Avoiding meat contamination at slaughterhouses is crucial for food safety; consumers' awareness and concern for the type of food they eat has attracted global attention and redirected research interests towards food safety. The practical hygiene in the slaughterhouse operations play key role in the safety and wholesomeness of meat. A cross sectional survey was carried out on 60 slaughterhouses in Ibadan, Oyo and Ogbomosho, in Oyo State, South Western Nigeria. A well-structured pre-tested checklist was administered and scored; data collected were subjected to descriptive statistics and ttest to separate significant differences between abattoirs and slaughter slabs. This study revealed that for the 50 items scored, only four [environmental cleanliness (66.7%), washing of slaughtering tools and equipments (60%), access to facility to wash hands and shoes (71.7%), and appropriateness of slaughterhouse location (58.3%)] were partially observed. The remaining 46 are non-existent or poorly implemented. However, only 9 out of the 23 items of the practical hygiene and level of cleanliness compared between the surveyed abattoirs and slaughter slabs, showed significant (p < 0.05) differences. These are garbage disposal (p<0.001), washing of slaughtering tools and equipments (p<0.001), disinfection of the slaughterhouse (p<0.014), disinfection of premises (p<0.001), and disinfection of infrastructure and equipments (p<0.002). Others are, availability of sufficient and clean water (p<0.001), good hygiene (p<0.033) and also, hands washing after slaughtering (p<0.001) and hands disinfection (p<0.001). The surveyed abattoirs performed better than slaughter slabs in hygiene and level of cleanliness. But nevertheless all evidences of unhygienic practices and predisposing risk factors across the surveyed slaughter locations would serve as critical points for the distribution of contaminated meat to the public, and also serve as medium for occupational disease acquisition. Hence the issue of food safety is called to question. There is the need for workers training on operational hygiene and occupational zoonoses.

The manner in which dry meat is prepared in under developed countries is highly unhygienic. Preserved meats (kundi and ponmo) were obtained from three food markets in Ibadan and were properly labelled. Samples cut into 50 grams were taken to the laboratory and soaked for 0, 6, 12, 18 and 24 hours. Water used for soaking and homogenised meat samples were cultured for Salmonella, Campylobbacter, E. coli, total bacterial count (TBC), total coliform count (TCC). Data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). Comparison of microbial loads for all the parameters measured due to effects of soaking had no significant (p>0.05) differences on kundi and ponmo, and the water for soaking. There was a significant 5 5 increase of microbial load for kundi water from 0.94 ×10 cfu/g at 0hr to 4.93×10 cfu/g at 24hr for total bacterial count(TBC) at p<0.05. The highest bacterial prevalence was the isolates from Escherichia coli in water for soaking Kundi, while the highest fungal prevalence was isolates from Aspergillus niger in water for soaking ponmo. The microbial load was lesser for ponmo than kundi and the soaking of the dried meat in water over a period of time reduced the microbial load in the preserved meat with the lowest microbial count found after 24hours.It is recommended that consumers of dried meat should endeavour to soak this meat for a minimum of 24hours before they are utilized.     La manière dont la viande sèche est préparée dans les pays sous-développés est très peu hygiénique. Les viandes conservées (kundi et ponmo) provenaient de trois marchés alimentaires d'Ibadan et étaient correctement étiquetées. Des échantillons coupés en 50 grammes ont été amenés au laboratoire et trempés pendant 0, 6, 12, 18 et 24 heures. L'eau utilisée pour le trempage et les échantillons de viande homogénéisée ont été cultivés pour Salmonella, Campylobbacter, E. coli, le nombre total de bactéries (NTB), le nombre total de coliformes (NTC). Les données ont été soumises à une analyse de variance (ANOVA). La comparaison des charges microbiennes pour tous les paramètres mesurés en raison des effets du trempage n'a révélé aucune différence significative (p> 0,05) sur le kundi et le ponmo, et sur l'eau de trempage. Il y a eu une augmentation significative de la charge microbienne pour l'eau de kundi de 0,94 × 105 cfu/g à 0 h à 4,93 × 105 cfu/g à 24 h pour le nombre total de bactéries (NTB) à p < 0,05. La prévalence bactérienne la plus élevée était les isolats d'Escherichia coli dans l'eau pour faire tremper Kundi, tandis que la prévalence fongique la plus élevée était les isolats d'Aspergillus niger dans l'eau pour faire tremper le ponmo. La charge microbienne était moindre pour le ponmo que pour le kundi et le trempage de la viande séchée dans l'eau sur une période de temps a réduit la charge microbienne dans la viande conservée avec le plus faible nombre de microbes trouvés après 24 heures. Il est recommandé aux consommateurs de viande séchée de s'efforcer faire tremper cette viande pendant au moins 24 heures avant de l'utiliser

Slaughterhouses are key locations where contamination occurs along the processing chain of red meat. Bearing in mind that there are high levels of zoonotic and food-borne diseases in Nigeria, a search was conducted, with the exploration and filtration of databases and repositories of Google Scholars, African Journal Online, PubMed and ResearchGate, for scientific publications in Nigeria between 2001 and 2016; slaughterhouse/abattoir, microbial, meat-borne diseases, zoonoses, Nigeria are the search words. Abattoir flow chart was also built based on the specifications of Codex Alimentarius Commission and slaughterhouse operation experience in Nigeria. The results of this search yielded 30 articles; the potential points of contaminations and critical control points (CCP) along the processing chain were identified and substantiated with relevant references. 90% of the articles filtered are bacterial zoonoses; classified into diarrhoea and non-diarrhoea causing. The only viral abattoir zoonoses published are Swine influenza types A and B. Nine and 12 potential hazard/risk and intervention points were identified along the processing chain of red meat for slaughter slab and abattoir, respectively; and were substantiated with relevant references. Improvement in livestock health from the farms and slaughterhouse hygiene are necessary, critical limits of CCP must not be exceeded in red meat processing chain; and necessary hygiene and environmental laws should be promulgated and enforced.

A bacteriological investigation of microorganisms of public health importance associated with rabbit houses was undertaken to determine the occurrence of bacteria in rabbit house in Ibadan. A total of 144 swab samples were collected from which 160 bacterial isolates were recovered. E. coli, (20%) showed the highest occurrence, followed in descending order by Staphylococcus aureus (12.5%), Proteus vulgaris (12.5%), Bacillus cereus (12.5%), Bacillus subtilis (10%), Streptococcus faecalis (10%), Bacillus firmus (7.5%), Proteus morganii (5%), Pseudomonas aureginosa (I2.5%), Streptococcus pyogenes (2.5%), Micrococcus species (2.5%) and Klebsiella species (2.5%). All the 20 (12.5%) staphylococcal isolates were coagulase-positive using tube coagulase test with human plasma. Similar strains of bacteria encountered in this investigation have been incriminated in disease outbreaks in rabbits with losses in terms of meat meant for human consumption and are therefore of public health importance. There is the need for regular microbiological surveillance to protect our growing rabbitaries and the rabbit models in biomedical research since these latent organisms may produce clinical conditions when the rabbits are exposed to stress conditions. Above all the importance of good hygiene and management in rabbitaries cannot be overemphasized to prevent avoidable outbreaks.

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