الفهرس 
Factors affecting contamination of meatOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Meat is considered as the most nutritive source of protein consumed by humans. Most meat have high water content corresponding to the water activity of approximately 0.99 which is suitable for microbial growth. It also contains sufficient nutrients needed to support the growth of microorganisms.
In fact, tissues from healthy animal are sterile, however it has been pointed out that during slaughter, dressing and cutting, microorganisms come chiefly from the animal and its intestinal tract, but more are added from knives, cloths, air, carts and equipment in general.
Ground meat is not only highly susceptible to spoilage, but also is frequently involved in the spread of pathogens, which are major causes of illness and death worldwide. It is resulting from ingestion of bacteria, toxins and cells produced by microorganisms present in food.
Food-borne diseases constitute an important public health problem in both developed and developing countries, although the health and economic aspects are often obscured by an insufficiency of data. They are responsible for high levels of morbidity and mortality in the general population.
The microbiological profile of meat products is one of the key criteria for determining quality and safety of fresh produce. So in order to assess the microbiological safety from foodborne pathogens, widespread use of groups or species which are easily enumerated and whose presence in foods indicates exposure to conditions that might introduce hazardous organisms and/or allow their growth, are used.
This study aimed to determine the microbiological quality of ground meat in some markets in Alexandria.
This study was carried out during a 4 months period from December 2012 to March 2013. A total of 140 fresh and frozen ground beef samples were purchased from local butchers and supermarkets in Alexandria. Each of the ground beef sample was analyzed for its microbiological quality (total plate count, total coliform count and E. coli count) as well as for the presence of E. coli O157:H7.
The ground meat samples were collected aseptically in the food collection bags and labeled with sample sources and sample number.
Each ground meat sample was accompanied by a submission form for each sample was filled out including: type of meat and its color; date and locality of the collection site; name of butcher and its personal hygiene and sanitary condition of the shop.
All samples were diluted to a 10-1 dilution with 90ml of peptone water and homogenized for 2 min by using a Stomacher and ten-fold serial dilutions for each sample were made in sterile peptone water up to 10-4, by transferring 1 ml of previous dilution to 9 ml of peptone water and then analyzed for the following procedures:
A. Determination of total aerobic colony count.
B. Determination of coliforms and E. coli in ground meat using the MPN method.
C. Determination for E. coli O157:H7.
The results of this study can be summarized as follows:
1. None out of 140 examined ground meat samples showed E. coli O157:H7.
2. According to the European Communities and the Egyptian guidelines. Out of the studied 140 examined ground meat samples, 53.6% were unfit for human consumption. The APC parameter showed that 57(40.7%) were satisfactory, 48(34.3%) were acceptable and 35(25.0%) were unsatisfactory. The corresponding figures for the TCC parameter were 37(26.4%), 49(35.6%) and 34(38.6%) respectively and those for the E. coli parameter 67(47.9%), 51(36.4%) and 22(15.7%) respectively.
3. Regarding the socioeconomic status of sites, the lowest percentage of samples showing unsatisfactory microbiological quality according to both their APC and TCC parameters were collected from the lowest SES sites. On the other hand, according to the E. coli parameter proved the higher SES sites showed the lowest of percentage of unsatisfactory.
4. Regarding the type of meat, and according to their APC, fresh meat proved to be unsatisfactory in a higher percentage than fresh meat. However according to the TCC parameter, frozen meat samples were a little higher than the fresh meat samples, but in E. coli parameter the frozen meat percentage much higher than fresh meat.
5. Regarding the colour of ground meat samples, and according APC and TCC parameters, the highest unsatisfactory percentages (33.3% and 43.9% respectively) were recorded in bright red meat. However according the E. coli parameter, the highest unsatisfactory percentages were comparable in bright and dark red meat that were recorded as 17.5% and 16.2% respectively.
6. The unsatisfactory percentage of (32.1%) of unrefrigerated meat, was higher than the refrigerated one (23.2%) according to their APC parameter. However in TCC parameter, the two percentages were comparable to each other in refrigerated and unrefrigerated meat (38.4% and 39.3% respectively). According to the E. coli parameter the, unsatisfactory percentage in refrigerated meat (17.0%) was higher than unrefrigerated meat (10.7%).
7. Regarding sanitation sites, 57.1% of the sites had good sanitation and 42.9% had bad sanitation. Nearly unsatisfactory samples recorded in good and bad sanitation sites according to their APC and TCC. However there was a statistical difference when comparing according to their E. coli count.
8. About 74.2% of butchers were not wearing gloves and 63.6% of them did not wear lab coat.