Occurrence of Escherichia coli on beef carcass at an exporter slaughterhouse

Escherichia coli testing are used to verify slaughter process control and it is regarded as an indicator of fecal contamination. However, there are few reports about E. coli occurrence in Brazilian slaughter establishments. The present study evaluated the occurrence of generic E. coli in 1111 swab samples of beef carcasses collected at an exporter slaughterhouse, under federal inspection, in different periods of 2010 and analyzed by Petrifilm™ method. E. coli was detected on 4.4% of carcasses (95% CI, 3.3% to 5.7%) and its occurrence was not significantly affected by the dry or rainy season. The mean of generic E. coli recovered from sampled cattle carcasses was 4.08CFU cm-2. The higher incidence was observed in September (8.7%) and October (16.7%); in October the E. coli mean attained the highest value (14.06CFU cm-2). The observed increase may have been related to feedlot systems. The E. coli isolation occurred more frequently in the first shift (6.2%) than in the second shift (1.6%), indicating a possible relationship with the operating procedures. The results obtained in this study showed that an occurrence profile of generic E. coli should be determined in each establishment to guide and improve preventive measures and corrective actions of slaughter process control and reduce microbiological contamination on carcasses.

slaughter; bacteriological analysis; bovine; fecal contamination; Escherichia coli