Investigation of the microbiological contamination of contact surfaces in meat processing facilities

Abstract

In order for food that is on the market to be safe, it must comply with the criteria of hygiene in the production process, and food safety criteria stipulated in the 'Regulations on the general and specific requirements of food hygiene at any stage of production, processing and trade'. In the meat industry, there are many possibilities for contamination of carcasses and meat by pathogenic microorganisms. Contamination of meat can occur through the tools and equipment used for the processing and production of meat, refrigerated display cases and chambers for storing meat and transportation trolley. Workers during slaughtering, primary treatment and processing of meat can be a source of contamination via hands, clothing and footwear, as well. In order to prevent contamination, it is very important to regularly apply the procedures for cleaning, washing and disinfection of work surfaces, as well as the workers' hands. The aim of this study was to investigate the microbial contamination of surfaces that come in contact with meat in meat processing plants. The study included 306 swab samples, of which 102 swabs were taken from work surfaces (desks, cutting boards), 90 swabs were taken from the tools, usually knives (68 swabs), and also from machines used in production (79 swabs). Swab samples from surfaces that come in contact with food were taken after cleaning, washing and disinfection In most of the swab samples that were incompliant with recomended microbiological criteria an increased number of enterobacteria and the total bacteria count (70.21%) was established. A considerably less samples did not comply with the recommended microbiological criteria due to the increased number of enterobacteria (14.89%). Also, 12.77% of samples were incompliant due to the increased total bacteria count, and only 2.13 % of the samples did not comply with the recommended microbiological criteria due to the increased number of enterobacteria, total bacteria count and the presence of L. Monocytogenes.

Da bi hrana koja se nalazi na tržištu bila bezbedna, moraju se ispoštovati kriterijumi higijene u procesu proizvodnje kao i kriterijumi bezbednosti hrane koji su propisani u 'Pravilniku o opštim i posebnim uslovima higijene hrane u bilo kojoj fazi proizvodnje, prerade i prometa'. U industriji mesa postoje brojne mogućnosti kontaminacije trupova, odnosno mesa patogenim mikroorganizmima. Kontaminacija mesa može nastati preko alata i opreme koja se koristi za preradu i proizvodnju mesa, rashladnih vitrina i komora za skladištenje mesa, kao i transportnih kolica. Osim toga, i zaposleno osoblje u toku klanja, prerade i obrade mesa može biti izvor kontaminacije preko ruku, odeće i obuće. Da bi se sprečila kontaminacija veoma je važno redovno primenjivati postupke čišćenja, pranja i dezinfekcije radnih površina, kao i ruku radnika. Cilj ovog rada bio je ispitivanje mikrobiološke kontaminacije površina koje dolaze u kontakt sa mesom u objektu za preradu mesa. Ispitivanjem je obuhvaćeno 306 uzoraka briseva, od čega je 102 brisa uzeto sa radnih površina (radni stolovi, daske za sečenje), 90 briseva je uzeto sa alata, najčešće noževa (68 briseva), a zatim sa površina mašina u proizvodnji (79 briseva). Uzorci briseva sa površina koje dolaze u kontakt sa hranom uzeti su, posle čišćenja, pranja i dezinfekcije. Kod najvećeg broja uzoraka briseva koji ne odgovaraju preporučenim mikrobiološkim kriterijumima utvrđen je istovremeno povećan broj enterobakterija i ukupan broj bakterija (70,21%). Znatno manji broj uzoraka nije odgovarao preporučenim mikrobiološkim kriterijumima zbog povećanog broja enterobakterija (14,89%). Zbog povećanog ukupnog broja bakterija nije odgovaralo 12,77% uzoraka briseva, a samo 2,13% uzoraka nije odgovaralo preporučenim mikrobiološkim kriterijumima zbog povećanog broja enterobakterija, ukupanog broja bakterija i prisustva L. monocytogenes.