Bacterial isolates from raw beef retailed at Rukuba market, Jos, Nigeria

Microbiological examination of meat is an important aspect of meat inspection and meat hygiene for food security. Colony plate macroscopic and microscopic examinations as well as various biochemical tests showed thirteen isolates from 300 samples of retailed raw beef and the meat contact surfaces at the Rukuba local market in Jos, Nigeria. Meat contamination (88 or 59.1%, n = 150) was significantly higher (p Pseudomonas, E. coli and Proteus were more frequently seen in meat at rates of 16.0, 14.7 and 6.7% respectively, while Staphylococcus aureus, Aeromonas and Streptococcus were the highest contaminants of contact surfaces at a rate of 5.3% each. Other isolates were Klebsiella (3.0%), coagulase negative Staphylococcus (2.7%), Bacillus (2.3%), Micrococcus (2.0%), Corynebacterium (1.7%), Clostridium and Serratia (1.0%). Mean count of E. coli (5.5x107 cfu/g) and Proteus (1.8x107 cfu/g) were the highest of the microbial density. There was higher contamination of the intestine (52.3%) than either the liver (27.3%, n= 50) or muscle (20.4%, n=50) but the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Keywords : Beef, Bacteria, Contamination, market, Nigeria > Animal Production Research Advances Vol. 2 (4) 2006: pp. 239-243