Microbial Load and Antibiotic Resistance Patterns of Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis Isolates from the Meat of Wild and Domestic Pigeons.

Jorge Cordero,Carlos Alonso-Calleja,Camino García-Fernández,Rosa Capita

doi:10.3390/foods8110536

Abstract

An expansion in the consumption of pigeon meat has occurred in recent years. However, little is known about microbial load and antibiotic resistance of this foodstuff. The hygiene status and the antibiotic resistance patterns (disc diffusion; Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, CLSI) of Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis isolates from wild and domestic pigeon carcasses were investigated. Average microbial loads (log10 cfu/cm2) ranged from 1.40 ± 1.17 (fecal coliforms) to 3.68 ± 1.40 (psychrotrophs). The highest (p < 0.05) microbial loads were observed in domestic pigeons. No substantial differences were found between isolates from domestic and wild pigeons with regard to the prevalence of antibiotic resistance. Of the E. coli strains, 20.00% were susceptible, 25.00% showed resistance or reduced susceptibility to one antimicrobial and 55.00% were multi-resistant. Among the E. faecalis isolates, 2.22% were susceptible and 97.78% were multi-resistant. The greatest prevalence of resistance or reduced susceptibility among E. coli was observed for amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (20.00% strains), ampicillin (26.67%), streptomycin (55.00%) and tobramycin (20.00%). The prevalence of resistance or reduced susceptibility among E. faecalis ranged from 31.11% (trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole) to 97.78% (erythromycin). Meat from pigeons is a major reservoir of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The need for the correct handling of this foodstuff in order to reduce risks to consumers is underlined.

Highlights

IntroductionOver two million wild pigeons are hunted in Spain for human consumption
Each year, over two million wild pigeons are hunted in Spain for human consumption.This amounts to approximately 1256 tons of meat [1]
The low microbial counts found in meat from domestic pigeons as compared with chicken meat may be due to the fact that the pigeons studied were slaughtered individually, since they were killed at farms for own consumption, and were plucked, eviscerated and refrigerated immediately after death, with microbiological analyses performed within 24 h of slaughter

Summary

Introduction

Over two million wild pigeons are hunted in Spain for human consumption. This amounts to approximately 1256 tons of meat [1]. There are farms that breed pigeons and, in 2004, these produced approximately 57 tons of meat. This activity is on an upward trend in Spain, as the number of such farms rose from 535 in 2007 to 1717 in 2019 [2]. The expansion in the production of pigeon meat that has occurred in recent years justifies an interest in its hygiene status. Aerobic plate counts (APCs), psychrotrophs, Enterobacteriaceae, fecal coliforms, enterococci, Micrococcaceae, lactic-acid bacteria (LAB) and Brochothrix thermosphacta have been used in the meat and poultry industries for assessing microbiological safety, processing hygiene, potential shelf-life and the keeping quality of products [3,4,5]

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