Levels of microbial contamination of swine carcasses along the slaughtering process line

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the microbial contamination of domestic swine carcasses over an 8-year period in a slaughterhouse located in the Marche region, Central Italy. The hygiene of the slaughter process was assessed by microbiological criteria involving aerobic colony count (ACC), Enterobacteriaceae and Salmonella spp. [Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 and amendments]. Five carcasses were tested during five sampling sessions each year (four different sites from each carcass were pooled before the analysis) for a total of 200 samples. The results of the study showed low levels of ACC and Enterobacteriaceae and the absence of Salmonella spp., except for one sample. The values of ACC were consistently satisfactory (< 3.3 Log CFU/cm2), whereas Enterobacteriaceae counts were satisfactory for 32.5% (< 1.3 Log CFU/cm2) and acceptable for 67.5% (with values between 1.3 and 2.3 Log CFU/cm2) of the examined samples. The low microbial counts detected on the carcasses reflected the initial visual examination of animal “cleanliness” [Regulation (EC) No 853/2004] as well as the hygiene conditions of the slaughtering process. These results suggest that the management of this specific slaughterhouse apply good hygiene practices to ensure high quality animal carcasses.