Microbiological status of pig carcasses in mobile chilling vehicles

Reg. (EC) No. 853/2004 requires chilling of slaughtered animals immediately after post mortem inspection to a temperature of <= 7 degrees C, to be maintained during transport. In this study, the aerobic plate count (APC) of pig carcasses in a stationary and mobile unit was compared under various chilling conditions. Three trials were performed by directing one half of a carcass into the stationary unit and the other half into the mobile unit: I) chilling of one half of split carcasses to 7 degrees C in the chilling room and simultaneously of the other half in the mobile unit; II) chilling of all split carcasses to 20 degrees C in the chilling room, followed by separate chilling of one half of the investigated carcasses to 7 degrees C in the stationary unit and the other half in the mobile unit; Ill) chilling of all split carcasses to 20 degrees C in the chilling room, with further chilling to 7 degrees C in the stationary unit and to 10 degrees C in the mobile unit. Carcasses were sampled i) at the beginning of the chilling period; ii) at 20 degrees C; iii) at the end of chilling (7 degrees C or 10 degrees C). For trial I, only the start and the end of the chilling period were investigated. Results: Temperatures of 7 degrees C can be reached in a mobile unit during transport under conditions similar to those in a stationary chilling room. In both chilling units microbiological results on the surfaces of carcasses were similar. In every trial and in both chilling units, APO decreased, resulting in APC within the range of requirements of Reg. (EC) No. 1441/2007.