title: Visual evaluation of cattle cleanliness and correlation to carcass microbial contamination during slaughtering.
abstract: The aim of the study was to establish whether the visual cleanliness of cattle slaughtered was correlated to hide and carcass contamination as indicated by aerobic colony count (ACC), Enterobacteriaceae count (EC) and Escherichia coli count (ECC). Cattle in a slaughterhouse were visually inspected and assigned to a category from 1 (very clean) to 5 (very dirty) based on cleanliness. Fifteen animals for each category were randomly selected, hide and carcass sampled and analyzed for ACC, EC and ECC. Results showed that increasing dirt on cattle was associated with higher ACC, EC and ECC on hide and carcasses. Carcass ACC and ECC belonging to animals classified in cleanliness categories 3, 4 or 5 have a higher probability of exceeding the limits set by the Reg. EU 2073/2005. The study supports the conclusion that the pre-slaughter visual evaluation of animal cleanliness and application of corrective actions can be an effective aid to reduce carcass contamination.
authors: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Veterinary Medical Science, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50-40064 Ozzano Emilia, BO, Italy. andrea.serraino@unibo.it
authors: Andrea
authors: A
authors: Serraino
authors: Lia
authors: L
authors: Bardasi
authors: Raffaela
authors: R
authors: Riu
authors: Valentina
authors: V
authors: Pizzamiglio
authors: Gaetano
authors: G
authors: Liuzzo
authors: Giorgio
authors: G
authors: Galletti
authors: Federica
authors: F
authors: Giacometti
authors: Giuseppe
authors: G
authors: Merialdi
mesh_terms: D000003:Abattoirs / Q000592:standards*; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae; D004926:Escherichia coli; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D008460:Meat