title: Hygiene and Safety in the Meat Processing Environment from Butcher Shops: Microbiological Contamination and Listeria monocytogenes.
abstract: The quality and safety of meat products can be estimated by assessing their contamination by hygiene indicator microorganisms and some foodborne pathogens, with Listeria monocytogenes as a major concern. To identify the main sources of microbiological contamination in the processing environment of three butcher shops, surface samples were obtained from the hands of employees, tables, knives, inside butcher displays, grinders, and meat tenderizers (24 samples per point). All samples were subjected to enumeration of hygiene indicator microorganisms and detection of L. monocytogenes, and the obtained isolates were characterized by their serogroups and virulence genes. The results demonstrated the absence of relevant differences in the levels of microbiological contamination among butcher shops; samples with counts higher than reference values indicated inefficiency in adopted hygiene procedures. A total of 87 samples were positive for Listeria spp. (60.4%): 22 from tables, 20 from grinders, 16 from knives, 13 from hands, 9 from meat tenderizers, and 7 from butcher shop displays. Thirty-one samples (21.5%) were positive for L. monocytogenes, indicating the presence of the pathogen in meat processing environments. Seventy-four L. monocytogenes isolates were identified, with 52 from serogroups 1/2c or 3c and 22 from serogroups 4b, 4d, 4a, or 4c. All 74 isolates were positive for hlyA, iap, plcA, actA, and internalins (inlA, inlB, inlC, and inlJ). The establishment of appropriate procedures to reduce microbial counts and control the spread of L. monocytogenes in the final steps of the meat production chain is of utmost importance, with obvious effects on the quality and safety of meat products for human consumption.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Departamento de Veterinária, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Danilo Augusto Lopes da
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Departamento de Veterinária, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mariane Rezende
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Departamento de Veterinária, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-900, Brazil; Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, 38408-100, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcus Vinícius Coutinho
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Cossi
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Departamento de Veterinária, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Natália Parma Augusto de
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Castilho
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Departamento de Veterinária, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Anderson Carlos
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Camargo
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Departamento de Veterinária, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570-900, Brazil. nero@ufv.br.
authors.forename: Lúis Augusto
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Nero
mesh_terms: D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis; D005511:Food Handling / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology*; D000078329:Workforce