Presence of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. in lamb meat commercialized in Uruguaiana, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Vanessa Mendonça Soares,Leonardo Ereno Tadielo,Emanoelli Aparecida Rodrigues Dos Santos,Aryele Nunes Da Cruz Encide Sampaio,Juliano Gonçalves Pereira

doi:10.29374/2527-2179.bjvm114420

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the hygienic-sanitary quality of lamb meat sold in the city of Uruguaiana, Rio Grande do Sul (RS) by counting the indicator microorganisms and detecting pathogens such as Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes. Thirty-nine lamb meat samples were collected from 10 commercial establishments in Uruguaiana. The samples were subjected to counts of aerobic mesophilic microorganisms and enterobacteria, and to the detection of Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes, all following standard methods. The average counts of mesophilic microorganisms and enterobacteria were 6.08 log CFU/g (minimum 4.07 and max 6.87) and 4.73 log CFU/g (minimum 0 and max 5.88), respectively. For pathogens, L. monocytogenes was isolated from five samples (12.82%), with three samples in the same location. Only two samples (5.13%) were positive for Salmonella spp. The results demonstrated unsatisfactory hygienic-sanitary conditions because high counts of pathogens such as Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes. The counts of enterobacteria showed poor hygiene conditions during the various stages of production. The results also indicated fecal contamination, as Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes are present in the intestinal tract of both humans and animals. The high count of mesophilic microorganisms obtained could be owing to contaminated raw material or unsatisfactory processing, including unsanitary conditions and the inappropriate use of binomial time/temperature during storage.

Highlights

Lamb meat represents only a small portion of meat production in the world, sheep production has economic and social relevance in the countries that produce it (Ponnampalam et al, 2016)
This study was exempted from approval by a research ethics committee because it is a study involving food sold in retail establishments
Listeria monocytogenes-positive samples were collected from three different commercial establishments, with three of the samples from the same place

Summary

Introduction

Lamb meat represents only a small portion of meat production in the world, sheep production has economic and social relevance in the countries that produce it (Ponnampalam et al, 2016). The state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) is the second largest lamb meat producer in the country with 3.2 million heads. Despite the importance of lamb meat production in RS, the consumption of this meat is lower compared to other types. The lower consumption of lamb is due to its lesser availability and the lack of appropriate cuts for daily preparation, as compared to other kinds of meat (Andrade et al, 2016; Brasil, 2018a; Sorio & Rasi, 2010)

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