Avaliação de facas, superfícies de contato e carcaças quanto a contaminação por bactérias aeróbias mesófilas e Enterobacteriaceae em um frigorifico de suínos do Rio Grande Do Sul

Abstract

Pork meat is the most consumed animal protein in the world, so the responsibility for making a harmless product available should be through the management of microbiological risks, aiming at the economic stability of the production chain and, mainly, human health. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the knives, contact surfaces and carcasses for contamination by aerobic mesophilic bacteria and Enterobacteriaceae in a pig slaughterhouse in Rio Grande do Sul. State of Rio Grande do Sul, under the Federal Inspection Service (SIF). One hundred seventyone (171) samples were obtained, and analyzes were applied to two groups of microorganisms (aerobic mesophiles and Enterobacteriaceae). In the results on the effect of time on the microbiological quality of slaughter knives, the greatest mean variation of mesophilic aerobes was at time 2, staying between 0.00 and 1.67 log UFC / cm2, as well as at time 2 it also presented the greatest variation Enterobacteriaceae (0.00 and 0.36 log CFU / cm2). While for the knives for deboning and cutting the cuts, the greatest average variation of mesophilic aerobes was between 0.10 and 1.53 log CFU / cm2 at time 1, and from 0.00 to 0.23 log CFU / cm2 for Enterobacteriaceae. In the analysis of the water in the scalding tank and in the equipment surfaces, the average variation was between 0, 69 and 4.17 log UFC / cm2 for mesophilic aerobes and for Enterobacteriaceae, the average variation was between 0.00 and 1.46 log UFC / cm2. In the analysis of the carcasses, the average variation was between 2.52 and 3.07 log CFU / cm2 of mesophilic aerobes and for Enterobacteriaceae, between 0.20 and 1.41 log CFU / cm2. Through the obtained data it is concluded that the knives and equipment used during the slaughter operations can be a vehicle of microbiological contamination. The high count of mesophilic aerobes, on the surfaces of the blades of the boning knives after cleaning, is indicative of deficient pre-operational hygiene procedures for these utensils.