Slaughtering of animals (especially; cattle and buffaloes) in Egypt challenged by severe hygienic problems which results in heavy bacterial loads on the produced meat through cross contamination. The present study highlighted the improper practices such as slaughtering on the ground and then skinning and evisceration in the same place under poor hygienic practices which considered a threat to food safety and consumers health and have been implicated in many cases of foodborne illness. Visual inspection of both slaughterhouses was performed to carefully define the operation description and reporting observation. Thirty carcasses were sampled at different processing steps over a 6-months period at two Egyptian slaughterhouses. For each sample, total aerobic count, anaerobic count, Staphylococcus aureus count, coliform count, as well as isolation of Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7, were conducted. Finally the main sources of infection were determined based on visuals observation of slaughter procedures and microbial examination. Sever limitations in hygienic practices were observed which require a serious attention from all relevant authorities to apply and maintain the basic hygienic slaughtering practices to prevent hazards which may affect the public health. |
