Evaluating and improving the beef quality of freshly dressed cattle carcasses at old – fashioned abattoirs of both Dakahlia and Damietta provinces.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the quality of beef taken from the freshly dressed cattle carcasses at old – fashioned abattoirs of both Dakahlia and Damietta provinces.

Samples: Sum of 144 swab samples obtained from the external surfaces of freshly dressed 18 healthy cattle carcasses (8 samples each – 4 ones before decontamination trial besides 4 after this trial).

Procedure: All samples were collected from 4 different sites (round- flank- shoulder- neck) of every dressed carcass on one side (right or left) – before any decontamination treatment as well as further 4 samples taken from the same carcass after being decontaminated by hose-spraying of whole carcass with tap water for one minute followed by wiping it entirely with sterile cotton cloth on the other corresponding sites (right or left). All samples were taken at abattoirs then transferred in ice box and investigated bacteriologically for enumerating aerobic mesophilic bacteria, enterobacteriaceae, moulds and yeasts – at the laboratory of Food Hygiene and Control Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansoura University, wherein the microbiological examination was done without delay.

Results: Plates of count agar medium showed the intensities of aerobic mesophilic bacteria – before a sole decontamination treatment as mean levels of 1.27×108 CFU/cm2 on rounds, 1.2×108 CFU/cm2 on flanks, 1.37×108 CFU/cm2 on shoulders and 1.45×108 CFU/cm2 on necks, wereas such levels after a sole decontamination treatment were 7.63×107 , 7.22×107 , 9.01× 107 and 8.91× 107 on the same corresponding sites of these carcasses with reduction percentages 40%, 40%, 35% and 39% ,respectively. Plates of violet, red bile glucose agar medium showed the mean populations as CFU/cm2 of enterobacteriaceae as 1.1×105, 1.03×105, 9.11×104, 1.25×105 on the identical sites before decontamination in addition to 7.62×104, 6.33×104, 5.72×104, 8.67×104 on the same surfaces after decontamination treatment with reduction percentages 31%, 39%, 38% and 31%, consecutively. On the other hand, dichloran rose bengal chloramphenicol agar plates revealed the aforementioned levels /cm2 for both moulds &yeasts as 1.08×102&4.13×10 on rounds, 7.19×10&3.65×10 on flanks, 7.7×10&3.76×10 on shoulders and 1.06×102 &4.71×10 on necks – before decontamination treatment plus 5.92×10 &1.74×10 on rounds, 3.39×10 &1.36×10 on flanks, 3.49×10 &1.31×10 on shoulders and 2.12×10 &4.71×10 on necks after decontamination treatment, with a resultant reduction percentages (45%&58%) on the surfaces of rounds, (53%&63%)on flanks, (51%&66%) on shoulders and (48 %&55%)on necks, respectively.

Conclusion and clinical relevance: Although the exclusive decontamination treatment applied in the present study – could remove 35-40 % of the aerobic mesophilic bacteria , 31-39 % of enterobacteriaceae , 45-53 % of moulds, plus 55-66 % of yeasts onto the surfaces of tested cattle carcasses, our results obtained in this work indicate the need to replace the old – fashioned abattoirs by the modern ones that possessing the hygienic slaughtering and dressing operations. Also, the recovery of huge numbers of microbes contaminating these carcasses predict the presence of pathogens among them that becoming hazardous for public health.