Microbiological safety and hygienic quality of camel meat at abattoir and retail houses in Jigjiga city, Ethiopia

Abstract

Introduction: Camel meat is a relatively new, emerging meat type that may serve as sources of foodborne pathogens to the consumer.
 Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the microbiological safety and quality of camel meat from an abattoir and retail houses in Jigjiga city, Ethiopia. A total of 140 camel carcass and retail meat samples (70 each) were examined for the presence and load of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli O157: H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter spp., aerobic bacteria, fecal coliforms (FCs), and yeast and molds (Y&Ms). Presumptive isolates were confirmed using biochemical tests.
 Results: S. aureus and E. coli O157: H7 populations varied widely between carcasses at the abattoir and retail meat samples. S. aureus and E. coli O157:H7 were detected in 12.1 and 4.3% of the samples, respectively. E. coli O157:H7 counts were significantly higher in retail meat (4.21 ± 0.02) compared to the carcasses (3.99 ± 0.00) at the abattoir (P < 0.05). Out of 140 samples analyzed, 5% were positive for Campylobacter spp. The mean fecal coliforms, and yeast and molds counts were significantly higher in retail meat samples (6.17 ± 0.067 and 4.95 ± 0.067 log10 cfug-1, respectively). L. monocytogenes (11 cfug-1) were detected below the permissible limit (100 cfug-1).
 Conclusions: This study indicated that the further the process progress, the greater the risk of contamination to the product. Therefore, good hygienic practices at the abattoir and retail houses and strict slaughtering process should be prompted to enhance the overall safety and quality of camel meat.

Quality of Fresh Camel Meat (Camelus dromedarius) Sold at Retail Houses in Bechar City (Southwest of Algeria): Physicochemical and Hygienic Approaches

“…The aerobic plate count 'APC' is a measure of the microbial quality of the meat. Any exceeding of this load could be a spoilage indicator (Tegegne et al, 2019). These results are in agreement with the results obtained by Fallah et al (2008), where the load of APCs was 5.08 Log 10 CFU/g.…”

“…These results are in agreement with the results obtained by Fallah et al (2008), where the load of APCs was 5.08 Log 10 CFU/g. Moreover, the Fungal Flora (FF) load ranged from 3.41 to 4.58 Log 10 CFU/g corroborates the results obtained by Fallah et al (2008); Tegegne et al (2019) which were 4.11 and 4.95 CFU/g, respectively. Regarding the lactic acid bacteria 'LAB', the analyzed samples had loads ranging from 2.36 to 2.74 Log 10 CFU/g.…”

“…The total coliforms results were higher than that analyzed by Fallah et al (2008) (3.78 to 5.11 Log 10 CFU/g vs. 3.61 Log 10 CFU/g). In fact, concerning the hygienic quality of the camel meat, it was found that our samples remain more hygienic than Fellah et al's (2008) sample, where the Escherichia coli species was detected in all camel meat samples at t=0 up to 6 days of storage and even better than that obtained by Tegegne et al (2019) where the average load of the fecal coliforms (FC) for the camel meat samples sold at retail was 6.17 Log 10 CFU/g. Tegegne et al (2019) noted that the S. aureus and E. coli O157: H7 load was higher in retail meat than in slaughter carcasses.…”

“…In fact, concerning the hygienic quality of the camel meat, it was found that our samples remain more hygienic than Fellah et al's (2008) sample, where the Escherichia coli species was detected in all camel meat samples at t=0 up to 6 days of storage and even better than that obtained by Tegegne et al (2019) where the average load of the fecal coliforms (FC) for the camel meat samples sold at retail was 6.17 Log 10 CFU/g. Tegegne et al (2019) noted that the S. aureus and E. coli O157: H7 load was higher in retail meat than in slaughter carcasses. This confirms the common lack of hygiene at the level of the retail houses and the high detection rate of fecal coliforms is an indication of contamination at the slaughterhouse through intestinal contents and unsanitary handling of meat or the effectiveness of sanitary measures deemed unsatisfactory in retail stores (Latifou Belco et al, 2017;Tegegne et al, 2019).…”

“…Tegegne et al (2019) noted that the S. aureus and E. coli O157: H7 load was higher in retail meat than in slaughter carcasses. This confirms the common lack of hygiene at the level of the retail houses and the high detection rate of fecal coliforms is an indication of contamination at the slaughterhouse through intestinal contents and unsanitary handling of meat or the effectiveness of sanitary measures deemed unsatisfactory in retail stores (Latifou Belco et al, 2017;Tegegne et al, 2019). The S. aureus load was higher than that obtained by Fallah et al (2008) (from 3.78 to 5 Log 10 CFU/g vs. 3.8 Log 10 CFU/g).…”