Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5792102 | Meat Science | 2012 | 4 Pages |
This study aimed to measure the amount of microbial contamination caused by inspecting the lymph nodes of adult sheep carcasses for caseous lymphadenitis (CLA). Surface swabs from carcasses pre-inspection (N = 296) and post-inspection (N = 296) were obtained for enumeration of indicator organisms at three commercial abattoirs. At the scapular site, inspection doubled the probability of detecting E. coli (Pr before = 0.35, Pr after = 0.67) and increased the expected count of E. coli from 2 cfu/cm2 to 13 cfu/cm2. Inspection at the rump site increased the probability of detecting E. coli by 1.1 times (Pr before = 0.84, Pr after = 0.93) and increased the expected count from 32 cfu/cm2 to 45 cfu/cm2. Effects were also observed for Enterobacteriaceae and total viable count. The findings show that routine inspection of adult sheep carcasses for CLA has a detrimental impact on carcass microbiological traits.
⺠Sheep carcasses are inspected for caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) at slaughter. ⺠Changes in microbiology of carcass surfaces due to inspection were assessed. ⺠A consistent elevation in counts of three different indicator organisms was observed. ⺠Inspection for CLA may be counterproductive from a hygiene perspective.