Camargo Anderson Carlos, Cossi Marcus Vinícius Coutinho, Silva Wladimir Padilha da, Bersot Luciano Dos Santos, Landgraf Mariza, Baranyi József, Franco Bernadette Dora Gombossy de Melo, Luís Augusto Nero
Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Departamento de Veterinária, Campus UFV, Viçosa 36570-900, MG, Brazil.
Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Campus Umuarama, Uberlândia 38400-902, MG, Brazil.
Microorganisms. 2019 Mar 19;7(3):86. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms7030086.
Microbiological testing is an important quality management tool in the food industry. In this study, the hygiene status of beef carcasses sampled in eight Brazilian slaughterhouses was assessed by enumeration of different hygiene indicator microorganisms, and a model to establish potential associations among these counts was proposed. The carcasses ( = 464) were surface sampled at four slaughtering steps (step 1: Hide after bleeding; step 2: Carcass after hide removal; step 3: Carcass after evisceration; step 4: Carcass after end washing) and subjected to a counting of mesophilic aerobes (MA), Enterobacteriaceae (EB), total coliforms (TC), and (EC) using Petrifilm™ plates. Among the sampled beef carcasses (step 4), 32 (6.9%) and 71 (15.3%) presented counts above the microbiological criteria established by (EC) No. 1441/2007 for MA and EB, respectively. Thus, indicating that improvements in slaughter hygiene and a review of process controls are demanded in some of the studied slaughterhouses. The log count differences of EC, TC, and EB from MA were considered as response variables as a function of the slaughtering steps. Differential log counts changed consistently with the steps. The measurements, including the patterns in their inherently random variability, were fairly predictable from steps 1 and 4. The results indicated that differential log counts for TC and EC are not relevant, as their concentrations and random pattern can be inferred from counts of MA and EB. The proposed model can be used as a valuable tool for the design and adoption of feasible quality control programs in beef industries. The adoption of such a tool should have a positive contribution on consumers' health and enhance product quality.
微生物检测是食品行业中一项重要的质量管理工具。在本研究中，通过对不同卫生指标微生物进行计数，评估了巴西八家屠宰场采集的牛胴体的卫生状况，并提出了一个模型来建立这些计数之间的潜在关联。共采集了464份胴体样本，在四个屠宰步骤（步骤1：放血后的牛皮；步骤2：去皮后的胴体；步骤3：去内脏后的胴体；步骤4：最终清洗后的胴体）进行表面采样，并使用Petrifilm™平板对嗜温需氧菌（MA）、肠杆菌科（EB）、总大肠菌群（TC）和大肠杆菌（EC）进行计数。在所采集的牛肉胴体样本（步骤4）中，分别有32份（6.9%）和71份（15.3%）的MA和EB计数高于欧盟法规（EC）No. 1441/2007规定的微生物标准。这表明，在所研究的一些屠宰场中，需要改进屠宰卫生并审查过程控制。将EC、TC和EB相对于MA的对数计数差异作为屠宰步骤的函数视为响应变量。不同步骤的对数计数差异变化一致。从步骤1和步骤4可以相当准确地预测这些测量值，包括其固有随机变异性的模式。结果表明，TC和EC的对数计数差异不相关，因为它们的浓度和随机模式可以从MA和EB的计数中推断出来。所提出的模型可作为牛肉行业设计和采用可行质量控制方案的宝贵工具。采用这样的工具应该对消费者健康有积极贡献并提高产品质量。
