Department of Biology, Jimma University, P.O. Box 378, Jimma, Ethiopia
Dabassa, A., Department of Biology, Jimma University, P.O. Box 378, Jimma, Ethiopia
Frequency of contamination in home slaughtered meat Jimma town south west Ethiopia was examined in the present study. The microbiological safety and quality issue is the pro-active measure to prepare the meat for consumption. A total 48 raw meat samples including beef (n = 4), Mutton (n = 37), chevron (n = 7) were collected from individual household and small food seller house in the town were analyzed for microbiological contamination using conventional culture methods. The bacterial spp. isolated from the samples were Bacillus, Micrococcus species, Salmonella species, Enterobacteriacea, coliform, Staphylococcus species and other gram positive rods, some of which harbor human pathogens of public health concern. The aerobic mesophilic counts varied from 0.19 to 3.67 loglO CFU g-1. Coliforms were encountered in all samples. Staphylococci were present at 0.95-2.28 logl 0 CFU g-1 in 36% (8) mutton and 50% (2) chevron, samples. Salmonella species were present in 10.42% (5.0) of all the samples. The majority of meat samples investigated in this study had contaminant microorganism and some pathogens. The present study revealed that despite veiy low contamination rate, foodstuffs particularly beef, chevon and mutton parts could be a potential vehicle for foodbome infections and implementation of preventive measures and consumer food safety education efforts are needed.
aerobic bacterium; article; Bacillus; bacterial count; bacterium culture; bacterium isolation; beef; chevron; coliform bacterium; colony forming unit; Enterobacteriaceae; Ethiopia; food contamination; food handling; food intake; food poisoning; food quality; food safety; Gram positive bacterium; household; meat industry; mesophile; microbial contamination; Micrococcus; mutton; nonhuman; raw meat; Salmonella; Staphylococcus
