RELIABILITY AND PRACTICABILITY OF BACTERIOLOGICAL MONITORING OF BEEF CARCASS CONTAMINATION AND THEIR RATING WITHIN A HYGIENE QUALITY-CONTROL PROGRAM OF ABATTOIRS

A total of 9600 swab samples from 900 carcasses originating from ten d ifferent abattoirs were subjected to bacteriological examination. Two sampling sites, brisket and forearm, consistently showed the highest c ontamination rates. The following sites are recommended for sampling: on the lateral side of the carcass neck, forearm, shoulder, brisket an d abdomen. The neck is recommended for the medial side. Compared to th e large variance of contamination either on individual carcasses or be tween different carcasses, the differences in the variance of results between double swab and incision sampling techniques should be of mino r importance. Considering this big variance of colony counts, it is su ggested to take five to six swab samples from each of at least ten to 15 carcasses once a month. With a view to a more differentiated and ev ident evaluation the results should be recorded in 'box plots' and not in the form of mean values and standard deviations. The data confirms bacteriological monitoring of beef carcasses as a useful tool for the verification of slaughter hygiene.