<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This study aimed to investigate the effects of cleanliness scoring on the microbiological load of hide and the final contamination of cattle carcasses. Fifty cattle were classified from 1 (clean and dry) to 5 (filthy and wet). Aerobic colony count (ACC) and counts of <italic>Enterobacteriaceae</italic> (EC) and <italic>E. coli</italic> (ECC) were determined on the brisket, abdominal midline, rump, groin sites of the hides, and brisket, flank, groin, and hock of the carcasses. On hides, ACC ranged from 3.15±0.13 log cfu/cm2 in category 1 to 8.14±0.21 log cfu/cm2 in category 5. EC and ECC were ranging between 1.13±0.07 and 2.80±0.09 log cfu/cm2, and 1.21±0.05 and 2.15±0.07 log cfu/cm2, respectively. While the mean ACC on the carcasses ranged between 2.18±0.07 and 2.63±0.05 log cfu/cm2 irrespective of the categories, <italic>Enterobacteriaceae</italic> and <italic>E. coli</italic> could not be counted due to the detection limits. It was concluded that although the level of bacterial load increased significantly (P&lt;0.001) with the increasing cleanliness category on the hide of the animals, the reflection of this increasing trend on carcasses and different parts of the carcasses were inconsistent and the hygiene provided in the slaughterhouse and processing line was the main factor to reduce cross-contamination during processing.</abstract>

This study aimed to investigate the effects of cleanliness scoring on the microbiological load of hide and the final contamination of cattle carcasses. Fifty cattle were classified from 1 (clean and dry) to 5 (filthy and wet). Aerobic colony count (ACC) and counts of Enterobacteriaceae (EC) and E. coli (ECC) were determined on the brisket, abdominal midline, rump, groin sites of the hides, and brisket, flank, groin, and hock of the carcasses. On hides, ACC ranged from 3.15±0.13 log cfu/cm2 in category 1 to 8.14±0.21 log cfu/cm2 in category 5. EC and ECC were ranging between 1.13±0.07 and 2.80±0.09 log cfu/cm2, and 1.21±0.05 and 2.15±0.07 log cfu/cm2, respectively. While the mean ACC on the carcasses ranged between 2.18±0.07 and 2.63±0.05 log cfu/cm2 irrespective of the categories, Enterobacteriaceae and E. coli could not be counted due to the detection limits. It was concluded that although the level of bacterial load increased significantly (P<0.001) with the increasing cleanliness category on the hide of the animals, the reflection of this increasing trend on carcasses and different parts of the carcasses were inconsistent and the hygiene provided in the slaughterhouse and processing line was the main factor to reduce cross-contamination during processing.

The Impact of Cattle Hide Cleanliness Scores on Microbial Contamination of Carcasses During Slaughtering

Department of Food Hygiene and Technology

Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

Macedonian Veterinary Review

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of cleanliness scoring on the microbiological load of hide and the final contamination of cattle carcasses. Fifty...

The Impact of Cattle Hide Cleanliness Scores on Microbial Contamination of Carcasses During Slaughtering

Published Online: Mar 29, 2022

Page range: 43 - 51

Received: Jul 28, 2021

Accepted: Jan 20, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/macvetrev-2022-0012

Keywords
cleanliness scoring, cattle carcass, cross-contamination, hide cleanliness, microbial load

© 2022 Buket Kallem et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Impact of Cattle Hide Cleanliness Scores on Microbial Contamination of Carcasses During Slaughtering

Published Online: Mar 29, 2022

Page range: 43 - 51

Received: Jul 28, 2021

Accepted: Jan 20, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/macvetrev-2022-0012

Keywordscleanliness scoring, cattle carcass, cross-contamination, hide cleanliness, microbial load

© 2022 Buket Kallem et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
cleanliness scoring, cattle carcass, cross-contamination, hide cleanliness, microbial load