Identification of bacterial critical points and antibacterial effect of lactic acid on beef carcass

Abstract

During the process of slaughter and subsequent processing, the beef carcass is exposed to bacterial contamination. Bacterial load is one of the parameters for assessment of the sanitary conditions in slaughter operations. It is tedious and time consuming to evaluate bacterial load of carcass surface as a whole. Therefore assessment of bacterial load on certain points (critical points) in the carcass which are more frequently exposed to contaminants will help in quick assessment of sanitaty standard. In the present study six critical points were selected on beef carcasses to evaluate the bacterial contamination. Carcasses from two slaughter houses differing in infrastructural facilities were used for this assessment and comparison. There was significant difference in the level of bacterial contamination on critical points of carcasses obtained from the two sources. Significant difference was noticed between points as well. Among the critical points, neck-lateral has shown highest level of contamination. This may be due to chances of exposure to contaminants during bleeding and flaying. The abdomen-medial was comparatively less contaminated. In spite of conscious precautions, carcasses invariably get contaminated. In order to minimize the bacterial load on carcass at the end of slaughter line, washing carcass with sanitizers is one of the methods adopted in meat trade. Lactic acid one percent solution, when used as sanitizer for washing beef carcasses immediately after slaughter, has shown significant reduction in total viable count, coliform count and faecal streptococcal count estimated 1 h after treatment. When hot lactic acid solution at 700C was used for washing, significant reduction in the above counts in comparison to the first treatment was observed. This added benefit can be attributed to the enhanced temperature of the solution. It is concluded that one percent lactic acid solution, preferably at 700C, can be effectively used as a sanitizer on beef carcass surface for reduction of initial bacterial load and this helps in prolonging the storage life under the retail marketing condition.