<i>Salmonella</i> spp., <i>Escherichia coli</i> and <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i> Control at a Pig Abattoir: Are We Missing Lairage Time Effect, Pig Skin, and Internal Carcass Surface Contamination?

Abstract

To provide meat safety and consumer protection, appropriate hygiene control measures at an abattoir are required. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of visual fecal contamination level (VFCL) and lairage time (LT) on pig skin (PS) and external (ECS) and internal (ICS) carcass surfaces. The presence of Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Salmonella in PS, ECS, and ICS were evaluated. A total of 300 paired samples were collected from 100 pigs. Results underlined the importance of the skin (Enterobacteriaceae: 3.27 ± 0.68 log CFU/cm2; E. coli: 3.15 ± 0.63 log CFU/cm2; Salmonella: 21% of samples) as a direct or indirect source of carcass contamination. Although VFCL revealed no significant effect (p > 0.05), the increase of LT had a significant impact (p Enterobacteriaceae and E. coli levels across all analysed surfaces, and Salmonella presence on ICS (p Salmonella, as a criterion for process hygiene based on EC Regulation No. 2073/2005, and as a potential contamination source to be integrated in the hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) plans.

Keywords

• <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i>
• <i>Escherichia coli</i>
• <i>Salmonella</i>
• abattoir
• pig skin
• faecal contamination