Full Length Research Paper
Abstract
Ovine meat is a major protein source in Algeria. Hygiene of food stuffs is an important concern in food production since food poisoning is a danger for public health. Two slaughterhouses were investigated in this study. Ten carcasses were sampled in each slaughterhouse during 4 consecutive weeks. The amount of total aerobic mesophilic flora and of Enterobacteriaceae was calculated on the 80 carcasses. The results were evaluated regarding european regulation 2001/471/EC. For both slaughterhouses, the total aerobic mesophilic bacteria counts 4.84 log10 CFUs/cm2 were close to the upper limit (5 log10CFUs/cm2). The Enterobacteriaceae counts for the two slaughterhouses were 4.38 log10CFUs/cm2 and 3.30 log10 CFUs/cm2, respectively. These values were above the upper acceptable limit (2.5 log10 CFUs/cm2). In conclusion, the ovine carcasses, in Algeria, seem to be heavily contaminated by bacteria constituting a risk of food poisoning.
Key words: Ovine slaughterhouse, hygiene, carcass, contamination.
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