Jn. Sofos et al., Sources and extent of microbiological contamination of beef carcasses in seven United States slaughtering plants, J FOOD PROT, 62(2), 1999, pp. 140-145
This study determined microbiological loads of beef carcasses at different
stages during the slaughtering to chilling process in seven (four steer/hei
fer and three cow/bull) plants. Potential sources of contamination (feces,
air, lymph nodes) were also tested. Each facility was visited twice, once i
n November through January (wet season) and again in May through June (dry
season). Carcasses were sampled by aseptic excision of surface tissue (100
cm(2)) from the brisket, flank, and rump (30 samples each) after hide remov
al (pre-evisceration), after final carcass washing, and after 24-h carcass
chilling. The samples were analyzed individually by standard procedures for
aerobic plate counts (APC), total coliform counts (TCC), Escherichia coli
biotype I counts (ECC), and presence of Salmonella. Incidence of Salmonella
was higher on dry feces of older compared to younger animals, fresh feces
of younger compared to older animals, and on cow/bull carcasses compared to
steer/heifer carcasses. Most factors and their interactions had significan
t (P less than or equal to 0.05) effects on the bacterial counts obtained.
Depending on plant and season, APC, TCC, and ECC were less than or equal to
10(4), less than or equal to 10(2), and less than or equal to 10(1) CFU/cm
(2) in 46.7 to 93.3, 50.0 to 100.0, and 74.7 to 100.0% of the samples, resp
ectively. TCC exceeded 10(3) CFU/cm(2) in 2.5% (wet season) and 1.5% (dry s
eason) of the samples. ECC exceeded 10(2) CFU/cm(2) in 8.7%, 0.3%, and 1.5%
of the pre-evisceration, final carcass-washing, and 24-h carcass-chilling
samples, respectively, during the wet season; the corresponding numbers dur
ing the dry season were 3.5%, 2.2%, and 3.0%, respectively. These data shou
ld serve as a baseline for future comparisons in measuring the microbiologi
cal status of beef carcasses, as the new inspection requirements are implem
ented.