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Microbial hazards associated with pig carcasses and molecular detection of enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus at different stages of the slaughter process

Foodborne diseases have sparked a wave of continuous public health concern and the need for proactive measures to be taken in our  communities. This study is aimed at determining the microbiological hazards associated with the pig slaughter process, assess the critical control points and screen for enterotoxin-producing Staphylococcus aureus. Three pig slaughter and processing facilities located within Makurdi town, Nigeria were utilized for the study. Swabs from carcasses during the slaughter process and the butchers’ hands, water used for washing carcasses and meat samples were all processed using standard bacteriological procedures. A total of 241 samples consisting of 150 swabs from 50 carcasses, 32 hand swabs, 9 water and 50 meat samples were evaluated during the study period. Aerobic plate counts (APC) and total coliform bacteria counts (TCBC) were evaluated. The mean APC at the different sampling sites ranged from 7.89 to 8.18 logCFU/cm2 while the mean TCBC ranged from 6.70 to 7.45 logCFU/cm2 . APC and TCBC were significantly different (P 0.05) in samples obtained from the butchers’ hands, although water samples generally had the highest mean APC (8.35 logCFU/ml). Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from 54 (22%) of the 241 samples with 8 (13.8%) of the isolates harbouring one or more enterotoxin genes (sea-17.5% and sed-2.5%). Bleeding, evisceration/splitting, transportation to retail outlets and all stages involving washing were identified as critical control points. Pork consumers in Makurdi were advised to properly cook pork before eating to prevent possible infection and/or intoxication. Keywords : Aerobic plate count, Carcass, Contamination, Enterotoxin, Points, Pork, Total coliform bacteria count