ASSESSMENT OF GOOD HYGIENIC HANDLINGPRACTICES AND MICROBIAL LOAD OF BEEF AND ITS CONTACT SURFACES IN BEDELE TOWN, BUNO BEDELE ZONE, SOUTH WEST ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The study was carried out from September 2021 to February 2022 to assessgood hygienic handling practices and microbial load of meat and its contact surfaces in butcher shops inBedele town.To demonstrate this, samples for laboratory analysis were taken from all 25 butcher shops and 40 butchers were administered with study questionnaires in the area. All microbiological samples were inoculated to general and different differential and selective media for bacterial counting. Data were analyzed usingIBM SPSS statistics 20 version using descriptive statistics and one way ANOVA.A totalof 125 samples from Meat cutting boards, Hands, Knives and Meat hanging hooksand meatwere collectedandanalyzedfor aerobic mesophilic counts and obtained as 6.44±.67log10/cm2 , 6.12±.66log10/cm2 , 6.08±.87log10/cm2 , 6.20±.86log10/cm2 and 6.26±.87log10/g in that order.The highest bacterial load was recorded in meat hanging hooks (8.27log10/cm2 )and the lowest was recorded in workers hands(4.31log10/cm2 ). Theresultsobtainedin thisstudyindicatedthatbacterial quality of meatfromthebutcheriesexceededtheacceptablerangeofbacterialload(<5 log10)overthestudy period.The mean load of Enterobacteriaceae from Meat cutting boards, Hands, Knives, Hanging hooks and Meat were 5.31±.64 log10/cm2 , 4.97±.66 log10/cm2 , 5.20±.68 log10/cm2 , 5.58±.79 log10/cm2 and 5.52±.51 log10/g respectively. From surveyed 25 butcher shops, none of them had refrigeratorand cleaned the butcher shop surfaces using sanitizers and disinfectants.About 67.5% of butchers wore white coat always at work and 52.5% butcher men had no head cover and the rest wore sometimes.None of butcher shops had separate cashier and only 42.5% of butchers had valid health certificate and follow medical checkup at six months interval. There was no set time for cleaning frequencyin all butcher shops. Majorityof butcher shops surfaces and workers‘ protective clothes were found to be poor. The result indicated that, butchers activities and all meat contact surfaces might have served as sources of contamination. Hence, rigorous management practice and good hygienic practice should be introduced in order to heighten the overall safety and hygienic quality of meat