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. 2020 Nov 2:2020:2324358.
doi: 10.1155/2020/2324358. eCollection 2020.

Microbial Decontamination of Beef Carcass Surfaces by Lactic Acid, Acetic Acid, and Trisodium Phosphate Sprays

Khalid Ibrahim Sallam  1 , Samir Mohammed Abd-Elghany  1 , Mohammed Abdullah Hussein  2 , Kálmán Imre  3 , Adriana Morar  3 , Alaa Eldin Morshdy  2 , Mohamed Zakaria Sayed-Ahmed  4   5
Affiliations

Microbial Decontamination of Beef Carcass Surfaces by Lactic Acid, Acetic Acid, and Trisodium Phosphate Sprays

Khalid Ibrahim Sallam et al. Biomed Res Int. .

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of lactic acid (LA), acetic acid, (AA) and trisodium phosphate (TSP) spray on the microbiological population of beef carcass surfaces slaughtered in a traditional abattoir in Zagazig, Egypt. Higher microbial populations were determined on the shoulder than on the thigh surfaces, and meat sampling by tissue excision technique yielded significantly higher (P < 0.01) microbial count than swabbing method. The application of LA (2%), AA (2%), and TSP (12%) sprays for 30 seconds significantly (P < 0.01) reduced the microbial population counts on the beef surfaces by 0.9 to 2.2 logs. A complete inhibition of enterococci growth was achieved by LA and AA sprays. In general, LA and AA sprays were more efficient as antimicrobial agents than the TSP spray. Among the studied organisms, enterococci were the most reducible bacteria by LA and AA, followed by Enterobacteriaceae and coliforms, while Staphylococcus aureus being the least. This study also indicated that microbial populations determined on the shoulder were higher than on the thigh surfaces, and meat sampling by tissue excision technique yielded significantly higher (P < 0.01) microbial count than swabbing method.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Comparison between surface swabbing and tissue excision techniques for the recovery of aerobic count, Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococci, coliforms, and Staphylococcus aureus from the outer surfaces of shoulder of control beef carcasses (n = 25). Values represent means ± SE of the log counts. Columns with different letters within the same microbial category differ significantly (P < 0.05). (b) Comparison between surface swabbing and tissue excision techniques for the recovery of aerobic count, Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococci, coliforms, and Staphylococcus aureus from the outer surfaces of thigh of control beef carcasses (n = 25). Values represent means ± SE of the log counts. Columns with different letters within the same microbial category differ significantly (P < 0.05).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of lactic acid (LA), acetic acid (AA), and trisodium phosphate (TSP) spraying for 30 s on the aerobic plate count (APC), as counted by tissue excision technique from the outer surfaces of shoulder and thigh of beef carcasses (n = 25). Values represent means ± SE of the log count of three replicates. Columns with different letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05) between the sampling location of the slaughtered beef carcasses.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of lactic acid (LA), acetic acid (AA), and trisodium phosphate (TSP) spraying for 30 s on the Enterobacteriaceae count, as counted by tissue excision technique from the outer surfaces of shoulder and thigh of beef carcasses (n = 25). Values represent means ± SE of the log count of three replicates. Columns with different letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05) between the sampling location of the slaughtered beef carcasses.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effect of lactic acid (LA), acetic acid (AA), and trisodium phosphate (TSP) spraying for 30 s on the enterococci count, as counted by tissue excision technique from the outer surfaces of shoulder and thigh of beef carcasses (n = 25). Values represent means ± SE of the log count of three replicates. Columns with different letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05) between the sampling location of the slaughtered beef carcasses.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effect of lactic acid (LA), acetic acid (AA), and trisodium phosphate (TSP) spraying for 30 s on the most probable number (MPN) of coliforms, as counted by tissue excision technique from the outer surfaces of shoulder and thigh of beef carcasses (n = 25). Values represent means ± SE of the log count of three replicates. Columns with different letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05) between the sampling location of the slaughtered beef carcasses.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effect of lactic acid (LA), acetic acid (AA), and trisodium phosphate (TSP) spraying for 30 s on the Staphylococcus aureus count, as counted by tissue excision technique from the outer surfaces of shoulder and thigh of beef carcasses (n = 25). Values represent means ± SE of the log count of three replicates. Columns with different letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05) between the sampling location of the slaughtered beef carcasses.
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