Abstract

This study was conducted to determine microbial contamination of pig carcasses during four years in one slaughterhouse. The numbers of total viable counts and Enterobacteriaceae and the presence/absence of Salmonella spp. are the process hygiene criteria for pig carcasses. We collected 240 samples from April of 2015 to April of 2019, with swabs being continually taken from the carcasses of pigs every month for 48 months in slaughterhouse in the west of Serbia. Over 48 consecutive months of testing, Salmonella spp. presence was detected on 1.67% of the pig carcasses, while the determined mean numbers of Enterobacteriaceae were 0.18±0.37 log CFU/cm2, and the mean total viable count of aerobic bacteria was 1.88±0.85 log CFU/cm2. The process hygiene criteria results for the tested pig carcasses showed that for total viable count of aerobic bacteria, 95.35% of carcasses fell into the satisfactory process hygiene group, while 4.17% belonged to the acceptable group. Enterobacteriaceae numbers showed 97.90% of the tested pig carcasses belonged to the satisfactory process hygiene group, and 2.10% of carcasses belonged to the acceptable group.

Highlights

  • Meat consumption is increasing worldwide due to rapid population growth, urbanization, changing consumer preferences and income growth

  • The process hygiene criteria results for the tested pig carcasses showed that for total viable count of aerobic bacteria, 95.35% of carcasses fell into the satisfactory process hygiene group, while 4.17% belonged to the acceptable group

  • The main responsibility for food safety lies with the Food Business Operators (FBO), who define and implement appropriate measures for good hygienic and manufacturing practice, as well as other procedures based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles, in order to achieve the food safety objectives defined in the food regulations

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Summary

Introduction

Meat consumption is increasing worldwide due to rapid population growth, urbanization, changing consumer preferences and income growth. Global meat consumption increased by 58% during the past 20 years and in 2018, reached 360 million tonnes [1]. That has resulted in increased concerns and challenges, above all in the field of meat safety and hygiene. The best approach to food safety is a preventive approach, by managing food production from primary production to the consumer. The presence of some microbial indicators is a consequence of direct or indirect contamination of the food with fecal material [2]. The numbers of total viable counts (TVC) and Enterobacteriaceae (EC) and the presence/absence of Salmonella spp. are the process hygiene criteria for pig carcasses

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