title: Importance of airborne contamination during dressing of beef and lamb carcasses.
abstract: Carcasses along slaughter lines were exposed to normal slaughterhouse air or ultraclean air provided from a unit fitted with a HEPA filter. In cattle slaughterhouses, aerobic viable counts were measured by sponging the brisket at the end of the line to determine whether the slaughterhouse air had led to contamination of the carcasses. Furthermore, a replica cattle carcass with settle plates attached was exposed to similar conditions. The greatest contamination of the plates occurred at the hide puller (P < 0.01). The use of ultraclean air reduced the deposition of organisms onto settle plates (P < 0.01). The airborne route contributed to contamination in cattle slaughterhouses, but other vectors were more important. Further study of contamination of the brisket, at the time that it was first exposed, showed that knives transfer contamination from the hide. The use of ultraclean air at this position showed that the airborne route was a contributor to contamination (P < 0.1), but it was not the greatest vector. In lamb slaughterhouses, the highest counts on settle plates were found at the fleece puller (P < 0.05). The highest counts on the lamb carcasses were found on the brisket exposed from the start of the line to just after the fleece puller (P < 0.05). There was no clear relationship between the measured counts and the concentration of organisms in the air, indicating that the airborne route in lamb slaughterhouses contributes less to carcass contamination than do the surface contacts.
authors.affiliation: Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire GL55 6LD, UK. d.burfoot@campden.co.uk
authors.forename: Dean
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Burfoot
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Whyte
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tinker
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Howell
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Holah
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Rodger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McIntosh
mesh_terms: D000003:Abattoirs / Q000592:standards*; D000391:Air Microbiology; D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002417:Cattle / Q000382:microbiology*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D005516:Food Microbiology; D012756:Sheep / Q000382:microbiology*