title: Occurrence of Salmonella spp. and generic Escherichia coli on beef carcasses sampled at a Brazilian slaughterhouse.
abstract: A total of 120 beef carcasses were analyzed during processing at a slaughterhouse in southern Brazil. The carcasses were sampled by swab at three different steps of the slaughter line and then they were tested for Salmonella and E. coli. The Salmonella isolates were also examined for antimicrobial susceptibility. Salmonella prevalence distribution was modeled and the probability of contamination was simulated using @Risk program and 10,000 interactions. Results demonstrated that 4 beef carcasses (3.3%) were positive for Salmonella only in the first point. The six isolates of Salmonella were classified: S. Newport (n = 3), S. Saintpaul (n = 2) and S. Anatum (n = 1). No Salmonella strains exhibited resistance to any of the antimicrobials tested. As expected, the most contaminated point with E. coli was the first point (hide), presenting counts from 0.31 to 5.07 log cfu/100 cm(2). Much smaller E. coli counts were observed in the other points. Results indicated low levels of Salmonella and E. coli on the beef carcasses analyzed and also low probability of contamination of the carcasses by Salmonella, suggesting adequate microbiological quality.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Microbiologia e Controle de Alimentos Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimento Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto AlegreRS Brazil.
authors.forename: Fabiana Fernanda Pacheco
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Microbiologia e Controle de Alimentos Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimento Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto AlegreRS Brazil.
authors.forename: Mariana Bandeira
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Horvath
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Microbiologia e Controle de Alimentos Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimento Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto AlegreRS Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliana Guedes
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Silveira
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Microbiologia e Controle de Alimentos Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimento Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto AlegreRS Brazil.
authors.forename: Luiza
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pieta
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Microbiologia e Controle de Alimentos Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimento Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto AlegreRS Brazil.
authors.forename: Eduardo Cesar
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Tondo
mesh_terms: D000003:Abattoirs; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D058491:Bacterial Load; D001938:Brazil; D002102:Cadaver; D002417:Cattle; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D012475:Salmonella / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: E. coli; Salmonella; antimicrobial susceptibility; beef carcasses; slaughter line