Sources of contamination post de-hiding
| Project start date: | 23 January 2009 |
| Project end date: | 15 June 2009 |
| Publication date: | 01 January 2010 |
| Project status: | Completed |
| Livestock species: | Grassfed cattle, Grainfed cattle |
| Relevant regions: | National |
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Summary
Although the carcass surface immediately following de-hiding operations had a low microbial load, by the time the carcass had reached the ESAM sampling point, the total counts had increased, and Staphylococcus aureus was detectable on a number of carcasses. The contamination may be due to manual handling of the carcass, and the staphylococci in particular may be associated with contact with human skin.
This Project aim was to build on previous work that examined the amount of microbial transfer from the initial surface to the carcass at individual operations, in order to indicate which operations have the greatest impact on ultimate carcass microbial load.. This may help meat processors better understand the sources of microbial contamination of beef carcasses.
More information
| Project manager: | Rajesh Margapuram |
| Primary researcher: | CSIRO Division of Food Science Aust |
