the prevalence and population structure of Staphylococcus aureus on meat processing sidestreams is unknown. Hence, abattoir byproducts of pork origin including ear, forefoot, heart, intestine, liver, rib bone, sternum, bladder, stomach, hind foot and tongue originating from six abattoirs were screened for S. aureus. The obtained isolates were investigated by spa typing and DNA microarray analysis to reveal their genomic profile and population structure. The prevalence of S. aureus was generally low with a mean of 8%. In total, 40 S. aureus strains were detected and assigned to 12 spa types (t015, t1491, t1778, t091, t337, t899, t2922, t7439, t1333, t208, t4049, t034) and seven clonal complexes (CC1, CC7, CC9, CC30, CC45, CC49, CC398). Detected enterotoxin genes included sea, seb, sec, seh, sel and egc encoded toxin genes seg, sei, sem, sen, seo, and seu. None of the isolates harbored genes conferring methicillin resistance, but blaZ/I/R genes causing penicillin resistance were frequently found. In addition, strains from CC398 exhibited tetM and tetK, conferring tetracycline resistance. Similarity calculations based on microarray profiles revealed no association of clonal complexes with particular body parts, but revealed a certain correspondence of clonal complex and originating abattoir.
Highlights
23 million tons of pork meat are processed in the European Union annually with a rising tendency [1]
The genetic profiles of S. aureus isolated from neck, belly, back, and ham of pig carcasses in Switzerland have been reported [10], but little is known about the occurrence of S. aureus on slaughtering byproducts
A variety of enterotoxin genes was found distributed over almost all clonal complexes
Summary
23 million tons of pork meat are processed in the European Union annually with a rising tendency [1]. The movement of “nose to tail” eating [3] has gained recognition in gastronomy and among the general public in recent years [4]. It aims at utilizing all parts of an animal, giving special attention to the culinary potential of offal. Information on the safety of such products is limited [5,6], and information on the occurrence of Staphylococcus aureus is missing. Pork meat production has raised concern due to the transmission of livestock associated- methicillin-resistant S. aureus (LA-MRSA) from animals to humans [8,9]. The genetic profiles of S. aureus isolated from neck, belly, back, and ham of pig carcasses in Switzerland have been reported [10], but little is known about the occurrence of S. aureus on slaughtering byproducts
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