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Microbiological Contamination of Carcasses Related to Hygiene Practice and Facilities on Slaughtering Lines

Sambandet mellan den mikrobiologiska kontaminationen av slaktkroppar och hygienen vid hanteringen av slaktkroppar i slakterier

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica volume 37, pages 219–228 (1996)Cite this article

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the association between the hygienic practice of slaughterhouse workers and the microbiological contamination level of carcasses. In 5 Finnish slaughterhouses the workers’ hygienic practice was observed and the carcasses were sampled by the swabbing method. The overall means (log10 cfu cm−2) of the aerobic plate count in pork and beef carcasses were 3.23 and 2.65, respectively. Hygienic practice was found to be associated with the carcass contamination level, especially the disinfection frequency. In those slaughterhouses, where the disinfection frequency was low, the contamination level of carcasses was high. Designing slaughtering lines so as to make hygienic working possible is evidently very important. However, the enforcement of hygienic practice, such as the regular disinfection of working tools, is also important in reducing the microbiological contamination of carcasses.

Sammanfattning

Sambandet mellan slaktkropparnas bacteriologiska kvalitet och hygienen vid hanteringen av slaktkroppar undersöktes i 5 finländska slakterier. Slaktkropparnas kontamination undersöktes med hjälp av swabb-metoden. Den genomsnittliga kontaminationsnivån (log10 cfu cm−2) var 3.23 hos svin- och 2.65 hos nötkropparna. Suggornas kroppar hade en högre kontaminationsnivå. Hygienen vid hantering av slaktkroppar undersöktes genom att anteckna hur ofta arbetarna tvättade sina händer och steriliserade arbetsredskapen. Sina händer tvättade 81% och kniven 78% av arbetarna regelbundet medan bara 21% av dem rengjorde de övriga arbetsredskapen regelbundet. Arbetsredskapen brukade inte heller steriliseras alltför ofta; bara 24% av arbetarna steriliserade kniven och 15% de övriga redskapen regelbundet. Det fanns ett klart samband mellan slaktkropparnas mikrobiologiska kontaminationsnivå och arbetshygienen i slakterierna. I sådana slakterier där arbetsredskapen steriliserades regelbundet hade slaktkropparna en lägre kontaminationsnivå än i de övriga slakterierna. Det är viktigt att planera slaktlinjen så att kötthanteringen kan utföras så hygieniskt som möjligt. Lika viktigt är att kötthanteringpersonalen uppmuntras att regelbundet sterilisera alla arbetsredskap för att på så sätt bidra till att minska den mikrobiologiska kontaminationen av slaktkroppar.

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Acknowledgment

The authors thank the Finnish Veterinary Science Foundation for the financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food and Environmental Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Helsinki University, PO. Box 57, SF-00014, Helsinki, Finland

    M. Rahkio & H. Korkeala

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  1. M. Rahkio
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  2. H. Korkeala
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Rahkio, M., Korkeala, H. Microbiological Contamination of Carcasses Related to Hygiene Practice and Facilities on Slaughtering Lines. Acta Vet Scand 37, 219–228 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03548089

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Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica

ISSN: 1751-0147